|
Introduction to Benin
created on:
2001-07-28
Benin is located in West Africa and covers a land area of 112,620 Square kilometers. It is bordered on the North-west by Burkina Faso, on the North-east by Niger, on the East by Nigeria, on the West by Togo and on the South by the Gulf of Guinea. Benin stretches North to South some 672 kilometers and has a 124 kilometers long coastline.
The country can be divided into five natural regions: a coastal area (low and sandy, bounded by lagoons); a plateau zone called "la terre de barre" (made of iron clay cut with marshy dips); a silica clayey plateau with wooded savannah (extending North of Abomey to the foothills of the Atakora hills); a hilly region in the Northwest (the Atakora, with elevation ranging from 500 to 800 metres; Niger plains which are vast fertile silica-clayey areas.
Benin is a country with a population estimated at 6.2 million inhabitants, devided into twenty ethnical groups. About 60% of the population lives on the countryside and their most important existence is agriculture, farming, fishery and forestry.
The official capital of Benin is Porto Novo, originally a Portugese colony, but most of the government functions take place in Cotonou. Cotonou is a large, chaotic city lying at the coast East of Porto Novo. The people are friendly, but there are lots and lots of scooters and the air is filled with smog.
Benin is home of the voodoo, which still has a big influence on the daily life of the people. It is a vibrant country to visit, with fascinating markets, voodoo ceremonies and lagoon villages.
|
|
|
