Editing Benin (section)

== Demographics ==
{{Pie chart
 | thumb   = right
 | caption = '''Ethnic Groups of Benin (2013 Census)'''
 | label1 = Goun & Fon
 | value1 = 38.4| color2=#36A
 | label2 = Adja & Mina
 | value2 = 15.1| color1=#6A5
 | label3 = Yoruba
 | value3 = 12 | color3=#FF33AC
 | label4 = Bariba
 | value4 = 9.6 | color4=#1A9
 | label5 = Fula
 | value5 = 8.6| color5=#E17720
 | label6 = Ottamari
 | value6 = 6.1 | color6=#F0FF00
 | label7 = Yoa-Lokpa
 | value7 = 4.3 | color7=#64ECDF
 | label8 = Dendi
 | value8 = 2.9 | color8=#F0FF01
 | label9 = Other
 | value9 = 2.8 | color9=#65ECDF
 }}
{{main|Demographics of Benin|Languages of Benin}}
The majority of Benin's 11,485,000 inhabitants live in the south of the country. The [[life expectancy]] is 62 years.<ref name="CIA" /> About 42 African ethnic groups live in this country, including the [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] in the southeast (migrated from Nigeria in the 12th century); the [[Dendi people|Dendi]] in the north-central area (who came from Mali in the 16th century); the [[Bariba people|Bariba]] and the [[Fula people|Fula]] in the northeast; the [[Betammaribe]] and the [[Somba people|Somba]] in the [[Atakora Mountains]]; the [[Fon people|Fon]] in the area around [[Abomey]] in the South Central and the [[Mina people|Mina]], [[Xueda people|Xueda]], and [[Aja people|Aja]] (who came from Togo) on the coast.<ref name="bn" />

The personnel of European embassies and foreign aid missions and of nongovernmental organisations and missionary groups account for a part of the 5,500 European population.<ref name="bn" />

Non-Africans include Europeans, Lebanese people and South Asians.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Benin/Plant-and-animal-life#ref55069|title=Benin - Wildlife, Mangroves, Savannah &#124; Britannica}}</ref>
{{Historical populations|align=none|direction=horizontal
| pop_name=Population{{UN_Population|ref}}
|1950 |2,200,000
|2000 |6,800,000
|{{UN_Population|Year}} |{{#expr:{{formatnum:{{UN_Population|Benin}}|R}} round -5}}
}}
{{Largest cities
| country      = Benin
| stat_ref     = According to the 2013 Census<ref>{{cite web |title=Benin: Departments, Major Cities & Towns – Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information |url=http://citypopulation.de/Benin-Cities.html |website=www.citypopulation.de |access-date=7 December 2021 |archive-date=9 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509011915/http://citypopulation.de/Benin-Cities.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
| list_by_pop  =
| div_name     = Department
| div_link     =

| city_1 = Cotonou
| div_1 = Littoral Department{{!}}Littoral
| pop_1 = 679,012
| img_1 = Vue panoramique quartier cadjéhoun-Cotonou au Bénin 1.jpg

| city_2 = Porto-Novo{{!}}{{nowrap|Porto-Novo}}
| div_2 = Ouémé Department{{!}}Ouémé
| pop_2 = 264,320
| img_2 = Porto-Novo vue.jpg

| city_3 = Parakou
| div_3 = Borgou Department{{!}}Borgou
| pop_3 = 255,478
| img_3 =

| city_4 = Godomey{{!}}{{nowrap|Godomey}}
| div_4 = Atlantique Department{{!}}Atlantique
| pop_4 = 253,262
| img_4 =

| city_5 = Abomey-Calavi
| div_5 = Atlantique Department{{!}}Atlantique
| pop_5 = 117,824

| city_6 = Djougou
| div_6 = Donga Department{{!}}Donga
| pop_6 = 94,773

| city_7 = Bohicon
| div_7 = Zou Department{{!}}Zou
| pop_7 = 93,744

| city_8 = Ekpè
| div_8 = Ouémé Department{{!}}Ouémé
| pop_8 = 75,313

| city_9 = Abomey
| div_9 = Zou Department{{!}}Zou
| pop_9 = 67,885

| city_10 = Nikki, Benin{{!}}Nikki
| div_10 = Borgou Department{{!}}Borgou
| pop_10 = 66,109
}}

=== Religion ===
{{Pie chart
|thumb = right
|caption = Religion in Benin (2020 CIA World Factbook estimate)<ref name="cia.gov">{{Cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/benin/ |title=The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency |website=www.cia.gov |language=en |access-date=20 August 2018 |archive-date=29 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231229152613/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/benin/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
| label1 = Christianity
| value1 = 52.2
| color1 = DodgerBlue
| label2 = [[Islam]]
| value2 = 24.6
| color2 = Green
| label3 = [[Animist]]
| value3 = 17.6
| color3 = Gold
| label4 = Others / None
| value4 = 5.3
| color4 = Yellow
}}
[[File:Benin - batism ceremony in Cotonou.jpg|thumb|A [[Celestial Church of Christ]] baptism in Cotonou. 5% of Benin's population belongs to this [[Christian denomination|denomination]], an [[African Initiated Church]].]]
{{main|Religion in Benin}}

