Benin:
Geography

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Other pages in this profile of Benin:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


Background	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.

Location	Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo
Geographic coordinates	9 30 N, 2 15 E
Map references	Africa
Area	total: 112,620 sq km land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Land boundaries	total: 1,989 km border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km
Coastline	121 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 200 nm
Climate	tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north
Terrain	mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m
Natural resources	small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber
Land use	arable land: 23.53% permanent crops: 2.37% other: 74.1% (2005)
Irrigated land	120 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards	hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March
Environment - current issues	inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands