Population:
11,038,805
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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 82
Nationality:
noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese
Ethnic groups:
Fon and related 38.4%, Adja and related 15.1%, Yoruba and related 12%, Bariba and related 9.6%, Fulani and related 8.6%, Ottamari and related 6.1%, Yoa-Lokpa and related 4.3%, Dendi and related 2.9%, other 0.9%, foreigner 1.9% (2013 est.)
Languages:
French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)
Religions:
Muslim 27.7%, Roman Catholic 25.5%, Protestant 13.5% (Celestial 6.7%, Methodist 3.4%, other Protestant 3.4%), Vodoun 11.6%, other Christian 9.5%, other traditional religions 2.6%, other 2.6%, none 5.8% (2013 est.)
Demographic profile:
Benin has a youthful age structure – almost 65% of the population is under the age of 25 – which is bolstered by high fertility and population growth rates. Benin’s total fertility has been falling over time but remains high, declining from almost 7 children per women in 1990 to 4.8 in 2016. Benin’s low contraceptive use and high unmet need for contraception contribute to the sustained high fertility rate. Although the majority of Beninese women use skilled health care personnel for antenatal care and delivery, the high rate of maternal mortality indicates the need for more access to high quality obstetric care.
Poverty, unemployment, increased living costs, and dwindling resources increasingly drive the Beninese to migrate. An estimated 4.4 million, more than 40%, of Beninese live abroad. Virtually all Beninese emigrants move to West African countries, particularly Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire. Of the less than 1% of Beninese emigrants who settle in Europe, the vast majority live in France, Benin’s former colonial ruler.
With about 40% of the population living below the poverty line, many desperate parents resort to sending their children to work in wealthy households as domestic servants (a common practice known as vidomegon), mines, quarries, or agriculture domestically or in Nigeria and other neighboring countries, often under brutal conditions. Unlike in other West African countries, where rural people move to the coast, farmers from Benin’s densely populated southern and northwestern regions move to the historically sparsely populated central region to pursue agriculture. Immigrants from West African countries came to Benin in increasing numbers between 1992 and 2002 because of its political stability and porous borders.
Age structure:
0-14 years: 42.65% (male 2,402,029/female 2,305,622)
15-24 years: 20.44% (male 1,148,204/female 1,108,342)
25-54 years: 30.44% (male 1,699,623/female 1,660,517)
55-64 years: 3.61% (male 174,633/female 223,398)
65 years and over: 2.87% (male 124,708/female 191,729) (2017 est.)
population pyramid:
Africa ::BENIN
Population Pyramid
A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.
For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.
Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 86.1
youth dependency ratio: 80.1
elderly dependency ratio: 6
potential support ratio: 16.6 (2015 est.)
Median age:
total: 18.2 years
male: 17.9 years
female: 18.6 years (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 213
Population growth rate:
2.71% (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 12
Birth rate:
35 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 21
Death rate:
7.9 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 92
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 74
Population distribution:
the population is primarily located in the south, with the highest concentration of people residing in and around the cities on the Atlantic coast; most of the north remains sparsely populated with higher concentrations of residents in the west
Urbanization:
urban population: 44.8% of total population (2017)
rate of urbanization: 3.55% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
Major urban areas - population:
PORTO-NOVO (capital) 268,000 (2014); COTONOU (seat of government) 682,000; Abomey-Calavi 757,000 (2015)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.76 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth:
20.3 years
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2011/12 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio:
405 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 26
Infant mortality rate:
total: 52.8 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 55.9 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 49.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 23
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 62.3 years
male: 60.9 years
female: 63.8 years (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 198
Total fertility rate:
4.77 children born/woman (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 17
Contraceptive prevalence rate:
17.9% (2014)
Health expenditures:
4.6% of GDP (2014)
country comparison to the world: 154
Physicians density:
0.15 physicians/1,000 population (2016)
Hospital bed density:
0.5 beds/1,000 population (2010)
Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 85.2% of population
rural: 72.1% of population
total: 77.9% of population
unimproved:
urban: 14.8% of population
rural: 27.9% of population
total: 22.1% of population (2015 est.)
Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 35.6% of population
rural: 7.3% of population
total: 19.7% of population
unimproved:
urban: 64.4% of population
rural: 92.7% of population
total: 80.3% of population (2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
67,000 (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 50
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
2,400 (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 49
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, and yellow fever
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
animal contact disease: rabies (2016)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
9.6% (2016)
country comparison to the world: 142
Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
18% (2014)
country comparison to the world: 30
Education expenditures:
4.4% of GDP (2015)
country comparison to the world: 64
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 38.4%
male: 49.9%
female: 27.3% (2015 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 12 years
male: 14 years
female: 11 years (2013)
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24:
total: 2.4%
male: 1.5%
female: 3.1% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 156