(2004 est.)
Agriculture - products: cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001)
Industries:
textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement (2001)
Industrial production growth rate:
8.3% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production:
285.2 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 14.2% hydro: 85.8% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption:
565.2 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports:
300 million kWh (2002)
Oil - production:
700 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
11,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA
Oil - imports:
NA
Oil - proved reserves:
4.105 million bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
608.8 million cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance:
$-159.9 million (2004 est.)
Exports:
$720.9 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities:
cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa
Exports - partners:
China 28.7%, India 18.4%, Ghana 6.3%, Thailand 6%, Niger 5.8%,
Indonesia 4.2%, Nigeria 4.2% (2004)
Imports:
$934.5 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities:
foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products
Imports - partners:
China 32.2%, France 13%, Thailand 6.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.3% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$839.3 million (2004 est.)
Debt - external:
$1.6 billion (2000)
Economic aid - recipient:
$342.6 million (2000)
Currency (code):
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible
authority is the Central Bank of the West African States
Currency code:
XOF
Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 528.29
(2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Communications Benin
Telephones - main lines in use:
66,500 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
236,200 (2003)
Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and
cellular connections
international: country code - 229; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC)
provides connectivity to Europe and Asia
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000)
Radios:
660,000 (2000)
Television broadcast stations:
1 (2001)
Televisions:
66,000 (2000)
Internet country code:
.bj
Internet hosts:
879 (2004)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
4 (2002)
Internet users:
70,000 (2003)
Transportation Benin
Railways: total: 578 km narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2004)
Highways:
total: 6,787 km
paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways)
unpaved: 5,430 km (1999 est.)
Waterways:
150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2004)
Ports and harbors:
Cotonou
Airports:
5 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
