Benin
population: Natl annual projection (1 Jul 2025) · indicators as of 2026-09-05 · 5 metros tracked
🗺️ Geography5 metros
Benin metro footprint, shaded by composite tier.
Hover for rank, click to open the metro page. Boundaries derived from Overture Maps administrative divisions; metros without source coverage are omitted.
🏙️ 5 tracked metros
| Metro | State | Tier | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1542 | Cotonou▲ Largest | Littoral | 1.6M | 0.8 | Local Metro |
| #2955 | Porto-Novo★ Capital | Ouémé | 564K | 0.2 | Local Metro |
| #3144 | Djougou | Donga | 268K | 0.1 | Local Metro |
| #3153 | Bohicon | Zou | 264K | 0.1 | Local Metro |
| #3163 | Parakou | Borgou | 255K | 0.1 | Local Metro |
📋 At a glance
- Official language
- French
- Currency
- West African CFA franc (XOF)
- Government
- Republic
- Legislature
- National Assembly
- Constitution
- 1990, 2 amendment events since
- Demonym
- Beninese
- Time zone
- UTC+01:00
- Driving side
- Right
- Calling code
- +229
- Internet TLD
- .bj
- ISO 3166
- BJ
- Established
- 1960
- Highest point
- Mont Sokbaro (658 m (2,159 ft))
- National anthem
- L'Aube Nouvelle
Facts via Wikidata.
💹 Economy and developmentLower middle income
Ranks are among sovereign countries with data; ★ marks a top-5% finish. Sources: World Bank Open Data and Our World in Data (UNDP, UN WPP, V-Dem, Global Carbon Budget, Ember, Energy Institute; CC BY 4.0). Each card credits its originating body. Renewable share is of electricity generation, not of primary energy. Each figure is the most recent year available.
Alliances & Organisations3 full memberships
Full memberDashed border = Candidate / ApplicantItalic = Dialogue / Observer
🏛️ Leadership History17 leaders · click to expand
marks a leader associated with atrocities or defiance of law, systemic subversion of democratic institutions, or a criminal conviction. Convictions arising from political persecution, and annulled convictions, are excluded. denotes a monarch. These are editorial designations, applied per entry rather than derived automatically.
Romuald Wadagni✦ Current
2026–PresentPresident
Patrice Talon
2016–2026President
Thomas Boni Yayi
2006–2016President
Mathieu Kérékou
1996–2006President
Nicéphore Soglo
1991–1996President
Mathieu Kérékou
1972–1991President
Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin
1972–1972President
Hubert Maga
1970–1972President
Paul-Émile de Souza
1969–1970President
Émile Derlin Zinsou
1968–1969President
Alphonse Alley
1967–1968President
Christophe Soglo
1965–1967President
Show all 17 leaders
Tahirou Congacou
1965–1965President
Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin
1965–1965President
Sourou-Migan Apithy
1964–1965President
Christophe Soglo
1963–1964President
Hubert Maga
1960–1963President
| Name | Role | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Romuald Wadagni✦ Current | President | 2026–Present |
| Patrice Talon | President | 2016–2026 |
| Thomas Boni Yayi | President | 2006–2016 |
| Mathieu Kérékou | President | 1996–2006 |
| Nicéphore Soglo | President | 1991–1996 |
| Mathieu Kérékou | President | 1972–1991 |
| Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin | President | 1972–1972 |
| Hubert Maga | President | 1970–1972 |
| Paul-Émile de Souza | President | 1969–1970 |
| Émile Derlin Zinsou | President | 1968–1969 |
| Alphonse Alley | President | 1967–1968 |
| Christophe Soglo | President | 1965–1967 |
| Tahirou Congacou | President | 1965–1965 |
| Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin | President | 1965–1965 |
| Sourou-Migan Apithy | President | 1964–1965 |
| Christophe Soglo | President | 1963–1964 |
| Hubert Maga | President | 1960–1963 |
📈 Power over timeThe Power Atlas →
The powerline is the headline share of world power, running from the state’s first ranked year (benchmark estimates with wide error bars before 1816). Latent power is material mass a state could mobilise (population, manpower, heavy industry). Recognised power is what the system actually treats it as (military spending, productive economy, reach, and status such as a Security Council seat or nuclear arsenal). When latent runs above recognised, a power is rising or under-rated; when recognised runs higher, it is punching above its weight or coasting on prestige. Material sub-indices run 1816 through 2016.
⚔️ Conflicts since 19452 interstate wars · click to expand
| Conflict | Years | Against | Combat deaths |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigerian Civil War● | 1967–1970 | — | |
| Akure–Benin War | 1818 | Akure Kingdom | — |
Bold = principal belligerent. Source: Wikipedia, “List of interstate wars since 1945.”
👥 Population over time
Our World in Data population (CC BY): UN WPP 2024 from 1950, Gapminder v7 1800-1949, HYDE 3.3 earlier; today's borders. Figures above are as of 2023, the last year that is estimated rather than forecast. The dashed tail to 2026 is a UN WPP medium-variant projection. It is drawn because the line should reach the present, and drawn differently because it has not happened yet: no rank, peak or share on this page uses it. Before 1950 the series is reconstruction rather than contemporaneous statistics, which is worth knowing when a country’s peak sits back there. The current population shown elsewhere on this page comes from the workbook and is unchanged by this. Note that people and share of world can move in opposite directions. A country can grow steadily and still become a smaller part of humanity, which is what happened to almost every rich country after 1960.
👥 To 2100
The UN’s probabilistic projection for Benin: the median with its 80% and 95% bands, the UN’s own high, low and zero-migration scenarios beside it. Not this site’s model; the site reads it and says what it implies.
Tap or drag across the chart to read any year: the estimate to 2023, then the UN median, its bands and the scenarios.
What drives it
Births, deaths and net migration on the UN medium path, with fertility, life expectancy and median age, every decade from 1950.
Show all 16 decades
Source: United Nations, DESA, Population Division. World Population Prospects 2024. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 IGO. Estimates to 2023; projections 2024 to 2100, medium variant and probabilistic intervals. The UN revises every two years; this is the WPP 2024 revision.
🏆 National Teams
Benin on the international stage. Click a card for the full record.