Population: Nationality: Ethnic groups: Languages: Religions: Demographic profile: Poverty, unemployment, increased living costs, and dwindling resources increasingly drive the Beninese to migrate. An estimated 4.4 million, more than 40%, of Beninese live abroad. Virtually all Beninese emigrants move to West African countries, particularly Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire. Of the less than 1% of Beninese emigrants who settle in Europe, the vast majority live in France, Benin’s former colonial ruler. With about 40% of the population living below the poverty line, many desperate parents resort to sending their children to work in wealthy households as domestic servants (a common practice known as vidomegon), mines, quarries, or agriculture domestically or in Nigeria and other neighboring countries, often under brutal conditions. Unlike in other West African countries, where rural people move to the coast, farmers from Benin’s densely populated southern and northwestern regions move to the historically sparsely populated central region to pursue agriculture. Immigrants from West African countries came to Benin in increasing numbers between 1992 and 2002 because of its political stability and porous borders.
Age structure: Dependency ratios: Median age: Population growth rate: Birth rate: Death rate: Net migration rate: Population distribution: Urbanization: Major urban areas - population: Sex ratio: Mother's mean age at first birth: Maternal mortality rate: Infant mortality rate: Life expectancy at birth: Total fertility rate: Contraceptive prevalence rate: Health expenditures: Physicians density: Hospital bed density: Drinking water source: Sanitation facility access: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: HIV/AIDS - deaths: Major infectious diseases: Obesity - adult prevalence rate: Children under the age of 5 years underweight: Education expenditures: Literacy: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Benin on this page is re-published from the 2019 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Benin People 2019 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Benin People 2019 should be addressed to the CIA.
11,340,504
(July 2018 est.)
note: 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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected
country comparison to the world:
79
[see also: Population country ranks ]
noun:
Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective:
Beninese
Fon and related 38.4%, Adja and related 15.1%, Yoruba and related 12%, Bariba and related 9.6%, Fulani and related 8.6%, Ottamari and related 6.1%, Yoa-Lokpa and related 4.3%, Dendi and related 2.9%, other 0.9%, foreigner 1.9%
(2013 est.)
French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)
Muslim 27.7%, Roman Catholic 25.5%, Protestant 13.5% (Celestial 6.7%, Methodist 3.4%, other Protestant 3.4%), Vodoun 11.6%, other Christian 9.5%, other traditional religions 2.6%, other 2.6%, none 5.8%
(2013 est.)
Benin has a youthful age structure – almost 65% of the population is under the age of 25 – which is bolstered by high fertility and population growth rates. Benin’s total fertility has been falling over time but remains high, declining from almost 7 children per women in 1990 to 4.8 in 2016. Benin’s low contraceptive use and high unmet need for contraception contribute to the sustained high fertility rate. Although the majority of Beninese women use skilled health care personnel for antenatal care and delivery, the high rate of maternal mortality indicates the need for more access to high quality obstetric care.
0-14 years: 42.26%
(male 2,445,265 /female 2,347,091)
[see also: Age structure - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 20.53%
(male 1,184,977 /female 1,143,605)
[see also: Age structure - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 30.66%
(male 1,759,834 /female 1,717,467)
[see also: Age structure - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 3.65%
(male 184,453 /female 229,945)
[see also: Age structure - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 2.89%
(male 128,920 /female 198,947)
(2018 est.)
[see also: Age structure - 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
This is the population pyramid for Benin. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.
For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.
total dependency ratio: 86.1
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 80.1
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 6
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 16.6
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]
total: 18.4 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 18.1 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 18.7 years
(2018 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world:
209
2.68%
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world:
16
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]
34.5 births/1,000 population
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world:
22
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]
7.7 deaths/1,000 population
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world:
99
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2017 est.)
country comparison to the world:
74
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]
the population is primarily located in the south, with the highest concentration of people residing in and around the cities on the Atlantic coast; most of the north remains sparsely populated with higher concentrations of residents in the west
urban population: 47.3% of total population
(2018)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 3.89% annual rate of change
(2015-20 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]
285,000 PORTO-NOVO (capital), 685,000 COTONOU (seat of government), 928,000 Abomey-Calavi
(2018)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
(2017 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
(2017 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
(2017 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
(2017 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.76 male(s)/female
(2017 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female
(2017 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female
(2017 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - total population country ranks ]
20.3 years
(2011/12 est.)
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29
[see also: Mother's mean age at first birth country ranks ]
405 deaths/100,000 live births
(2015 est.)
country comparison to the world:
26
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]
total: 51.5 deaths/1,000 live births
(2018 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 54.5 deaths/1,000 live births
(2018 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 48.3 deaths/1,000 live births
(2018 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world:
24
total population: 62.7 years
(2018 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total population country ranks ]
male: 61.2 years
(2018 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 64.2 years
(2018 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world:
198
[See also: Healthy Life Expectancy ]
[See also: Health Performance ]
4.67 children born/woman
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world:
22
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]
17.9%
(2014)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]
4.6% of GDP
(2014)
country comparison to the world:
154
[see also: Health expenditures country ranks ]
0.15 physicians/1,000 population
(2016)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]
0.5 beds/1,000 population
(2010)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]
improved:
urban: 85.2% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 72.1% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 77.9% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - total country ranks ]
unimproved:
urban: 14.8% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - unimproved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 27.9% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - unimproved - rural country ranks ]
total: 22.1% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Drinking water source - unimproved - total country ranks ]
improved:
urban: 35.6% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 7.3% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 19.7% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - total country ranks ]
unimproved:
urban: 64.4% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - unimproved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 92.7% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - unimproved - rural country ranks ]
total: 80.3% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - unimproved - total country ranks ]
1%
(2017 est.)
country comparison to the world:
44
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
70,000
(2017 est.)
country comparison to the world:
50
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]
2,500
(2017 est.)
country comparison to the world:
45
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]
degree of risk:
very high
(2016)
food or waterborne diseases:
bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
(2016)
vectorborne diseases:
dengue fever, malaria, and yellow fever
(2016)
animal contact diseases:
rabies
(2016)
respiratory diseases:
meningococcal meningitis
(2016)
9.6%
(2016)
country comparison to the world:
142
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
18%
(2014)
country comparison to the world:
32
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]
4.4% of GDP
(2015)
country comparison to the world:
97
[see also: Education expenditures country ranks ]
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
(2015 est.)
total population: 38.4%
(2015 est.)
[see also: Literacy - total population country ranks ]
male: 49.9%
(2015 est.)
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 27.3%
(2015 est.)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]
total: 12 years
(2013)
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - total country ranks ]
male: 14 years
(2013)
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - male country ranks ]
female: 11 years
(2013)
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - female country ranks ]
total: 5.6%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - total country ranks ]
male: 5.2%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - male country ranks ]
female: 5.9%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world:
152
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order
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This page was last modified 08-Feb-19