- partners:
China 35.62%, US 7.51%, France 7.38%, Thailand 6.71%, Malaysia 6.13%, Netherlands 4.83%, Belgium 4.02% (2009)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.254 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 107 $1.23 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Debt - external:
$2.894 billion (31 December 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 131 $986.2 million (31 December 2008 est.)
Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 506.04 (2010), 472.19 (2009), 447.81 (2008), 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006)
Communications ::Benin
Telephones - main lines in use:
127,100 (2009) country comparison to the world: 141
Telephones - mobile cellular:
5.033 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 94
Telephone system:
general assessment: inadequate system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections; fixed-line network characterized by aging, deteriorating equipment
domestic: fixed-line teledensity only about 2 per 100 persons; spurred by the presence of multiple mobile-cellular providers, cellular telephone subscribership has been increasing rapidly
international: country code - 229; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; long distance fiber-optic links with Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria; satellite earth stations - 7 (Intelsat-Atlantic Ocean) (2008)
Broadcast media:
state-run Office de Radiodiffusion et de Television du Benin (ORTB) operates a TV station with multiple channels giving it a wide broadcast reach; several privately-owned TV stations broadcast from Cotonou; satellite TV subscription service is available; state-owned radio, under ORTB control, includes a national station supplemented by a number of regional stations; substantial number of privately-owned radio broadcast stations; transmissions of a few international broadcasters are available on FM in Cotonou (2007)
Internet country code:
.bj
Internet hosts:
1,286 (2010) country comparison to the world: 165
Internet users:
200,100 (2009) country comparison to the world: 139
Transportation ::Benin
Airports:
5 (2010) country comparison to the world: 180
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2010)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2010)
Railways:
total: 578 km country comparison to the world: 112 narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2008)
Roadways:
total: 16,000 km country comparison to the world: 120 paved: 1,400 km
unpaved: 14,600 km (2006)
Waterways:
150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2007) country comparison to the world: 102
Ports and terminals:
Cotonou
Military ::Benin
Military branches:
Benin Armed Forces (FAB): Army (l'Arme de Terre), Benin Navy (Forces
Navales Beninois, FNB), Benin People's Air Force (Force Aerienne
Populaire de Benin, FAPB) (2008)
Military service age and obligation:
21 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; in practice, volunteers may be taken at the age of 18; both sexes are eligible for military service; conscript tour of duty - 18 months (2006)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16–49: 2,023,449
females age 16–49: 1,971,788 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16–49: 1,331,242
females age 16–49: 1,345,145 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 105,468
female: 101,603 (2010 est.)
Military expenditures:
1% of GDP (2009) country comparison to the world: 129
Transnational Issues ::Benin
Disputes - international:
in September 2007, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) intervened to attempt to resolve the dispute over two villages along the Benin-Burkina Faso border that remain from 2005 ICJ decision; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated; in 2005, Nigeria ceded thirteen villages to Benin, but border relations remain strained by rival cross-border gang clashes; talks continue between Benin and Togo on funding the Adjrala hydroelectric dam on the Mona River
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 9,444 (Togo) (2007)
Illicit drugs:
transshipment point used by traffickers for cocaine destined for Western Europe; vulnerable to money laundering due to poorly enforced financial regulations (2008)
page last updated on January 20, 2011
======================================================================
@Bermuda (North America)
Introduction ::Bermuda
Background:
