All About Benin

Benin is a West African country officially known as the Republic of Benin. Benin borders Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso and Niger to the north, and Togo to the west. The country has a small coastal area on the Bight of Benin, where most of the population resides. Its capital is Porto-Novo, but Cotonou, the largest city, is the government seat. Benin’s population is 8.8 million and it has a surface area of 11,000 sq km (42,000 sq mi). Benin’s tropical climate leads it to highly depend on agriculture. Substantial income and employment arise from subsistence farming.

French is Benin’s official language but the people commonly speak indigenous languages such as Oruba and Fon. Roman Catholics are Benin’s largest religious group. Muslims, Vondun, and Protestants follow closely behind. Benin belongs to the African Union, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, the Community of Sahel-Saharan States, La Francophonie, the African Petroleum Producer Association, the Niger Basin Authority, and the United Nations.

The Kingdom of Dahomey ruled what is now present day Benin from the 17th to the 19th century. Due to the prevalence of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the region became known as the Slave Coast. In 1892, France took over the area after the slave trade was banned and named it French Dahomey. A democratic republic began in 1960 when Dahomey gained its independence from France which lasted 12 years.

The People’s Republic of Benin was a Marxist dictatorship the governed from 1972 to 1990. This led to a period of repression and economic collapse. The Republic of Benin formed in 1991 and brought with it multi-party elections.