18 Facts About Benin

Benin covers an area of 114, 763 square kilometres and its population in 2021 was estimated to be approximately 13 million.

The largest religious group in Benin is Roman Catholicism, followed by Islam, Vodun and Protestantism.

Benin is a member of the United Nations, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, La Francophonie, the Community of Sahel–Saharan States, the African Petroleum Producers Association and the Niger Basin Authority.

The Oyo Empire, located primarily to the east of Benin, was a military force in the region, conducting raids and exacting tribute from the coastal kingdoms and tribal regions.

Benin was the first president to win an election without a runoff since the restoration of democracy in 1991.

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Benin said that he planned to slash the size of the government from 28 to 16 members.

Benin has been rated equal-88th out of 159 countries in a 2005 analysis of police, business, and political corruption.

Benin is divided into 12 departments which are subdivided into 77 communes.

Benin has achieved universal primary education and half of the children were enrolled in secondary education in 2013, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

Malaria is a problem in Benin, being a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children younger than 5 years.

Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, with Benin benefiting from a G8 debt reduction announced in July 2005, while pressing for more rapid structural reforms.

Benin is a member of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa.

Benin is connected by 2-lane asphalted roads to its neighboring countries.

Benin was ranked 128th in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, down from 123rd in 2019.

The Trans-West African Coastal Highway crosses Benin, connecting it to Nigeria to the east, and Togo, Ghana and Ivory Coast to the west.

Biennale Benin, continuing the projects of some organizations and artists, started in the country in 2010 as a collaborative event called "Regard Benin".

The international exhibition and artistic program of the 2012 Biennale Benin are curated by Abdellah Karroum and the Curatorial Delegation.

Benin has numerous non-sovereign monarchies within the country, many of them derivative of pre-colonial kingdoms.