Geography
Egret roost
Malanville, north Benin
Sudan-Guinea Savanna
Photo: Agnès Gianotti
Benin is a relatively small country of 112,000 km2 running in a long strip (with an excellent road) of just over 800 km from the Atlantic coast to the border with Niger in the far north. The narrow coastal strip of some 100 km stretches from the Togolese border to the frontier with Nigeria. The south is the most populated area, with 213 inhabitants per km2, the north is the most expansive, but very thinly populated with as few as 9.6 inhabitants per km2 north of 10° in the Borgou and Atakora Departments. The country has a population of just over 6 million. French is the official language and up to 40 African languages are spoken, the most important being Fon, which is spoken in the south and Dendi a vehicular language of the north. English is fairly widely spoken because of the proximity of Nigeria.
Climate
There are two different climatic zones - southern and northern. In the south one finds an equatorial type of climate with four seasons, two wet and two dry. The major rainy season runs from mid-March to mid-July. This is followed by the shorter dry season which lasts to mid-September, to be followed by a shorter rainy season lasting until mid-November. The principal dry season lasts until the rains begin again in March. The amount of rain increases toward the east. Grand-Popo receives only about 800 mm a year, whereas Cotonou and Porto-Novo both receive approximately 1,300 mm. Temperatures vary between 22°C and 34°C with high seasonal humidity.
In the north there are only two seasons, one dry and one rainy. The first rains come in late April or early May and last until the beginning of October, with most of the rainfall occurring in August and September. Rainfall amounts to about 1,300 mm a year in the Atakora Mountains while further north this falls to about 1,000 mm. The harmattan, a hot, dry northern wind starts as early as November and continues into January. Nights can be pleasantly cool at this time but still the temperatures rarely fall below 16°C . Temperatures average about 27°C , but the temperature range varies considerably from day to night. In March, the hottest month, diurnal temperatures may rise to 43°C .
There are five natural regions in Benin. The coastal region is low, flat, sandy, and marshy. It is really a long sandbar trapping the marsh with outlets only at Grand Popo and Cotonou. Behind the coastal region extends the barre region, including the Lama Marsh, an extended swampy area stretching from Abomey to Allada. The landscape here is generally flat. Here one also find zones of remnant forest which have recently revealed some interesting first records. The Benin plateaux, four in number, are to be found in the environs of Abomey, Kétou, Aplahoué, and Zagnanado. Severe population pressure has led to serious degradation of habitat here due to cultivation. The Atakora mountains in the north-west of the country are part of the Togo Mountains to the south. They stretch south-west to north-east and reach an altitude of 641 metres at their highest point. To the east of this one finds the vast range of Guinea savanna which makes up the biggest part of the country. The Niger plains, in the north-east of Benin, slope down to the Niger River valley.
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