industry: 14.5%
services: 52.3% (2007 est.)
Labor force:
3.662 million (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 93
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Population below poverty line:
37.4% (2007 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 29% (2003)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
36.5 (2003) country comparison to the world: 82
Investment (gross fixed):
18.5% of GDP (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 104
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.6% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 42 2.2% (2009 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
4.25% (31 December 2009) country comparison to the world: 91 4.75% (31 December 2008)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
NA% (31 December 2009 est.)
NA% (31 December 2008 est.)
Stock of narrow money:
$1.551 billion (31 December 2010 est) country comparison to the world: 125 $1.619 billion (31 December 2009 est)
Stock of broad money:
$2.424 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 138 $2.517 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of domestic credit:
$1.222 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 143 $1.269 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$NA
Agriculture - products:
cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock
Industries:
textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement
Industrial production growth rate:
3% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 105
Electricity - production:
124 million kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 185
Electricity - consumption:
597 million kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 156
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports:
588 million kWh (2007 est.)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 117
Oil - consumption:
23,000 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 119
Oil - exports:
8,770 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 96
Oil - imports:
28,900 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 100
Oil - proved reserves:
8 million bbl (1 January 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 92
Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 203
Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 113
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 55
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 82
Natural gas - proved reserves:
1.133 billion cu m (1 January 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 97
Current account balance:
-$582 million (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 121 -$644 million (2009 est.)
Exports:
$1.125 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 150 $994 million (2009 est.)
Exports - commodities:
cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood
Exports - partners:
India 19.72%, China 13.18%, Niger 6.94%, Nigeria 6.56%, Indonesia 5.73%, Togo 5.63%, Namibia 4.17% (2009)
Imports:
$1.812 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 153 $1.703 billion (2009 est.)
Imports - commodities:
foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products
Imports - partners:
China 35.62%, US 7.51%, France 7.38%, Thailand 6.71%, Malaysia 6.13%, Netherlands 4.83%, Belgium 4.02% (2009)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.254 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 107 $1.23 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Debt - external:
$2.894 billion (31 December 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 131 $986.2 million (31 December 2008 est.)
Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 506.04 (2010), 472.19 (2009), 447.81 (2008), 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006)
Communications ::Benin
Telephones - main lines in use:
127,100 (2009) country comparison to the world: 141
Telephones - mobile cellular:
5.033 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 94
Telephone system:
general assessment: inadequate system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections; fixed-line network characterized by aging, deteriorating equipment
domestic: fixed-line teledensity only about 2 per 100 persons; spurred by the presence of multiple mobile-cellular providers, cellular telephone subscribership has been increasing rapidly
international: country code - 229; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; long distance fiber-optic links with Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria; satellite earth stations - 7 (Intelsat-Atlantic Ocean) (2008)
Broadcast media:
state-run Office de Radiodiffusion et de Television du Benin (ORTB) operates a TV station with multiple channels giving it a wide broadcast reach; several privately-owned TV stations broadcast from Cotonou; satellite TV subscription service is available; state-owned radio, under ORTB control, includes a national station supplemented by a number of regional stations; substantial number of privately-owned radio broadcast stations; transmissions of a few international broadcasters are available on FM in Cotonou (2007)
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