cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held 18 March 1996 (next to be held NA March 2001)
election results: Mathieu KEREKOU elected president; percent of
vote--Mathieu KEREKOU 52.49%, Nicephore SOGLO 47.51%

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee
Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to
serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 28 March 1995 (next to be held 28 March 1999)
election results: percent of vote by party--NA; seats by party--PRB
20, PRD 19, FARD-ALAFIA 10, PSD 7, NCC 3, RDL-VIVOTEN 3, PCB 2, AC
1, RDP 1, other 17

Judicial branch: Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle,
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme, High Court of Justice

Political parties and leaders: Alliance for Civic Renewal or ARC
Sylvain AKINDES]; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD and
KINA]; Liberal Democrats' Rally for National Reconstruction-Vivoten
note: as of December 1998, more than 110 political parties were
officially recognized; among them are Benin Renaissance Party or
PRB, Our Common Cause or NCC, Cameleon Alliance or AC, Rally for
Democracy and Pan-Africanism or RDP

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA,
ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO
(subscriber), ITU, MINURCA, MIPONUH, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Lucien Edgar TONOUKOUIN
chancery: 2737 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert C. FELDER
embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou
mailing address: B. P. 2012, Cotonou

Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and
red with a vertical green band on the hoist side

Economy

Economy--overview: The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and
dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and
regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged a sound 4% in
1990-95 and 5% in 1996-98. Rapid population growth has offset much
of this growth in output. Inflation has subsided over the past three
years. Commercial and transport acti