Formerly called DAHOMEY, according to the medieval Empire baptised with the same name, the population of Benin is made of a great number of ethnic groups.

Europeans discovered this country in the 15th century . Many arrived there, but only the Portuguese and later on the French people really settled. Benin was thereafter part of t he French Western Africa until it got its independence in 1960 .

With a stretched shape in latitude, Benin expands over an area of 114.763 sq m and has a population of about 8 millions people, half of which is less than 20.

Entirely located in the inter-tropical zone between Equator and the tropic of Cancer , this country, like a finger pointing towards the heart of West-Africa , is surrounded by Nigeria, Togo, Burkina Faso and Niger. Bathed by the water of the Gulf of Benin and the Atlantic Ocean , Benin extends along the banks of the majestic River Niger.

Bordered in the south by 125 km of Atlantic beaches bathed in the sun and sprinkled with mangroves populated with fascinating birds, Benin extends inside the continent, towards the summit of Mount Atacora and to the far-North, towards the sandy plateau of Niger basin.

Benin is a tropical country where the seasons are highly influenced by the humid winds from the ocean and the dry winds from the North desert.

In the south, the sub-equatorial climate determines two dry seasons and two rainy seasons, while the north has only one dry season and one rainy season. The best period of the year for visiting Benin is between November and May, when Harmattan, a hot and dry wind, blows.

The heights of Atacora provide a pleasant coolness.

Benin is divided into twelve (12) geographical departments :

Alibori, Atacora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Couffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Ouémé, Plateau and Zou

The towns of Benin owe their development to their historical, administrative and commercial functions. The main cities are the following:

- Cotonou with more than 800,000 inhabitants, is the biggest town in Benin; It accommodates most political, administrative, economic, industrial, cultural and tourist activities in Benin.

- Porto-Novo , the administrative capital , is the second town in the country, with 232,756 inhabitants.

- Parakou which now has a population of more than 175,000 inhabitants, is the administrative and economic metropolis in Northern-Benin.

- Abomey and Ouidah which have a population of approximately 85,000 people each, are historical towns.

More than twenty national languages are spoken in Benin, but the official language is French.

- Currency : CFA franc. CFA 1,000=1.52 Euros

- GDP/capita : CFA 276,000 (year 2001);
- current price GDP (billion of cfa francs in 2002): 1 951 ; harmonised WAEMU version;
- GDP/ inhabitant (thousands of cfa in 2000): 248 ; harmonised WAEMU version ;
- GDP/ inhabitant (thousands of cfa in 2001): 259 ; harmonised WAEMU version ;
- GDP/ inhabitant (thousands of cfa in 2002): 273 ; harmonised WAEMU version ;
-Merchant GDP at current price (billion of cfa francs in 2001): 1.631,6 ;

- Main economic activities : agriculture, commerce, handicraft, industry, small andmedium-size companies.