The two main religions in Benin are Christianity, followed mostly in the south and center, and Islam, brought by the [[Songhai Empire]] and [[Hausa people|Hausa]] merchants and followed in [[Alibori Department|Alibori]], [[Borgou Department|Borgou]], and [[Donga Department|Donga]] provinces, as well as among the [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]], who also practice Christianity.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2015-04-02 |title=The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010–2050 |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2015/04/02/religious-projections-2010-2050/ |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |publisher=[[Pew Research Center]] |language=en-US |archive-date=31 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331220434/https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2015/04/02/religious-projections-2010-2050/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2014-04-04 |title=Global Religious Diversity |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2014/04/04/global-religious-diversity/ |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |publisher=Pew Research Center |language=en-US |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328001820/https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2014/04/04/global-religious-diversity/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Some continue to hold [[West African Vodun|Vodun]] and [[Yoruba religion|Orisha]] beliefs and have [[Syncretism|incorporated]] the pantheon of Vodun and Orisha into Christianity. [[Ahmadiyya]], a sect of Islam originating in the 19th century, also has a presence in the country.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/benin/|title=Benin|accessdate=6 March 2024|archive-date=31 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031131318/https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/benin/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the 2013 census, 48.5% of the population of Benin were Christian (25.5% [[Roman Catholic]], 6.7% [[Celestial Church of Christ]], 3.4% [[Methodist]], and 12.9% other Christian denominations), 27.7% were [[Muslim]], 11.6% practiced [[Vodun]], 2.6% practiced other local traditional religions, 2.6% practiced other religions, and 5.8% claimed no religious affiliation.<ref name="insae-bj.org"/><ref name="report">[https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90082.htm International Religious Freedom Report 2007: Benin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190729171032/https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90082.htm |date=29 July 2019 }} . United States [[Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor]] (14 September 2007). ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the [[public domain]].''</ref> A government survey conducted by the [[Demographic and Health Surveys]] Program in 2011–2012 indicated that followers of Christianity comprised 57.5% of the population (with Catholics making up 33.9%, Methodists 3.0%, Celestials 6.2% and other Christians 14.5%), while Muslims were 22.8%.<ref name="DHS 2011-12">{{cite web |url=https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR270/FR270.pdf |title=Enquête Démographique et de Santé (EDSB-IV) 2011–2012 |publisher=Ministère du Développement, de l'Analyse Économique et de la Prospective Institut National de la Statistique et de l'Analyse Économique (INSAE) |page=39 |language=fr |access-date=20 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623015547/http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/fr270/fr270.pdf |archive-date=23 June 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

According to the most recent (2020) estimate, the population of Benin was 52.2% Christian, 24.6% Muslim, 17.9% animist, and 5.3% followed other faiths or had no religion.<ref name="cia.gov"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Benin |url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/benin/ |access-date=11 November 2022 |newspaper=United States Department of State |language=en-US |archive-date=19 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221019190242/https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/benin/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Traditional religions include local animistic religions in the [[Atakora Department|Atakora]] region and [[Vodun]] and [[Orisha]] veneration among the Yoruba and Tado peoples in the center and south of the nation. The town of [[Ouidah]] on the central coast is the spiritual center of Beninese Vodun or Voodoo.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Off the Grid – Ouidah, Benin – Archaeology Magazine – September/October 2018 |url=https://archaeology.org/issues/september-october-2018/off-the-grid/trenches-benin-ouidah/ |access-date=2024-06-23 |website=Archaeology Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Education===
[[File:BEN 2001-007-S20.jpg|thumb|Students]]
{{main|Education in Benin}}
The [[literacy]] rate in 2015 was estimated to be 38.4% (49.9% for males and 27.3% for females).<ref name="CIA" /> Benin has achieved universal primary education and half of the children (54%) were enrolled in secondary education in 2013, according to the [[UNESCO Institute for Statistics]].

