Benin

I

Introduction

Benin, officially Republic of Benin, republic in western Africa, on the Gulf of Guinea. Known in full as the Republic of Benin, it is bordered on the north by Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) and Niger, on the east by Nigeria, on the west by Togo, and on the south by the Gulf of Guinea. Formerly part of French West Africa, Benin gained full independence in 1960 as the Republic of Dahomey; it was renamed Benin in 1975. Benin has an area of 112,622 sq km (43,484 sq mi) and extends inland to the River Niger about 670 km (415 mi) from its 121 km (75 mi) gulf coast. The border between Benin and Nigeria is being re-demarcated in discussions between the two countries, while further issues concerning the northern border with Niger are being debated at the International Court in The Hague. The official capital of Benin is Porto-Novo; Cotonou is the political capital and largest town.

II

Land and Resources

The coast of Benin is a straight sand bar pounded by heavy surf. It has no natural harbours. Immediately inland of the bar is a network of shallow lagoons into which rivers drain. Further north is a mostly fertile and intensively cultivated lowland known as the Terre de Barre. North again is the seasonally flooded Lama swamp with peaty soils that are difficult to reclaim, and beyond that another intensively farmed area, which is the realm of the pre-colonial Kingdom of Dahomey. Most of the rest of the country has poor, often lateritic soils, rising in the far north to include the edge of a 488-m (1,600-ft) high plateau of ancient rocks and extremely infertile soils. In the north-west are the rugged Atakora Mountains.

A

Rivers and Lakes

The rivers Ouémé and Couffo drain most of southern Benin, and the River Mono, which forms part of the border with Togo, drains the south-west. The main rivers of northern Benin are the Niger, which forms part of the boundary with the republic of Niger, and its tributaries, the Sota, Mékrou, and Alibori rivers. On the coast, lakes Ahémé and Nokoué are estuaries of two rivers whose seaward exits are blocked by the sand bar.

B

Climate

Benin’s climate ranges in type from equatorial in the south to an increasingly arid, tropical wet-and-dry climate in the north. The south receives about 1,270 mm (50 in) of rainfall a year, mostly during March to July and September to November; the average monthly temperature ranges from 20° to 34° C (68° to 93° F). Temperatures are also high in the north, and the annual rainfall of about 890 mm (35 in) occurs mainly from May to September.