Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Benin instead of Republic of the Congo, you would:

Health

be 72.7% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Republic of the Congo, 3.3% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Benin, that number is 0.9% of people as of 2020.

Economy

be 92.8% less likely to be unemployed

In Republic of the Congo, 20.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Benin, that number is 1.4% as of 2023.

make 38.7% less money

Republic of the Congo has a GDP per capita of $6,200 as of 2023, while in Benin, the GDP per capita is $3,800 as of 2023.

Life

have 40.4% more children

In Republic of the Congo, there are approximately 28.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Benin, there are 40.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 85.5% more likely to die during childbirth

In Republic of the Congo, approximately 282.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Benin, 523.0 women do as of 2020.

be 43.2% less likely to be literate

In Republic of the Congo, the literacy rate is 80.6% as of 2021. In Benin, it is 45.8% as of 2021.

be 16.3% more likely to die during infancy

In Republic of the Congo, approximately 47.9 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Benin, on the other hand, 55.8 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 11.7% more likely to have access to electricity

In Republic of the Congo, approximately 51% of people have electricity access (67% in urban areas, and 12% in rural areas) as of 2022. In Benin, that number is 56% of people on average (67% in urban areas, and 18% in rural areas) as of 2022.

be 11.3% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Republic of the Congo, approximately 84% of people have improved drinking water access (98% in urban areas, and 56% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Benin, that number is 75% of people on average (79% in urban areas, and 71% in rural areas) as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 33.3% less on education

Republic of the Congo spends 4.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Benin spends 3.0% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 42.2% less on healthcare

Republic of the Congo spends 4.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Benin, that number is 2.6% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 28.4% less coastline

Republic of the Congo has a total of 169 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 Republic of the Congo? See an in-depth size comparison.

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