Benin

In brief

Benin is a country in West Africa. Its capital is Porto-Novo. Cotonou is the seat of government. With 14.8 million inhabitants in 2025, it ranks 75th in the world by population, out of the 195 countries recognised by the UN. Its area is 112,622 km². It shares land borders with Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria and Togo.

GDP per capita stands at $1,658 (2025), 159th in the world. Life expectancy at birth is 61 years (2024). 53% of the population lives in cities.

History of Benin

The Kingdom of Dahomey, centred on Abomey, dominated the region from the 17th to the 19th century; its army included a corps of women warriors, and the port of Ouidah was a major slave-trade centre. A French colony from 1894, Dahomey became independent on 1 August 1960. A Marxist-Leninist regime renamed it Benin in 1975. In 1990 a national conference opened a peaceful transition to democracy, often cited as a model in Africa. Porto-Novo is the official capital, Cotonou the seat of government.

Geography of Benin

Benin stretches from the Gulf of Guinea, where it has about 120 km of lagoon-lined coast, to the Niger River in the north. The Atakora range rises in the north-west; Pendjari National Park protects one of the last great wildlife reserves of West Africa.

Map of Benin

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Flag of Benin

The flag of Benin is red, green and yellow. Its official proportions are 2:3 (height to width).

• Green40%
• Yellow30%
• Red30%

Share of the flag’s surface taken by each colour.

What the flag stands for

A vertical green band at the hoist, with yellow and red horizontal bands: the pan-African colours. Adopted in 1959 and dropped under the Marxist regime, it was restored in 1990.

Sources: Wikipedia, articles “Benin” and “Flag of Benin”.

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Fact file

Economy and society