Key Facts

GDP (ppp) per CAPITA

$1,500 (2008 est.)

Inflation Rate

7.9% (2008 est.)

Population

8,791,832

Country Risk Ratings

B

Ease of Doing Business

169/181

Global Competitiveness

106/134

Country Map

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gE Network

There are 21 members in the
gE Network for this country.

Benin : Introduction

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. YAYI has begun a high profile fight against corruption and has strongly promoted accelerating Benin's economic growth.

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Sources:
CIA World Factbook (September 2009)
U.S. Dept. of State Country Background Notes (June 2008)