Benin
Benin is a sovereign state in West Africa. Its capital is Porto-Novo. About 14 million people live there (2023). It covers 114,763 square kilometres.
- Capital
- Porto-Novo
- People (2023)
- 14 million
- Area
- 114,763 km²
- Currency
- West African CFA franc
Benin at a glance
- Official name
- Republic of Benin
- Status
- Sovereign country
- Continent
- Africa
- Capital
- Porto-Novo
- Population
- 14,111,034 (2023)
- Area
- 114,763 km² (44,310 mi²)
- People are called
- Beninese
- Official languages
- French
- Currency
- West African CFA franc
- Life expectancy
- 60.9 years (2016)
- Human Development Index
- 0.525 (2021)
- Gini coefficient
- 37.8 (2018)
- Unemployment
- 1% (2014)
- Government
- republic
- Head of state
- Romuald Wadagni (since 2026)
- Head of government
- Patrice Talon (since 2016)
- Country codes
- BJ, BEN
- Calling code
- +229
- Internet domain
- .bj
- Drives on the
- right
- Time zones
- UTC+01:00, Africa/Porto-Novo
- Coordinates
- 8.8333333333333°, 2.1833333333333°
Benin and its neighbours
Benin borders Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria and Togo. Click a neighbour on the map to open its page.
- Benin
- Neighbours
Divisions of Benin
- Alibori Department
- Atakora Department
- Atlantique Department
- Borgou Department
- Collines department
- Donga Department
- Kouffo Department
- Littoral
- Mono Department
- Ouémé Department
- Plateau Department
- Zou Department
Member of
- United Nations
- African Union
- World Trade Organization
- Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
- International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
- International Development Association
- International Finance Corporation
- Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
- International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
- African Development Bank
- Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States
- OHADA
- Conseil de l'Entente
- Interpol
- Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
and 13 more organisations.
How far are you from Benin?
On a phone this uses GPS. The calculator shows the straight-line distance to the nearest country border from where you are.
Questions
What is the capital of Benin?
The capital of Benin is Porto-Novo.
What is the population of Benin?
Benin has about 14,111,034 people, as recorded in 2023.
How big is Benin?
Benin covers 114,763 square kilometres (44,310 square miles).
What currency does Benin use?
The West African CFA franc.
What language is spoken in Benin?
The official language of Benin is French.
Which countries border Benin?
Benin shares a border with Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria and Togo.
Data from Wikidata (CC0), retrieved October 9, 2026. Each figure carries the year it was recorded; a statistic with no recorded date is not shown as current. More on Wikipedia.