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Benin Overview |
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 Google Map of Benin |
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| Benin News |
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| Location of Benin |
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| Feature Articles about Benin |
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| We do not yet have any feature articles for Benin |
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| Interesting Facts about Benin |
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| Benin Weather |
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| Area |
total: 112,620 sq km land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
| Climate |
tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north |
| Population |
8,078,314 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) |
| Languages |
French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) |
More Interesting Benin Facts & Figures |
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Official Tourism Site
Come to Abomey and see the palace ruins of the Kingdom of Dahomey, one of West Africas former great empires, or take a stroll through Ouidah, the old slave-trading center and birthplace of voodoo. Our national parks have some of the best wildlife viewing in West Africa, elephants, lions, water buffalo, and more!
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The Benin Star
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| Source:
CIA World Factbook |
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| CIA World Factbook Description of Benin |
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| Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a prominent West African kingdom that rose in the 15th century. The territory became a French Colony in 1872 and achieved independence on 1 August 1960, as the Republic of Benin. A succession of military governments ended in 1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were alleged. KEREKOU stepped down at the end of his second term in 2006 and was succeeded by Thomas YAYI Boni, a political outsider and independent. |
| Source:
CIA World Factbook |
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Source:
CIA World Factbook |
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