Benin
General Facts
Area: 114,763 km2 (44,310 sq miles)
Capital City: Porto-Novo
Population: 10,872,298 (2016 estimate)
Official Languages: French
Boarding Countries: Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria
Coastline: 121 km (75 miles)
Currency: West African CFA Franc (XOF)
Government: Presidential Constitutional Republic
Climate
South of Savalou, especially in the west, the climate is typically equatorial—hot and humid, with a long dry season from December to March, in which the dry harmattan blows in a northeasterly to southwesterly direction. Temperatures range between 22°c (72°f) and 35°c (95°f), with the average 27°c (81°f). The great rains fall from March to July; there is a short dry season from July to September and a short wet season from mid-September to mid-November. In the southwest, average rainfall is considerably lower and the dry season longer. Northern Benin has only one wet season (May to September, with most rain in August) and a hot dry season in which the harmattan blows for three or four months. Temperatures range from a maximum of 40°c (104°f) in January to a minimum of 13°c (56°f) in June.
Five Largest Cities/Towns:
1. Cotonou (780,000)
2. Abomey-Calavi (385,755)
3. Djougou (237,040)
4. Porto-Novo (234,168)
5. Parakou (163,753)
