ECONDEX

Economic and development data for every country, explained with the numbers checked.

Benin

Sub-Saharan Africa. Lower middle income. Capital: Porto-Novo. Population 14,814,460 (2025).

Key trends

GDP per person (PPP) (constant international $)
2,336 3,208 4,080 1995 2025 4,116
GDP growth (%)
1.8 4.9 7.9 1995 2025 8.1
Inflation, consumer prices (% annual)
−0.5 6.8 14.2 1995 2025 1.1
Life expectancy at birth (years)
55.5 58.2 60.8 1995 2024 61.0

Indicators

Each country reports for different years, so check the year beside every figure. Rank 1 is the highest value among countries with recent data.

Economy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
GDP per person (PPP)constant international $ 4,116 2025 +798 +1,164 168 of 199
GDP growth% 8.1% 2025 +4.2 pp +6.3 pp 11 of 209
GDP per person growth% 5.5% 2025 +4.4 pp +6.7 pp 23 of 209
GNI per person (Atlas method)current US$ 1,600 2025 +410 +500 171 of 201
Trade% of GDP 37.1% 2025 −7.7 pp −19.6 pp 167 of 183
Foreign direct investment, net inflows% of GDP 2.0% 2025 +0.9 pp +0.6 pp 103 of 195

Prices and jobs

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Inflation, consumer prices% annual 1.1% 2025 −1.9 pp +0.9 pp 142 of 180
Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate)% of labour force 1.6% 2025 +0.1 pp −0.3 pp 174 of 186

People and health

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Populationpeople 14,814,460 2025 +1,744,291 +3,453,779 75 of 217
Population growth% annual 2.4% 2025 −0.3 pp −0.6 pp 27 of 217
Urban population% of total 53.4% 2025 +3.9 pp +7.4 pp 147 of 217
Life expectancy at birthyears 61.0 2024 +1.1 +2.0 209 of 217
Infant mortalityper 1,000 live births 45.2 2024 −6.6 −13.2 17 of 196
Health spending% of GDP 3.3% 2023 −0.1 pp +0.5 pp 172 of 193

Education

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Adult literacy rate% of people aged 15+ 51.4% 2022 +12.5 pp +6.3 pp 80 of 86
Government spending on education% of GDP 3.2% 2023 +0.3 pp −0.1 pp 121 of 171

Access and infrastructure

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Internet users% of population 34.0% 2024 +13.5 pp +28.0 pp 162 of 185
Access to electricity% of population 59.0% 2024 +19.0 pp +24.9 pp 189 of 215

Inequality and poverty

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Gini index (inequality)index, 0 to 100 34.4 2021 * −13.2 −9.0 –
Poverty headcount ratio% of population, at the World Bank international poverty line 27.2% 2021 * −38.6 pp −41.2 pp –

Environment and energy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Renewable energy% of final energy consumption 54.5% 2021 +9.1 pp +5.8 pp 44 of 212

* Latest figure is too old to be included in rankings or peer medians.

Advanced metrics

Indicator Own history Versus peers (latest) Growth and catch-up
10-yr meanZ-score Income group medianRegion medianVolatility (σ) 10-yr CAGR% of high-income median10 yrs earlier
GDP per person (PPP) 3,339 +2.4 6,095 3,781 326 +3.4% 8% 7%
GDP growth 5.5% +1.3 4.3% 4.6% 1.9 – – –
GDP per person growth 2.7% +1.4 2.7% 2.5% 2.0 – – –
GNI per person (Atlas method) 1,210 +2.7 2,750 1,355 147 +3.8% 4% 4%
Trade 52.5% −1.8 69.0% 59.9% 8.8 – – –
Foreign direct investment, net inflows 1.6% +0.8 1.9% 2.0% 0.4 – – –
Inflation, consumer prices 1.1% 0.0 3.6% 3.5% 1.2 – – –
Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate) 1.6% −0.2 5.1% 5.4% 0.2 – – –
Population 12,902,525 +1.8 12,348,573 14,957,094 1,043,049 +2.7% 506% 432%
Population growth 2.7% −1.7 1.7% 2.3% 0.2 – – –
Urban population 49.1% +1.9 50.9% 44.9% 2.2 – – –
Life expectancy at birth 59.8 +2.1 67.9 64.3 0.6 – – –
Infant mortality 52.4 −1.8 28.7 37.2 4.0 – – –
Health spending 3.1% +0.7 4.5% 4.4% 0.4 – – –
Government spending on education 3.1% +0.6 4.0% 3.3% 0.2 – – –
Internet users 20.3% +1.6 57.9% 36.8% 8.4 – – –
Access to electricity 41.1% +2.0 88.7% 57.8% 9.1 – – –
Renewable energy 47.9% +2.4 42.5% 70.6% 2.8 – – –

Compare Benin with other countries