Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its population lives on the southern coastline of the Bight of Benin, part of the Gulf of Guinea in the northernmost tropical portion of the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Porto-Novo, and the seat of government is in Cotonou, the most populous city and economic capital. Benin covers an area of 114,763 square kilometres (44,310 sq mi) and its population in 2021 was estimated to be approximately 13 million. It is a small, tropical country. It is one of the least developed, with an economy significantly dependent on agriculture, and is an exporter of palm oil and cotton. Some employment and income arise from subsistence farming.
The History of Benin since the 16th century, for the geographical area included in 1960 in what was then called the Republic of Dahomey before becoming the People's Republic of Benin.
Cotonou is the largest city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area.
UTA Flight 141 was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by Guinean regional airline Union des Transports Africains de Guinée, flying from Conakry to Dubai with stopovers in Benin, Libya and Lebanon. On 25 December 2003, the Boeing 727–223 operating the flight struck a building and crashed into the Bight of Benin while rolling for take off from Cotonou, killing 141 people. The crash of Flight 141 was the deadliest crash in Benin's aviation history.
This is a list of aviation-related events from 2003.
Benin Golf Air was an airline based in Cotonou, Benin. It was established and started operations in 2002 and operated regional flights in West Africa. Its main base was Cadjehoun Airport. Benin Golf Air is on the list of air carriers banned from operating within the European Union. As of July, 2012, it is inactive.
Air Sénégal International was an airline with its head office in Dakar, Senegal. It was a regional carrier operating a scheduled domestic network and regional flights to neighbouring countries. It also operated charter and air taxi flights. Its main base was Dakar-Yoff-Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport.
The African Movement for Development and Progress is a political party in Benin created in 1997. In the legislative elections held on 30 March 2003, the party was part of the Presidential Movement, the alliance of supporters of President Mathieu Kérékou, who had won the 2001 presidential election, and won nine out of 83 seats. The President of MADEP is Séfou Fagbohoun, a wealthy businessman.
The Social Democratic Party is a political party in Benin.
Adrien Houngbédji is a Beninese politician and the leader of the Democratic Renewal Party, one of Benin's main political parties. He was President of the National Assembly of Benin from 1991 to 1995, Prime Minister of Benin from 1996 to 1998, and President of the National Assembly again from 1999 to 2003. Beginning in 1991, he stood repeatedly as a presidential candidate; he placed second in 2006, but was heavily defeated by Yayi Boni in a second round of voting. From 2015 to 2019, he served for a third time as President of the National Assembly.
Ahmed Ben Bella Airport, formally Es-Sénia Airport is an airport located 4.7 nm (8.7 km) south of Oran, in Algeria.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Benin:
Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in Western Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north; its short coastline to the south leads to the Bight of Benin. Its size is just over 110000 km2 with a population of almost 8500000. Its capital is the Yoruba founded city of Porto Novo, but the seat of government is the Fon city of Cotonou. About half the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 per day.
Cameroon Airlines Flight 3701 was an air accident that occurred on 3 December 1995. The Boeing 737-200, registration TJ-CBE, crashed after it lost control near Douala, Cameroon. On its second approach to Douala International Airport power was lost to one engine. The accident killed 71 passengers and crew and five people were injured but survived.
COTAIR - an acronym for Côte Atlantique Inter Régional - was an airline based in Cotonou, Benin. It was established in 2008 and operated scheduled domestic flights in Benin and non-scheduled regional charter flights in West Africa. Its main base was Cotonou Cadjehoun Airport (COO). COTAIR ceased operations on 31 December 2009
Toumaï Air Chad was the national flag carrier airline of Chad. It operated domestic services within Chad as well as scheduled international services to other African nations from its main base at N'Djamena International Airport. International flights appeared to have been operated by primarily South African crews, but there is no recent confirmation of this, and flights were grounded in July 2012 because of safety concerns. Scheduled flights appear to be suspended, but recent reports indicate that Toumaï Air Tchad had resumed limited operations on Hajj charter flights.
Westair Benin is an airline based in Cotonou, Benin. It was established and started operations in November 2002 and operated regional flights in West Africa. Its main base is Cadjehoun Airport. The airline ceased operations in 2015 but was said to be restarting operations as of mid-2016.
Isidore de Souza was a Beninese priest who was Archbishop of Cotonou from 1990 to 1999.
The Benin Air Force is the aerial service branch of the Benin Armed Forces. It was formed in 1960 when Benin gained independence from France as the Dahomey Air Force. The Air Force provides support to the army, primarily through transport and liaison, and presidential transportation. It has relied heavily on donations, initially from France and more recently from Belgium. During the short lived People's Republic of Benin, when it was known as the Benin People's Air Force, Soviet aircraft were acquired to demonstrate the change of political allegiance. The current operational fleet consists of two aircraft.
