Benin Education

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The literacy rate increased from about 20% in the mid-1970s to about 26% in the late 1980s following the adoption of legislation in 1975 making education free and compulsory. In the late 1980s about 471,000 pupils attended elementary school each year, and about 97,000 students were enrolled in secondary schools. Higher education is provided for more than 10,000 students at the National University of Benin (1970), in Cotonou, and at other institutions.

Benin, republic, western Africa, on the Gulf of Guinea. Known in full as the Republic of Benin, it extends inland about 670 km (about 415 mi) from its 126-km (78-mi) long gulf coast. Benin is bordered on the north by Burkina Faso (Upper Volta) and Niger, on the east by Nigeria, and on the west by Togo. Formerly part of French West Africa, it gained independence in 1960 as Dahomey; it was named Benin in 1975. It has an area of 112,622 sq km (43,484 sq mi).

Land and Resources
The coast of Benin encompasses a sandy barrier beach, which has no natural harbors. Immediately north of the beach is a network of shallow lagoons, and further north is a fertile and mostly intensively cultivated lowland called the barre country. In northern Benin the land rises to include the edge of a 488-m (1600-ft) high plateau of ancient rocks and mostly infertile soils and, in the northwest, the rugged Atakora Mountains.

Rivers and Lakes
The Ouémé and Couffo rivers drain most of southern Benin, and the Mono River, which forms part of the border with Togo, drains the southwest. The main rivers of northern Benin are the Niger, which forms part of the boundary with the republic of Niger, and its tributaries, the Sota, Mékrou, and Alibori rivers.

Climate
Benin's climate ranges in type from equatorial in the south to an increasingly arid tropical wet-and-dry climate in the north. The south receives about 1270 mm (about 50 in) of rainfall a year, mostly during March to July and September to November; the average monthly temperature ranges from 20° to 34° C (68° to 93.2° F). Temperatures also are high in the north, and the annual rainfall of about 890 mm (about 35 in) occurs mainly from May to September.

Plants and Animals
A dense tropical rain forest once covered much of the land close behind Benin's coastal strip. The rain forest has largely been cleared, except near rivers, and palms now are the main trees of the region. Woodlands form a large part of central Benin, and grasslands predominate in the drier north. Among the various animals found in Benin are elephants, buffalo, antelope, panthers, monkeys, crocodiles, and wild ducks.

Natural Resources
An offshore petroleum field is located near Cotonou, and other mineral resources of Benin include iron ore, phosphates, chromium, rutile, clay, marble, diamonds, and limestone.

Population
Benin has a population of 5,166,735 (1993 estimate), growing at a rate of about 3.7% per year. Overall density is about 46 persons per sq km (about 118 per sq mi), but is much higher in the south, where two-thirds of the inhabitants live. Only about 20% live in urban areas. The main cities are Cotonou (population, 1982 estimate, 487,000); Porto-Novo (208,000), the capital; Parakou (66,000); Abomey (54,000); and Natitingou (population, estimated, 50,800). The Fon, or Dahomeans, and the closely related Adja, who together account for about 66% of the population, are the main ethnic groups in the south; the Bariba and Somba (together about 14%) are the largest in the north; and the Yoruba (about 10%) predominate in the southeast.

Language and Religion
French is the official language of Benin, but most people speak an African language. Traditional religious beliefs are professed by about 60% of the population. Islam is the religion of about 15% of the people, most of whom live in the north. Christianity, especially Roman Catholicism, is the religion of about 20%, the great majority of whom live in the south.

Cultural Institutions and Communications
The National Library of Benin is located in Porto-Novo, and the National Museum is in Cotonou. The state-owned radio and television service operates from Cotonou. In the late 1980s Benin had 326,900 radio receivers, 16,350 television sets, and 15,500 telephones in use. The most influential newspaper is the government-owned Ehuzu, formerly called the Daho-Express, with a daily circulation of about 10,000.

Government
From 1977 through 1989, Benin was governed by an elected legislature, the National Revolutionary Assembly. This unicameral body elected a president, who ruled as head of the National Executive Council. The People's Revolutionary Party of Benin, a Marxist-Leninist group, was the sole political party. Local administration was based on six provinces (Atacora, Atlantique, Borgou, Mono, Ouémé, Zou), each of which was governed by a prefect and a provincial revolutionary council.
A draft constitution approved by popular referendum in 1990 provided for an elected National Assembly and a popularly elected president. A second political party, the Assembly of Democratic Forces, was established, and in March 1991 the country had its first free elections in 30 years.

Economy
Benin, one of the poorest countries in Africa, has an economy dependent, as in colonial times, on agriculture. Many private enterprises were nationalized in the 1970s and are now state run. The estimated annual national budget in the late 1980s included $168 million in revenue, $234 million in current spending, and $79 million in capital expenditure. Benin is a member of the Economic Community of West African States, an organization designed to promote economic cooperation and development.