While at a time the education system was not free,<ref name="ilab">{{cite web |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2000/af/861.htm |title=Benin |date=23 February 2001 |publisher=U. S. Department of State |work=Country Reports on Human Rights Practices |access-date=17 September 2010 |archive-date=5 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605135649/https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2000/af/861.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> Benin has abolished school fees and is carrying out the recommendations of its 2007 Educational Forum.<ref name="UnescoBenin">{{cite web |url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/worldwide/africa/benin/ |title=Benin |publisher=U. N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization |access-date=17 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100913193731/http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/worldwide/africa/benin/ |archive-date=13 September 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> The government has devoted more than 4% of GDP to education since 2009. In 2015, public expenditure on education (all levels) amounted to 4.4% of GDP, according to the [[UNESCO Institute for Statistics]]. Within this expenditure, Benin devoted a share to tertiary education: 0.97% of GDP.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002354/235406e.pdf |title=West Africa. In: UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030 |last1=Essegbey |first1=George |last2=Diaby |first2=Nouhou |last3=Konté |first3=Almamy |publisher=UNESCO |year=2015 |isbn=978-92-3-100129-1 |location=Paris |pages=471–497 |access-date=12 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630025557/http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002354/235406e.pdf |archive-date=30 June 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Between 2009 and 2011, the share of people enrolled at university rose from 10% to 12% of the 18''–''25-year age cohort. Student enrollment in tertiary education more than doubled between 2006 and 2011 from 50,225 to 110,181. These statistics encompass not only bachelor's, master's, and PhD programmes but also students enrolled in nondegree post-secondary diplomas.<ref name=":0" />

=== Health ===
{{main|Health in Benin}}
{{see also|HIV/AIDS in Benin}}
The [[HIV/AIDS]] rate in Benin was estimated in 2013 at 1.13% of adults aged 15–49 years.<ref name=CIA3>{{cite web |title=HIV/AIDS—Adult Prevalence Rate |work=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2155rank.html |access-date=16 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141221190412/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2155rank.html |archive-date=21 December 2014}}</ref> [[Malaria]] is a problem in Benin, being a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children younger than 5 years.<ref name=Malaria>{{cite web |title=Malaria in Benin |website=malaria.com |date=24 February 2011 |url=http://www.malaria.com/featured/malaria-beni |access-date=16 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122100605/http://www.malaria.com/featured/malaria-beni |archive-date=22 January 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

During the 1980s, less than 30% of the country's population had access to primary healthcare services. Benin's [[infant mortality rate]] stood at 203 deaths for every {{gaps|1|000}} live births. One in three mothers had access to child health care services. The [[Bamako Initiative]] changed that by introducing community-based healthcare reform, resulting in a "more efficient and equitable" provision of services.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/inf-new/child6.htm |title=Bamako Initiative revitalizes primary health care in Benin |publisher=WHO.int |access-date=28 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070106133809/http://www.who.int/inf-new/child6.htm |archive-date=6 January 2007}}</ref> {{As of|2015}}, Benin had the 26th highest rate of [[maternal mortality]] in the world.<ref name=CIA2>{{cite web |title=Maternal Mortality Rate |work=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2223rank.html |access-date=16 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418113820/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2223rank.html |archive-date=18 April 2015}}</ref> According to a 2013 UNICEF report, 13% of women had undergone [[female genital mutilation]].<ref name=UNICEF2013p27>{{cite report |url=http://www.unicef.org/media/files/FGCM_Lo_res.pdf |title=Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A statistical overview and exploration of the dynamics of change |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405083031/http://www.unicef.org/media/files/FGCM_Lo_res.pdf |archive-date=5 April 2015 |publisher=[[United Nations Children's Fund]] (UNICEF) |date=July 2013 |isbn=978-92-806-4703-7 |page=27}}</ref> An approach strategy was extended to all areas of healthcare, with subsequent improvement in the health care indicators and improvement in health care efficiency and cost.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Implementation of the Bamako Initiative: strategies in Benin and Guinea |pmid=10173105 |doi=10.1002/(SICI)1099-1751(199706)12:1+<S29::AID-HPM465>3.0.CO;2-U |volume=12 Suppl 1 |year=1997 |journal=Int J Health Plann Manage |pages=S29-47 |last1=Knippenberg |first1=R |last2=Alihonou |first2=E |last3=Soucat |first3=A |last4=Oyegbite |first4=K |last5=Calivis |first5=M |last6=Hopwood |first6=I |last7=Niimi |first7=R |last8=Diallo |first8=MP |last9=Conde |first9=M |last10=Ofosu-Amaah |first10=S |issue=S1}}</ref> [[Demographic and Health Surveys]] has surveyed the issue in Benin since 1996.<ref name="Benin Surveys">{{cite web |title=Benin |website=The DHS Program |publisher=[[USAID]] |url=https://dhsprogram.com/Countries/Country-Main.cfm?ctry_id=52 |access-date=27 August 2022 |archive-date=27 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220827151035/https://dhsprogram.com/Countries/Country-Main.cfm?ctry_id=52 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=August 2022|reason=Just because the surveys published online are from 1996 doesn't mean that's when surveys started. DHS has run since 1984, and digitization is hard. Also, surely there's a better way to report DHS in the article than to merely say surveys exist.}}
In the 2024 Global Hunger Index, Benin ranks 99th out of 127 countries.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=Global Hunger Index Scores by 2024 GHI Rank |url=https://www.globalhungerindex.org/ranking.html |access-date=2024-12-11 |work=Global Hunger Index}}</ref>