Africa · Western Africa
Benin
Royal Palaces of Abomey · Photo: Joachim Huber · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Capital
- Porto-Novo
- Currency
- XOF
- West African Franc
- Local time
- West Africa TimeUTC+01:00
- Calling code
- +229
- Driving
- On the right
- Plugs
- Type C and E
Facts
Benin in figures
- Capital
- Porto-Novo
- Currency
- West African Franc XOFToday's indicative rate: XOF 100 ≈ USD 0.171Indicative, from the day's reference rates; a bank or card will charge its own.
- Languages
- Official: FrenchSpoken: French
- Time zones
- West Africa TimeUTC+01:00
- Calling code
- +229
- Driving
- On the right
- Plugs
- Type C and E220 V · 50 HzAs recorded in Wikidata.
- Emergency numbers
- 112ambulance117police118fireAs recorded in Wikidata. Check them locally on arrival; they are not the only safety information you need.
- Population
- 14,814,460 (2025, World Bank)
- Area
- 112,620 km²
- Internet domain
- .bj
- Land borders
- Burkina FasoNigerNigeriaTogo
When to go
Climate across Benin
- Mild to warm and dry
- Mild to warm, humid or showery
- Hot
- Cool
- Wet
- Cold
Mean daily highs, modelled for an area about 50 km across: NASA POWER climatology, 2001–2020. A cell's swatch says what the month is like (key above).
On the map
Where Benin is
The dashed box is the extent of the country's main landmass, from Natural Earth; outlying islands fall outside it. The dots are the cities with pages of their own.
Land borders
Cities
Cities in Benin
Airports
Airports in Benin
Large airports
Visas and entry
Visas and entry
Entry rules depend on your passport and change often, so this page does not state them. Check the destination government's official immigration website, or ask our visa desk to check your case for you.
Plan it
Plan a trip to Benin
Tell us where in Benin, when and who is travelling, and a person puts the flights, the stays and the rest into one quote.