Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.3% (2007 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
4.25% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
NA
Stock of money:
$1.324 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$627.2 million (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$520.6 million (31 December 2007)
Agriculture - products:
cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock
Industries:
textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement
Industrial production growth rate:
4.5% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production:
120 million kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - consumption:
595 million kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
590 million kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 14.2% hydro: 85.8% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - consumption:
9,232 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - exports:
6,484 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - imports:
16,830 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - proved reserves:
8 million bbl (1 January 2008 est.)
Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
1.133 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)
Current account balance:
-$441 million (2007 est.)
Exports:
$586 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood
Exports - partners:
China 24.7%, India 8.2%, Niger 6.6%, Togo 5.4%, Nigeria 5.3%,
Belgium 4.6% (2007)
Imports:
$1.085 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products
Imports - partners:
China 44.5%, France 8.2%, US 6.5%, Thailand 6.3%, Malaysia 4.8% (2007)
Economic aid - recipient:
$374.7 million (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.209 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$1.2 billion (2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$NA
Currency (code):
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States
Currency code:
XOF
Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003) note: since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc has been pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro
Communications
Benin
Telephones - main lines in use:
110,300 (2007)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
1.895 million (2007)
Telephone system:
general assessment: inadequate; fixed-line network characterized by aging, deteriorating equipment with fixed-line teledensity stuck at 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone subscribership is increasing domestic: system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections; multiple mobile-cellular providers international: country code - 229; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth stations - 7 (Intelsat-Atlantic Ocean) (2007)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 34, shortwave 1 (2007)
Radios:
660,000 (2000)
Television broadcast stations:
6 (2007)
Televisions:
66,000 (2000)
Internet country code:
.bj
Internet hosts:
848 (2008)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
4 (2002)
Internet users:
150,000 (2007)
Transportation
Benin
Airports:
5 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007)
Railways:
total: 758 km narrow gauge: 758 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)
Roadways:
total: 16,000 km paved: 1,400 km unpaved: 14,600 km (2006)
Waterways:
150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005)
Ports and terminals:
Cotonou
Military
Benin
Military branches:
Benin Armed Forces (FAB): Army (l'Arme de Terre), Benin Navy (Forces