Benin

A French-speaking West African country, Benin is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east.

Capital is Porto-Novo.

French is the country's official language, while Fon, Yom and Yoruba have the status of national languages.

Population, 13,691,961. Size, 114,763 km^2.

The official currency is the West African CFA franc.

The population of Benin is 52.2% Christian, 24.6% Muslim, 17.9 Animist and 5.3% follows other faiths or has no religion.

Major cities include Cotonou, Abomey-Calavi, and Djougou.

The national dish is Kuli kuli, smashed peanuts that are shaped into balls or biscuits which are deep-fried in oil. Principal crops include sorghum, yams, cotton, corn, cassava, peanuts, rice and legumes.

The climate is hot and humid and with tropical weather conditions all year round. There are fields of lying fallow, mangroves, and remnants of large sacred forests. The savanna is covered with thorny scrubs and dotted with huge baobab trees. Some forests line the banks of rivers.

The city of Ouidah was one of the most active slave trading ports in Africa. Today, tourists can visit the Slave Route, the Ouidah Museum of History, the Door of No Return, and various other monuments dedicated to the memory of those forced into slavery. Benin is home to the "Venice of Africa". With around 20,000 residents, Ganvie is Africa’s largest lake village and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Benin is known as the birthplace of Vodun. Today, roughly 17% of the country’s population–around 1.6 million people–practice Vodun. Snakes are revered in Benin. Visitors will find snake symbolism throughout the country. With a median age of just 17, Benin has one of the youngest populations in the world. In fact, almost 65% of the country’s population is under 25 years old. Benin was the first African country to transition from a dictatorship to a democracy. Pendjari national park houses the largest remaining population of lions in West Africa. It has some of the most beautiful beaches in West Africa.