Benin

Benin is a country in West Africa bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west and Niger to the north-east, with a southern coastline on the Gulf of Guinea. The capital is Porto-Novo, though Cotonou serves as the country's economic hub and largest city. Benin has a population of about 13-million people and an economy that relies heavily on agriculture, particularly cotton production, as well as port services and regional trade. The country's currency is the West African CFA franc, shared with seven other members of the West African Economic and Monetary Union. Benin operates as a presidential republic and has been regarded as one of the more stable democracies in the region since its transition to multiparty politics in the early 1990s. It is a member of the Economic Community of West African States, the African Union and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. The port of Cotonou is a key transit point for goods destined for landlocked neighbours, reinforcing Benin's role as a regional logistics corridor. The economy also benefits from subsistence farming, palm oil production and a growing services sector. Benin was formerly known as Dahomey until 1975 and has a history shaped by the Kingdom of Dahomey, the transatlantic slave trade and French colonial rule, gaining independence in 1960.