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has claimed half of southern Belize; Guatemalan squatters

       continue to settle along the border despite a 2000 agreement; OAS

       brokered a Differendum in 2002 that created a small adjustment to

       land boundary, a large Guatemalan maritime corridor in the

       Caribbean, a joint ecological park for disputed Sapodilla Cays, and

       a substantial US-UK financial package, but agreement was not brought

       to a popular referendum

      Illicit drugs:

       major transshipment point for cocaine; small-scale illicit producer

       of cannabis for the international drug trade; some money-laundering

       activity related to offshore sector

      This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003

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      @Benin

      Introduction Benin

      Background:

       Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a prominent West African

       kingdom that rose in the 15th century. The territory became a French

       Colony in 1872 and achieved independence on 1 August 1960, as the

       Republic of Benin. A succession of military governments ended in

       1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment

       of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to

       representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free

       elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as

       president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa

       from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by

       elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were

       alleged.

      Geography Benin

      Location:

       Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and

       Togo

      Geographic coordinates:

       9 30 N, 2 15 E

      Map references:

       Africa

      Area:

       total: 112,620 sq km

       water: 2,000 sq km

       land: 110,620 sq km

      Area - comparative:

       slightly smaller than Pennsylvania

      Land boundaries:

       total: 1,989 km

       border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km,

       Togo 644 km

      Coastline:

       121 km

      Maritime claims:

       territorial sea: 200 NM

      Climate:

       tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north

      Terrain:

       mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains

      Elevation extremes:

       lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

       highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m

      Natural resources:

       small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber

      Land use: arable land: 15.28% permanent crops: 1.36% other: 83.36% (1998 est.)

      Irrigated land:

       120 sq km (1998 est.)

      Natural hazards:

       hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to

       March

      Environment - current issues:

       inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife

       populations; deforestation; desertification

      Environment - international agreements:

       party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered

       Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the

       Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,

       Wetlands

       signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

      Geography - note:

       sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural

       harbors, river mouths, or islands

      People Benin

      Population:

       7,041,490

       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 and death rates, lower

       population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of

       population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July

       2003 est.)

      Age structure:

       0–14 years: 47% (male 1,668,817; female 1,638,291)

       15–64 years: 50.7% (male 1,739,517; female 1,834,231)

       65 years and over: 2.3% (male 67,504; female 93,130) (2003 est.)

      Median age:

       total: 16.4 years

       male: 15.9 years

       female: 16.9 years (2002)

      Population growth rate:

       2.95% (2003 est.)

      Birth rate:

       43.15 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)

      Death rate:

       13.65 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)

      Net migration rate:

       0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)

      Sex ratio:

       at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

       under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

       15–64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female

       65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female

       total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

      Infant mortality rate:

       total: 86.76 deaths/1,000 live births

       female: 81.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)

       male: 91.79 deaths/1,000 live births

      Life expectancy at birth:

       total population: 51.08 years

       male: 50.35 years

       female: 51.84 years (2003 est.)

      Total fertility rate:

       6.04 children born/woman (2003 est.)

      HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

       3.6% (2001 est.)

      HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

       120,000 (2001 est.)

      HIV/AIDS - deaths:

       8,100 (2001 est.)

      Nationality:

      

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