The population of Benin is made up of approximately: 40% Fon, 12% Yoruba, 15% Adja, 7% Batonou (formerly Bariba), 6% Somba and 23% members of other peoples such as Dindi, Peul, Ewe, Datcha, Goun, Holli (forest people from Nigeria), Ganvié and Toffi.
Religious affiliation
About 50% of the population of Benin are followers of natural religions (voodoo). About 30% of the population are Christians (mostly Roman Catholics and a minority Methodists) and about 20% are Muslims.
But many of those who officially profess one of the monotheistic religions also use voodoo and the like. practiced.
National languages
The official language in Benin is French. In addition, around 60 African languages are used as colloquial languages, predominantly Fon in the south and Batanou and Fulani in the north.
Capital and other cities
The capital of Benin is Porto Novo with a population of around 225,000. However, the seat of government is in Cotonou, which has around 1 million residents. According to Abbreviation Finder, BEN stands for Benin in English. Click to see other meanings of this 3-letter acronym.
Other cities are:
– Parakou with around 175,000 residents
– Djougou with around 134,000 residents.
Benin: geography, map
Benin covers an area of 112,622 km². Check topmbadirectory for politics, flags, famous people, animals and plants of Benin. Thereof:
ForestAround 30% of the country is forested.
Meadow and pasture landAround 4% of the land is used as meadow or pasture land.
Fields and fieldsAround 12% of the land is used as arable land or fields, especially for growing cotton, peanuts, coffee and oil palms.
The country has a common border with a total of four states:
– Nigeria with a length of around 775 km,
– Niger with a length of 265 km,
– Burkina Faso with a length of 305 km and
– Togo with a length of 645 km.
Benin has a coast to the Gulf of Guinea as part of the Atlantic Ocean with a length of around 120 km.
Longitude and latitude
Benin extends over the following geographical latitude (abbreviation Δφ) and geographical longitude (abbreviation Δλ):
Δφ = from 06 ° 25 ‘to 12 ° 30’ north latitude Δλ = from 000 ° 45 ‘to 004 ° east longitude
You can find detailed information on this subject under Longitude and Latitude.
Time
For Benin, the following value applies to Central European Time (CET), i.e. the time (without summer time). A minus sign means that it is earlier there, a plus sign that it is later than CET:
Δt (CET) = 0 h
Further and detailed explanations of the time can be found under Time zones, time.
The highest point of the sun in Porto Novo
Porto Novo, the capital of the country, lies at a north latitude of around φ = 06.5 ° (06 ° 30 ‘). If the declination δ of the sun has the value 06 ° 30 ‘North, and so the image point of the sun is exactly above the city, the sun is vertically above the city. This happens exactly twice a year, roughly 25 days after March 21st and 25 days before September 21st (for details see position of the sun).
Attention
If the image point of the sun and thus the declination δ is north of the latitude of Porto Novo, the sun is not in the south at noon, as in our latitudes, but in the north. In this case, the sun moves from east to north to west, where, like us, it sets.
Mountains, feet, lakes
The highest point in the country is Mont Sokbaro with a height of 658 m. Another elevation is the Atakora with a height of 641 m.
The longest river in the country is the Ouéme with a length of around 400 km.
The country includes numerous smaller and larger lakes. The largest lake is Lac Nokoué.
Gulf of Guinea, Atlantic
In the south of the country, Benin borders with a length of around 120 km directly on the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic.
