8 Billion Lives
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Where you could be born / Africa / Western Africa

Born in Benin

About 1 in 276 people born in 2023 started life in Benin. A boy can expect to live 59 years and a girl 62, up from 34 and 37 in 1950. Most people live in cities, and 69% have basic drinking water.

1 in 276
odds of being born here
478,100 births · Ranked 57th of 230
59 / 62
years of life, boys / girls
Was 34 / 37 in 1950
$2,065
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 167th of 203 · extrapolated
52%
live in a city
The rest live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 25 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 352 in every 1,000 births to 79.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300400195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth59.3 years for boys, 62.2 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 578.6 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year124,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.2World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles52%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV0.7%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year42 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year361 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 5.8 children on average in 1950. Now it is 4.6.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman4.56UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth29.1 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 42 and the poorest fifth 8.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2021
8%Poorest fifth
12%Second
16%Middle
22%Fourth
42%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $2,065 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth42% / 8% (2021)World Bank PIP
Unemployment1.6% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises2.7% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person3.7% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming42% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed80% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment44% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Cotonou, with 679,012 people.

52%
live in cities
57%
have electricity at home
69%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Cotonou679,012
Abomey-Calavi385,755
Porto-Novo264,320
Parakou255,478
Godomè253,262
Languages
Share of people who can use each
French34%
Fon25%
Yoruba7%
French is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Atlantique792,177
Littoral679,012
Borgou506,596
Ouémé449,384
Zou322,634
Atakora276,867
Collines195,029
Donga187,206
Plateau186,351
Alibori184,693

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

All 12 regions
  • Atlantique792,177
  • Littoral679,012
  • Borgou506,596
  • Ouémé449,384
  • Zou322,634
  • Atakora276,867
  • Collines195,029
  • Donga187,206
  • Plateau186,351
  • Alibori184,693
  • Kouffo132,559
  • Mono89,068

People on the move

About 5.0% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Togo.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Nigeria404,468
Ivory Coast75,331
Togo72,863
Residents born abroad2.9% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 5.0% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostNigeria (404,468), Ivory Coast (75,331), Togo (72,863)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $338.5 million a year (2023)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

9% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

9%
of older people receive a pension (2020)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2022)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 2024163Our World in Data, from WHO
Deaths in organized violence161 between 2022 and 2024UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Benin, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Benin

Elsewhere in Africa

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences