| République du Bénin
Republic of Benin
|
|
|
Motto
"Fraternité, Justice, Travail" (French)
"Fellowship, Justice, Labour" |
Anthem
L'Aube Nouvelle (French)
The Dawn of a New Day
|
|
|
| Capital |
Porto Novo1
6°28′N, 2°36′E |
| Largest city |
Cotonou |
| Official languages |
French |
| Demonym |
Beninese |
| Government |
Multiparty democracy |
| - |
President |
Yayi Boni |
| Independence |
from France |
| - |
Date |
August 1, 1960 |
| Area |
| - |
Total |
112,622 km² (101st)
43,483 sq mi |
| - |
Water (%) |
1.8 |
| Population |
| - |
July 2005 estimate |
8,439,0002 (89th) |
| - |
2002 census |
6,769,914 |
| - |
Density |
75/km² (118th3)
194/sq mi |
| GDP (PPP) |
2005 estimate |
| - |
Total |
$8.75 billion (140th) |
| - |
Per capita |
$1,176 (166th) |
| Gini? (2003) |
36.5 (medium) |
| HDI (2004) |
 0.428 (low) (163rd) |
| Currency |
CFA franc (XOF) |
| Time zone |
WAT (UTC+1) |
| - |
Summer (DST) |
not observed (UTC+1) |
| Internet TLD |
.bj |
| Calling code |
|
| 1 |
Cotonou is the seat of government. |
| 2 |
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. |
| 3 |
Rank based on 2005 estimate. |
Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in Western Africa, formerly known as Dahomey (until 1975). It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north; its short coastline to the south leads to the Bight of Benin. Its capital is Porto Novo, but the seat of government is Cotonou.
Name
The name "Benin" has no proper connection to Kingdom of Benin (or Benin City). The name Dahomey was changed in 1975 to The People's Republic of Benin, named after the body of water on which the country lies, the Bight of Benin. This name was picked due to its neutrality, since the current political boundaries of Benin encompass over fifty distinct linguistic groups and nearly as many individual ethnic groups. The name Dahomey was the name of the ancient Fon Kingdom, and was determined to be an inappropriate name.
History
-
- Mande by the or Busa, now in the far eastern corner (southern Alibori-northern Borgou), but previously more widely spread before being largely absorbed by the Bariba
- West Atlantic by the nomadic Fulbe scattered across the northeast
- Benue-Congo by the Yoruba of Collines and Plateau provinces, such as the old kingdom of Sakete, and the capital city of Porto-Novo, having expanded west from Oyo and Ife in the twelfth to nineteenth centuries
- Gur (Voltaic) languages predominate in the four northern provinces, with the of the old Borgou (Bariba) Kingdom occupying most of the countryside in its successor provinces of Borgou and Alibori, as well as the provincial captital of Parakou; the throughout much of Donga province and its capital Djougou; and several groups in the Atakora, including the of the Otammari country around the provincial capital of Natitingou, the , the of Tanguiéta, and the Gulmàceba.
- Kwa, especially the Gbe languages spoken by the Tado peoples in the southern and central provinces: the Aja who established themselves in Kouffo province from neighboring Togo and gave rise to the other Tado peoples of Benin, except for the Mina of Mono province, who arrived separately from Togo or Ghana: The Fɔn culture centered in Zou province around the old Fɔn capital of Abomey, but also dominant in Cotonou and southern Atlantique areas such as Ouidah; the Maxi in central Collines, especially around Savalou; the of central Atlantique (Allada); the and in the lagoons of the coast; the of Ouémé; and the Gun of Porto-Novo. Other Kwa languages are spoken by the in southern Donga in the region of Bassila, and the in western Donga near the town of .
The largest ethnic group are the Fon, with 1.7 million speakers of the Fon language (2001), followed by the various Yoruba groups (1.2 million), the Aja (600,000), the Bariba (460,000), the Ayizo (330,000), the Fulbe (310,000), and the Gun (240,000). Near the ports in the south can be found people of lighter skin who are descended from returned Brazilian slaves. There are also small numbers of Europeans, principally French, and Asians, mainly Lebanese and Indians.
Indigenous religions
Indigenous religions are followed by a majority of the people. They include local animistic religions in the Atakora (Atakora and Donga provinces) and Vodun among the Yoruba and Tado peoples in the center and south of the country. The town of Ouidah on the central coast is the spiritual center of Beninese vodun.
The Yoruba and Tado pantheons correspond closely:
The principal introduced religions are Islam, introduced by the Songhai Empire and Hausa merchants, and now followed throughout Alibori, Borgou, and Donga provinces, as well as among the Yoruba, by 10-15% of the population; and Christianity, followed nominally by another 10-15% throughout the south and center of Benin and in country in the Atakora. Most Christians, however, continue to hold Vodun beliefs and have incorporated into Christianity the pantheon of Vodun.
- The CIAFact book states the following: indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20%
Culture
- See also: List of Beninese writers, Music of Benin, and Literature of Benin
It is believed that Vodun (or "Voodoo", as it is commonly known) originated in Benin and was introduced to Brazil, the Caribbean Islands, and parts of North America by slaves taken from this particular area of the Slave Coast. The indigenous religion of Benin is practiced by about 60% of the population. Since 1992 Vodun has been recognized as one of Benin's official religions, and a National Vodun Holiday is celebrated on January 10.
Many Beninese in the south of the country have Akan-based names indicating the day of the week they were born on. Twins are important in south Beninese culture, and special names for twins are also used.
Local languages are used as the languages of instruction in elementary schools, with French only introduced after several years. Beninese languages are generally transcribed with a separate letter for each speech sound (phoneme), rather than using diacritics as in French or digraphs as in English. This includes Beninese Yoruba, which in Nigeria is written with both diacritics and digraphs. For instance, the mid vowels written é è, ô, o in French are written e, ɛ, o, ɔ in Beninese languages, whereas the consonants written ng and sh or ch in English are written ŋ and c. However, digraphs are used for nasal vowels and the labial-velar consonants kp and gb, as in the name of the Fon language Fon gbe /fõ ɡ͡be/, and diacritics are used as tone marks. In French-language publications, a mixture of French and Beninese orthographies may be seen.
Actor Djimon Gaston Hounsou (born April 24, 1964), pronounced "Jie-mon Hahn-soo" is an Academy Award-nominated Beninese actor, dancer and fashion model who was born in Cotonou, Benin. He is now a naturalized U.S. citizen.
Singer Angelique Kidjo who is a four time Grammy nominee and international goodwill ambassador for UNCEF was born in Cotonou, Benin.
Health issues
During the 1980s, less than 30 percent of the population had access to primary health care services. Benin had one of the highest death rates for children under the age of five in the world. Its infant mortality rate stood at 203 deaths for every 1000 live births. Only one of three mothers had access to child healthcare services. The Bamako Initiative changed that dramatically by introducing community-based healthcare reform, resulting in more efficient and equitable provision of services.[2] A comprehensive approach strategy was extended to all areas of health care, with subsequent improvement in the health care indicators and improvement in health care efficiency and cost.[3]
See also
Notes
References
- Adam, Kolawolé Sikirou and Michel Boko (1983), le Bénin. SODIMAS, Cotonou and EDICEF, Paris.
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