Largest Cities in Benin
Facts about Benin
Official languages: French
Capital: Porto Novo
Area: 112,620 km²
Population: 9.1 million residents
Population density: 80.41 residents per km²
Currency: XOF
Internet TLD: .bj
ISO codes: BJ, BEN, 204
The telephone code for Benin is +229
Benin is a state in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Burkina Faso and Niger to the north, Nigeria to the east and the Gulf of Guinea, more precisely the Bay of Benin, to the south. Until 1975 the country was called Dahomey. The name is in tradition for the historical kingdom of Dahomey. The former Kingdom of Dahomey was a colony of French West Africa until independence in 1960. In 1990, after 17 years of Marxist-Leninist one-party rule, Benin became one of the first African democracies. Since then, the country has been in a slow process of democratization.
Benin is one of the poorest countries in the world. A little more than a third of the almost ten million Beninese live below the poverty line. In rural areas in particular, poverty is particularly high at around 50 percent of the population.
Benin, one of the least developed countries in the world, faces major challenges in the years to come. These include the fight against poverty, the further decentralization of the state structure, administrative reforms, the fight against corruption and crime, the promotion of women in Benin society, the containment of AIDS and the reduction of the high population growth. In addition, there is the rehabilitation of the economy, the strengthening of the administration and an improvement in investment conditions in order to attract more foreign investors.
Against the background of the UN military intervention in Mali and its support also by the Benin government as well as Benin’s participation in the regional fight against the Boko Haram group, it cannot be ruled out that terrorist groups will be active in Benin.
Biggest Cities of Benin by Population
# | City | Population | Latitude | Longitude |
1 | Cotonou, Benin | 780,111 | 6.36536 | 2.41833 |
2 | Abomey-Calavi, Benin | 385,866 | 6.44852 | 2.35566 |
3 | Djougou, Benin | 237,151 | 9.70853 | 1.66598 |
4 | Porto-Novo, Benin | 234,279 | 6.49646 | 2.60359 |
5 | Parakou, Benin | 163,864 | 9.33716 | 2.63031 |
6 | Bohicon, Benin | 125,203 | 7.17826 | 2.0667 |
7 | Kandi, Benin | 109,812 | 11.1342 | 2.93861 |
8 | Lokossa, Benin | 87,082 | 6.63869 | 1.71674 |
9 | Ouidah, Benin | 83,614 | 6.36307 | 2.08506 |
10 | Abomey, Benin | 82,265 | 7.18286 | 1.99119 |
11 | Natitingou, Benin | 81,003 | 10.3042 | 1.37962 |
12 | Save, Benin | 76,081 | 8.03424 | 2.4866 |
13 | Nikki, Benin | 54,120 | 9.94009 | 3.21075 |
14 | Dogbo, Benin | 41,423 | 6.79911 | 1.78073 |
15 | Cove, Benin | 38,677 | 7.22097 | 2.34017 |
16 | Malanville, Benin | 37,228 | 11.8682 | 3.38327 |
17 | Pobe, Benin | 33,094 | 6.98008 | 2.6649 |
18 | Savalou, Benin | 30,298 | 7.92807 | 1.97558 |
19 | Sakete, Benin | 30,222 | 6.73618 | 2.65866 |
20 | Come, Benin | 29,319 | 6.40764 | 1.88198 |
21 | Bembereke, Benin | 24,117 | 10.2283 | 2.66335 |
22 | Bassila, Benin | 23,727 | 9.00814 | 1.6654 |
23 | Banikoara, Benin | 22,598 | 11.2985 | 2.43856 |
24 | Ketou, Benin | 22,452 | 7.36332 | 2.59978 |
25 | Dassa-Zoume, Benin | 21,783 | 7.75 | 2.18333 |
26 | Tchaourou, Benin | 21,082 | 8.88649 | 2.59753 |
27 | Allada, Benin | 20,205 | 6.66547 | 2.15138 |
28 | Aplahoue, Benin | 19,973 | 6.93333 | 1.68333 |
29 | Tanguieta, Benin | 19,944 | 10.6212 | 1.26651 |
30 | Hevie, Benin | 13,561 | 6.41667 | 2.25 |
31 | Beterou, Benin | 13,219 | 9.19916 | 2.25855 |
32 | Grand-Popo, Benin | 9,958 | 6.28036 | 1.82251 |
33 | Guilmaro, Benin | 6,627 | 10.5658 | 1.72444 |
Benin: Porto Novo
The capital of Benin is called Porto Novo. This is Portuguese and means “New Port”. Porto Novo is in the south of the country. Besides her, Cotonou also plays an important role. That’s where the government sits. As a port city, Cotonou is also of great economic importance. With around 800,000 inhabitants, Cotonou is also larger than Porto Novo (270,000 inhabitants) and the largest city in the country.