Agriculture still plays a central role in the West African country of Benin: cotton and cashew nuts are among the most important export goods. However, productivity is often low.
Trade with its large neighbour Nigeria, which often takes place informally, is of great importance to the economy. The construction and service sectors also play key roles. For example, the government is investing more than 500 million dollars in the port of Cotonou. Road construction and electricity infrastructure are high on the agenda too.
Benin is one of the 13 countries that have joined the G20 Compact with Africa initiative to improve the conditions for private investment. Since entrepreneur Patrice Talon took over as president in 2016, progress has been made in fighting corruption and reducing bureaucracy. The country is also considered relatively safe and secure.
Opportunities for European companies are currently arising, for example, in the construction of modern industrial plants for cotton processing and in large infrastructure projects.
Economy. According to the IMF, the economy grew by 5.8 percent in 2023. For 2024 and the current year, economists assume a growth rate of 6.0 percent respectively. The gross domestic product per capita rose from the equivalent of 676 to 1394 US-Dollars since 2003. Inflation recently stood at 2.0 per cent. National debt has reached around 54 per cent of GDP.
Population. Benin has 14.1 million inhabitants; the population grows with an annual rate of around 2.5 percent. Since 2002, the fertilty rate has fallen from 5.8 to 4.9 children per woman. Life expectancy was at 60 years recently (twenty years ago: 57). 56.5 percent of the population has access to electricity (twenty years ago, it was 24,3 percent).
Governance. On Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index, Benin ranks 70th out of 180. Since 2016, the country gained some ground here: the score rose from 36 to 43 points. This puts Benin at the samel level as countries such as Ghana and Senegal (and one point ahead of China).
Sources and further information:
World Bank: https://data.worldbank.org/country/benin
Africa Business Guide https://www.africa-business-guide.de/de/maerkte/benin
Germany Trade & Invest: https://www.gtai.de/resource/blob/179906/905691a62129d5b295ea3ce2d832f3df/GTAI-Wirtschaftsdaten_Dezember_2024_Benin.pdf
Transparency International: https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2023/index/nga