Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Benin instead of Nigeria, you would:

Health

be 30.8% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Nigeria, 1.3% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Benin, that number is 0.9% of people as of 2020.

live 0.9 years longer

In Nigeria, the average life expectancy is 61 years (60 years for men, 63 years for women) as of 2022. In Benin, that number is 62 years (60 years for men, 64 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

be 52.8% less likely to be unemployed

In Nigeria, 3.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Benin, that number is 1.4% as of 2023.

make 33.3% less money

Nigeria has a GDP per capita of $5,700 as of 2023, while in Benin, the GDP per capita is $3,800 as of 2023.

Life

have 19.2% more children

In Nigeria, there are approximately 33.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Benin, there are 40.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 11.1 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Nigeria, approximately 47.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Benin, 523.0 women do as of 2020.

be 26.1% less likely to be literate

In Nigeria, the literacy rate is 62.0% as of 2018. In Benin, it is 45.8% as of 2021.

Basic Needs

be 38.2% less likely to have internet access

In Nigeria, approximately 55.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Benin, about 34.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 23.5% less on healthcare

Nigeria spends 3.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Benin, that number is 2.6% of GDP as of 2020.

spend 6.0 times more on education

Nigeria spends 0.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2013. Benin spends 3.0% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

Geography

see 85.8% less coastline

Nigeria has a total of 853 km of coastline. In Benin, that number is 121 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Benin: At a glance

Benin is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 110,622 sq km. Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a West African kingdom that rose to prominence in about 1600 and over the next two and half centuries became a regional power, largely based on its slave trade. Coastal areas of Dahomey began to be controlled by the French in the second half of the 19th century; the entire kingdom was conquered by 1894. French Dahomey achieved independence in 1960; it changed its name to the Republic of Benin in 1975. A succession of military governments ended in 1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were alleged. KEREKOU stepped down at the end of his second term in 2006 and was succeeded by Thomas YAYI Boni, a political outsider and independent. YAYI, who won a second five-year term in March 2011, has attempted to stem corruption and has strongly promoted accelerating Benin's economic growth.
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How big is Benin compared to Nigeria? See an in-depth size comparison.

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