dstuffs, beverages, tobacco, petroleum products, intermediate goods,
capital goods, light consumer goods
partners:
France 34%, Netherlands 10%, Japan 7%, Italy 6%, US 4%
External debt:
$1.0 billion (December 1990 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate --0.7% (1988); accounts for 15% of GDP
Electricity:
30,000 kW capacity; 25 million kWh produced, 5 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
textiles, cigarettes, construction materials, beverages, food production,
petroleum
Agriculture:
small farms produce 90% of agricultural output; production is dominated by
food crops - corn, sorghum, cassava, beans, and rice; cash crops include
cotton, palm oil, and peanuts; poultry and livestock output has not kept up
with consumption
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $46 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1,300 million; OPEC
bilateral aid (1979-89), $19 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $101
million
Currency:
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural - francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF)
= 100 centimes
Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 269.01 (January
1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54
(1987)
Fiscal year:
calendar year

:Benin Communications

Railroads:
578 km, all 1.000-meter gauge, single track
Highways:
5,050 km total; 920 km paved, 2,600 laterite, 1,530 km improved earth
Inland waterways:
navigable along small sections, important only locally
Ports:
Cotonou
Civil air:
no major transport aircraft
Airports:
6 total, 5 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over
2,439 m; 4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
fair system of open wire, submarine cable, and radio relay; broadcast
stations - 2 AM, 2 FM, 2 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

:Benin Defense Forces

Branches:
Armed Forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force), National Gendarmerie
Manpower availability:
eligible 15-49, 2,165,515; of the 1,031,738 males 15-49, 528,366 are fit for
military service; of the 1,133,777 females 15-49, 572,603 are fit for
military service; about 55,697 males and 53,786 females reach military age
(18) annually; both sexes are liable for military service
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion -