Benin
Benin
Capital Porto-Novo (official); Cotonou (seat of government)
112,622 km² · 14,814,460 people (2025) · West African CFA franc
A narrow strip roughly 700 km from north to south with only about 120 km of Atlantic coast. Lake Nokoué carries Ganvié, a village of stilt houses built out over the water and reached only by boat.
The facts
- Capital
- Porto-Novo (official); Cotonou (seat of government)
- Largest city
- Cotonou
- Area
- 112,622 km² — 43,484 sq mi
- Population
- 14,814,460 (2025)
- Density
- 131.5 people per km²
- Currency
- West African CFA franc (XOF, Fr)
- Official language
- French
- Time zone
- UTC+01:00
- Calling code
- +229
- Drives on the
- right
- ISO codes
- BJ · BEN
- Continent
- Africa
How it compares
- By area
- 101 of 200
- By population
- 76 of 200
Population is the only figure on this page that dates — it is a 2025 estimate and will drift. Area, capital, currency, languages, calling code and driving side change rarely or never.
Countries of a similar size
| Country | Area (km²) | Population |
|---|---|---|
| Malawi | 118,484 | 22,216,120 |
| Eritrea | 117,600 | 3,607,003 |
| Benin ← | 112,622 | 14,814,460 |
| Honduras | 112,090 | 11,005,850 |
| Liberia | 111,369 | 5,731,206 |
Common questions
- What is the capital of Benin?
- Porto-Novo (official); Cotonou (seat of government)
- What currency does Benin use?
- The West African CFA franc (XOF).
- How big is Benin?
- 112,622 km², or 43,484 square miles — 101 of 200 by area.
- Which side of the road does Benin drive on?
- The right.
Related pages
Sources
- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (Public domain (US Government))
- World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (CC BY 4.0)