Benin

Benin

Q1: Economy of Benin

Benin's economy remains underdeveloped and on dependent subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged around 4% in The past three years, ?o rapid population growth has offset much increase c?a?o?o this. Inflation has subsided over The past several years. In order to increase the growth, Benin plans to attract more foreign investment, place more emphasis on tourism, facilitate The development of new food processing systems and agricultural products, and encourage new information and communication technology. Specific projects to improve The business climate ?o reforms to The land tenure system, The commercial justice system, $ 307 million and The financial sector were included in Benin ? Millennium Challenge Account grant signed in February 2006.

Since The transition to a democratic government in 1990, Benin has undergone a remarkable economic recovery. A large injection c?a?o?o external investment from both private and public sources has alleviated the economic difficulties during the 1990-? ?o?o? early caused ?o global recession and persistently low commodity prices (although The latter continues to affect The economy). The manufacturing sector ?a?a????a??? confined to some light industry, which ?a?a????a??? mainly involved in processing primary products and The production c?a?o?o consumer goods. Benin ?a?a????a??? dependent on imported electricity, mostly Ghana from, which currently accounts for a significant proportion. As far as the imports are concerned, Benin has several initiatives to attract foreign capital to build electricity generation facilities in Benin in order this to break dependency. The service sector has grown quickly, stimulated ?o economic liberalization and fiscal reform. Membership of the CFA franc zone offers reasonable currency stability. Benin ? trading partners include Germany, Brazil, U.A.E., Spain, The United States, Singapore, India, Netherlands, Japan, and China. Benin also ?a?a????a??? a member c?a?o?o ECOWAS.

• GDP (2009): $ 6,4 billion.

• GDP growth rate (2009): 3,2%.

• Per capita GDP (2009): $ 1500.

• Inflation rate (2009): 4%.

• Natural resources: Small offshore oil deposits, unexploited deposits c?a?o?o high quality marble limestone, and timber.

• Agricultural: Products - corn, sorghum, cassava, tapioca, yams, beans, rice, cotton, palm oil, cocoa, peanuts, poultry, and livestock. Arable land - 13%. Permanent crops 4%, permanent pastures 4%, forests and woodland 31%.

• Business and industry: Textiles, cigarettes, food and beverages, construction materials, petroleum.

• Trade: Exports - $ 1,024 billion: cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood. Imports - $ 1,54 billion: foodstuffs, tobacco, petroleum products, energy, and capital goods. Major trade partners - ...