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Benin
Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, formerly known as Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the northwest, and Niger to the northeast. The majority of its population lives on the southern coastline of the Bight of Benin, part of the Gulf of Guinea in the northernmost tropical portion of the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Porto-Novo, and the seat of government is in Cotonou, the most populous city and economic capital. Benin covers an area of 112,622 km2 (43,484 sq mi), and its population in 2026 was estimated to be approximately 15 million. It is a tropical country with an economy heavily dependent on agriculture and the exports of palm oil and cotton.
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WHAT PEOPLE ARE CALLED
Beninese
These are English demonyms for people from Benin. A demonym describes a connection to a place; it does not mean everyone shares an ethnicity, language or religion.
Demonym source: mledoze/countries · Download the attributed dataset (ODbL)SAME LAND, DIFFERENT WORLDS
Civilizations, flags & standards
Modern borders are a starting point for exploring the past. These cultures and states occupied some of the same land; they were not the same country. Dates describe each civilization or state as a whole, not continuous rule over every place listed.
A sourced civilization and flag trail has not been added for Benin yet. No ancient flag is inferred from the modern one.
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Turning points
A curated timeline is not available yet. Explore the country's history and the historical figures below.
Read the historical overview →Religion: state & society
An official religion is a legal status. The largest religious group is a population measure. Neither describes every person's beliefs.
Official status and a dated affiliation breakdown have not been checked for this country. The atlas's religion tags are not a population ranking.
BEYOND THE MAP
Benin in the study desk
Places and things the general-knowledge library connects to Benin. Open one to follow its connections, then practise them with typed recall.
Food & drink 2
Geography 1
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Where it is
Languages
Share of the population that speaks each. Click one to see every country that speaks it.
What it sells, and to whom
Every line is a thread: click a commodity or a partner to see who else trades in it.
Imports
Natural resources
Industries
Farms and fisheries
- cassava
- yams
- maize
- oil palm fruit
- cotton
- soybeans
Largest cities
| Cotonou | 679,012 |
| Abomey-Calavi | 385,755 |
| Porto-Novo capital | 264,320 |
| Parakou | 255,478 |
| Godomè | 253,262 |
Money, belief and alliances
Money
Belongs to
Climate and geography
tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north
Climate zone
Highest point
Landmarks and landscapes
Northern hemisphere.
Land borders (4)
In charge right now
Figures from its history
Leaders before them
Corrected in an AI-assisted review of the imported data (2026-09-22), not yet checked against a named source: capitals, languages, leaders, past leaders.