Country · Africa
Benin
Republic of Benin
Benin is a country in Western Africa. About 11.5 million people live there, in an area of 112 622 square kilometres. Its capital city is Porto-Novo.
Porto-Novo is Benin's official capital, but the government works in Cotonou, the country's largest city.
Picture credit: GBETONGNINOUGBO JOSEPH HERVE AHISSOU (CC BY-SA 4.0) · AGIR au Benin (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Frejus .E (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Darios Djossè seyram ADOME (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Benin?
Benin lies in Western Africa, on the continent of Africa.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 1 058 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 121 km long.
It shares a border with 4 countries: Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria and Togo.
How big is Benin?
Benin covers 112 622 square kilometres.
That is about 2.7 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 100th largest.
Spread everybody out evenly and you get about 102 people on every square kilometre.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Benin?
About 11.5 million people live in Benin.
That is the 77th biggest population in the world.
People here speak French.
They pay with the West African CFA franc (Fr).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 50 years.
The land of Benin
The land of Benin sits on average 273 metres above sea level.
Its coast runs for about 121 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 6 days.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Benin different?
Websites from here often end in .bj.
Benin and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about one lives in Benin.
It takes up about 0.08 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Africa the country ranks 38th of 54 by size, and 30th by population.
Benin and its neighbours
Niger, its largest neighbour, is about 11.3 times bigger.
Niger has more people: 22.4 million against 11.5 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 2 live wild in Benin: Emperor scorpion and Ball python. The highest mountain in the country is Mont Sokbaro, at 658 metres. The longest river in the country is the Ouémé. The largest lake in the country is Lake Ahémé.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
How big is Benin compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 83 times as big as Benin: 9 372 610 km² against 112 622 km².
- The United Kingdom is about 2.2 times as big as Benin: 242 900 km² against 112 622 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Benin?
The capital of Benin is Porto-Novo.
How many people live in Benin?
About 11.5 million people live in Benin, which makes it the 77th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Benin?
Benin borders Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria and Togo — 4 neighbours in total.
How big is Benin?
Benin covers 112 622 square kilometres, making it the 100th largest country in the world. That is about 2.7 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in Benin?
The highest mountain in Benin is Mont Sokbaro, 658 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Benin?
The longest river in Benin is the Ouémé, about 510 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Benin?
The largest lake in Benin is Lake Ahémé. It covers about 100 km².
Which continent is Benin in?
Benin is in Africa, in the part called Western Africa.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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