Benin - geography
Benin - geography, Benin is a long, narrow country; the population belongs to
a wide variety of ethnic groups.
Population and occupation
The approximately 8 million residents belong to more than 40 ethnic groups,
including fon, adja, yoruba, bariba, peul and somba. Fon is
the largest group with about 30% of the population. Population growth is strong,
2.7% per year in the early 2000's, and almost half of the population is under 15
years. There is considerable population migration from country to city; in 2005,
40% lived in cities compared to 12.5% in 1965. Cotonou, the country's economic
center in particular, has grown and is estimated to have 700,000 homes (2006).
- Countryaah:
Do you know how many people there are in Benin? Check this site to see
population pyramid and resident density about this country.
Agriculture, which employs the majority of the population,
contributes approximately 40% of GDP. Most grow for self-sufficiency and for sale in
the local market. The typical mode of cultivation is relocation land use; to the
south are oil palms, corn and cassava and in the north yams, millet and
sorghum. The economy of family farms is supplemented by animal
husbandry. However, the majority of livestock breeding is made up of herds of
cattle, goats and sheep in northern Benin. Some oil palms etc. are grown in
plantations. The main export crops are food for neighboring countries as well as
cotton.
Traditional hunting as well as fishing in ponds and coastal lagoons continue
to contribute to employment, while motor-driven coastal fishing is of recent
date.
Forestry is only an independent profession to a small extent, but
the collection of firewood is economically and energy-important in rural
areas. The state has a number of forest reserves and teak plantations are under
construction.
Companies in industry, crafts and construction are few and small and
produce for the domestic market. The industry is based on the processing of
agricultural commodities. Most state enterprises have been privatized since the
1980's, and privatization continues on an ongoing basis. The raw material sector
is small and includes limestone and cement production. A smaller oil production
from the Sémé field off Cotonou ceased in 1998.
Regional Geography
Benin is a narrow country stretching from the Gulf of Guinea 720 km north to
the Niger River. The terrain is a savanna-covered lowland that is only mined by
the Atakora Mountains in NV. The climate is tropical with two rainy seasons on
the coast (March-July and September-November) and one rainy season in the north
(May-October).
The coastal area accommodates the majority of the population; the
largest cities are located here and the rural population lives close. The coast
itself is characterized by elongated lagoon areas behind wide coconut sand
bars. In this area lies the capital of Porto Novo with the state administration
and Cotonou, the country's largest city, with industry, international airport,
hotels, banks and deep water port. In Cotonou's harbor, Maersk Line has invested
in container facilities. Foreign trade from both Benin, Niger and Western
Nigeria goes over this port, which is run by a joint state-owned Benin-Nigerian
company. Cotonou is a traffic hub; From here, the colonial railways came from,
of which only the line to Parakou remains operational. West of Cotonou are the
old slave forts of Ouidah and Grand Popo. North of the lagoons lies the
country's most lush agricultural area,Terre de Barre, on a low plateau
of clay soils; here are oil palm plantations and intensively cultivated small
farms. Natural areas are made up of swamps, lakes, rivers and some forest
reserves, which are the last remnant of the original vegetation, which was a
transition zone between rainforest and savanna.
Benin's largest population group, fon, constitutes the majority of the rural
population in the coastal area. Adja lives in the western and Yoruba in the
eastern part, the latter with close contact across the border with the Yoruba in
Nigeria.
The so-called Plateau area encompasses most of the country and is
sparsely populated. The main ethnic groups here are bariba and peul who are
cattle nomads. The plateau is heavily eroded and in many places the rocks are
exposed. The main town is Parakou, where the railway ends and where goods to and
from Niger are transhipped.
The Atakora Mountains in NV-Benin rise with high cliff sides over
the flat savanna. The area receives the country's greatest rainfall, and a
number of rivers originate here. The road network is poorly developed and many
villages are isolated. Some Somba villages were largely out of contact
with the outside world until the 1970's. Large areas are laid out for hunting and
wildlife sanctuaries. contains elephants and lions.
The Niger Basin is located along the Niger River, and the legume
people exploit the fertile area for cultivating, among other things. rice. At
Malanville there is a ferry connection to neighboring Niger. A border dispute
with Niger on islands in the Niger River was brought before the International
Court of Justice in The Hague in 2000.
Economy
Assistance is considerable and comes mainly from France and the EU in
general. Since 1969, Denmark has provided assistance to various projects,
including electricity and water supply, and in 1992 Benin was designated as the
14th so-called program partner country.
The modern part of Benin's economy, industry, large-scale agriculture and
public enterprises is small and only slightly growing. The partially unofficial
sector of self-sufficiency agriculture, border trade with Nigeria and
small-scale trade is large and important for the country's economic situation,
but cannot absorb the growth of population; The migration from country to city
is therefore great.
Benin - language
Benin - language, The official language is French, but approximately 50 languages
belonging to three different language
languages: Nigerian-Kordofan, Nilo-Saharan and Hamito-Semitic (Afro-Asian)
languages. In the south, the ewe languages are spoken fongbe, spoken
by 1 million. people, and the important trade language re-enact. Yoruba is
spoken by 400,000 people. In the north, bariba, spoken by 200,000
people, dominates.
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