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Benin

Land Area 110622km²
Land Area + Seaarea
Population 8971944
Population density 81.1 / km²

Informations

Benin ( (listen) ben-EEN, bin-EEN; French: Bénin [benɛ̃]), officially the Republic of Benin (French: République du Bénin) and formerly known as Dahomey, is a nation in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. Most its population lives on the small southern coastline of the Bight of Benin, part of the Gulf of Guinea from the northernmost tropical portion of the Atlantic Ocean. The capital of Benin is Porto-Novo, but the seat of government is in Cotonou, the country's largest city and financial capital. Benin covers an area of 114,763 square kilometres (44,310 sq mi) and its inhabitants in 2018 was estimated to be roughly 11.49 million. Benin is a tropical country, highly dependent on agriculture, and is a huge exporter of cotton and palm oil. Substantial employment and income arise from subsistence farming.The official language of Benin is French, with several native languages such as Fon, Bariba, Yoruba and Dendi also being commonly spoken. The largest religious group in Benin is Roman Catholicism, followed closely by Islam, Vodun (commonly referred to as Voodoo outside the country) 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.Little is known of Benin's early history. From the 17th to the 19th century, the main political entities in the area were the Kingdom of Dahomey, along with the city-state of Porto-Novo, and a huge area with several different countries to the north. This region was called the Slave Coast from as early as the 17th century due to the large number of enslaved individuals who were shipped to the New World during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. After enslavement was abolished, France took over the country and renamed it French Dahomey. In 1960, Dahomey gained full independence from France. The sovereign state has had a tumultuous history since then, with many different democratic governments, military coups, and military governments. A Marxist--Leninist state known as the People's Republic of Benin existed between 1975 and 1990. In 1991, it had been replaced by the current multi-party Republic of Benin.

Source: Wikipedia