PARTICIPANT
GUIDE
SUMMARY
I. OVERVIEW OF THE REPUBLIC OF BENIN
A.
Geography
B. Climate
C. Vegetation
D. Population
E. Religions
F. Tourism
G. Political Evolution
H. Institutions of the Republic
of Benin
II.
INTRODUCTORY NOTE ON LCD MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Background
III.
GENERAL INFORMATION
List
of Embassies in Benin
List of BENIN Embassy abroad
List of restaurants
List of Hotels and Guesthouses
I.
OVERVIEW OF THE REPUBLIC OF BENIN
A - GEOGRAPHY
With
its elongated form, Benin, formerly known as Dahomey until
30 November, 1975, is 125 km wide along the coastline
to about 325 km at Tanguieta / Segbana latitude.
Stretching
over 115,672 Sqkm, Benin is bordered in the North by River
Niger, a natural border with the Republic of Niger, in
the North-West by Burkina Faso ; in the West by Togo,
in the East by Nigeria and in the South by the Atlantic
Ocean. This West African Country bordering the Gulf of
Guinea by 125 km, facies the Atlantic Ocean.
The
country is not very hilly, and is essentially made up
of 250m high plains and plateaus progressively sloping,
towards the coast in the southern part. The Atacora mountain
range is located in the North-West region of the country
at a height of 658m, while the low coastal plain, is bordered
by swamps, lakes and lagoons such as NOKOUE Lake and Porto-Novo
lagoon.
Three
main parallel rivers water the Northern and Southern regions
of Benin and open out on the coast before flowing into
the Atlantic Ocean. From East to West, they are named:
Oueme, Couffo and Mono. In the Northern Region, Mekrou,
Alibori and Sota flow from the South to the North before
flowing into River Niger. In the North-West, the Pendjari
springs up in the Atacora, mountains and flows through
TOGO into River Volta in GHANA.
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