Agriculture
About two-thirds of the work force in Benin is engaged in agriculture, mainly subsistence farming. The principal food crops are corn, cassava, sorghum, yams, millet, and beans. Cash crops, produced mainly in the south, include palm kernels, cotton, coffee, peanuts, and cocoa. The herding of cattle, sheep, and goats predominates in the grasslands of the north.

Forestry and Fishing
Commercial forestry and fishing are largely undeveloped in Benin. Almost all of the approximately 4.7 million cu m (approximately 166 million cu ft) of wood cut each year is used for fuel. Similarly, most of the 41,900 metric tons of fish produced annually are caught in inland rivers and in lagoons for subsistence use. Relatively small amounts of shrimp are landed on a commercial basis.

Mining and Manufacturing
Benin's chief mineral product is petroleum. Some limestone is also produced for use in cement manufacturing, and industrial diamonds are recovered for export, but most other mineral resources are undeveloped. Food processing is the chief manufacturing activity. Major products include palm and cottonseed oil, beer, baked goods, and cotton textiles.

Energy
Small thermal electric power plants provide energy along the coast, but most of Benin's electricity is supplied by Ghana's Volta River hydroelectric project. Benin produces about 5 million kwh of electricity each year.

Transportation
Benin has about 7450 km (about 4630 mi) of roads; the principal arteries run parallel to the coast in the south and from Cotonou to Parakou. The main line of the country's approximately 580-km (approximately 360-mi) rail system runs from Cotonou to Parakou, and Benin also has rail connections along the coast to Togo and Nigeria. Cotonou is the nation's chief seaport.

Currency and Banking
Benin is a member of the West African Monetary Union, headquartered in Dakar, Sénégal, and the country's monetary unit is the CFA franc (286.4 CFA francs equal U.S.$1; 1990), which is subdivided into 100 centimes. The principal banks of Benin are in Cotonou.

Foreign Trade
Benin's annual imports generally cost much more than its exports earn. In the late 1980s the country's yearly imports were valued at $511 million and its exports at only $379 million. Benin's main exports are crude petroleum, palm products, cotton, and cocoa; its chief imports are textiles, clothing, and machinery. France, Portugal, Germany, the United States, and Thailand are among Benin's principal trading partners.

History
Some time before 1600 it is thought that the Adja people migrated from the town of Tado on the Mono River (in Togo), settling at Allada, where they mixed with the Fon and founded a kingdom. In the early 17th century a dynastic dispute resulted in the establishment of two rival states at Abomey and Porto-Novo. The first of these grew into the kingdom of Dahomey, which dominated the area until the 19th century. See DAHOMEY, KINGDOM OF.

Colonization
In 1851 France signed a treaty of friendship and trade with the ruler of Porto-Novo, who was a vassal of Dahomey's King Glélé (reigned 1858-89). In 1861 British forces won the town of Lagos (now within the borders of Nigeria) from Dahomey. By two treaties signed in 1868 and 1878, the Cotonou area, lying between Ouidah and Porto-Novo, was ceded to France. Glélé's successor, Béhanzin, tried to regain the land, which was essential to continued participation in the slave trade, but was routed by the French in 1892; his lands were declared a French protectorate. After a brief period in which he led guerrilla bands against the French, Béhanzin was captured in January 1894 and exiled to Martinique.
In 1899 Dahomey was incorporated into French West Africa, with its exact boundaries defined through accords with Great Britain and Germany, colonizers of the neighboring areas to the east and west, respectively. At the end of World War I, the eastern part of the German colony of Togo was put under French mandate. Dahomey, as part of French West Africa, adhered to the cause of the Free French during World War II, and in 1946 it became one of the French overseas territories; from 1958 to 1960 it was an autonomous republic of the French Community. Independence was proclaimed on August 1, 1960, and the following month Dahomey was admitted to the United Nations.

Independence
Benin's political history since independence has been checkered. The first president, Hubert Maga, was ousted in 1963 by the army commander, and a series of four coups followed in the next six years. In 1970 a three-member presidential commission took power and suspended the constitution. The members, including former president Maga, were to serve as president successively. Maga held office first, succeeded in 1972 by Justin Ahomadegbe. Later that year, however, Major Mathieu (later Ahmed) Kérékou seized power, ending the commission form of government. In November 1975 the country was renamed Benin. A new constitution, making the country a one-party state, was promulgated in 1977. Three former presidents, detained since the coup of 1972, were released in 1981.
Elected president by the National Revolutionary Assembly in 1980 and reelected in 1984, Kérékou survived a military coup attempt four years later. In late 1989 he abandoned Marxism-Leninism, and a transitional government established in 1990 paved the way for a revival of multiparty democracy. Prime Minister Nicephore Soglo defeated Kérékou in the presidential election of March 1991.



 

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