---
title: "Benin — capital, area, population and currency"
description: "Benin: capital Porto-Novo (official); Cotonou (seat of government), area 112,622 km², population 14,814,460 (2025), currency West African CFA franc. Languages, time "
url: https://atoneplace.net/country/benin/
site: "At One Place"
---

# 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

- [Malawi](https://atoneplace.net/country/malawi/)
- [Eritrea](https://atoneplace.net/country/eritrea/)
- [Honduras](https://atoneplace.net/country/honduras/)
- [Liberia](https://atoneplace.net/country/liberia/)
- [Nigeria](https://atoneplace.net/country/nigeria/)
- [Ethiopia](https://atoneplace.net/country/ethiopia/)
- [Egypt](https://atoneplace.net/country/egypt/)
- [Democratic Republic of the Congo](https://atoneplace.net/country/democratic-republic-of-the-congo/)
- [Tanzania](https://atoneplace.net/country/tanzania/)
- [South Africa](https://atoneplace.net/country/south-africa/)
- [Kenya](https://atoneplace.net/country/kenya/)
- [Sudan](https://atoneplace.net/country/sudan/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]
- World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (https://data.worldbank.org/) [CC BY 4.0]