Benin: flag, capital & map
Get to know Benin, then put your memory to work.
Country facts
- Capital
- Porto-Novo
- Region
- Africa
- Subregion
- Western Africa
- Population (2025, World Bank)
- 14,814,460
- Area
- 112,622 km²
- Languages (REST Countries)
- French
- Currency (CLDR, October 2026)
- West African CFA Franc (XOF)
- Land neighbours
- Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Togo
Porto-Novo is the official capital. Cotonou is the seat of government and the largest city.
Dated population: World Bank; geographic facts: REST Countries; currencies: Unicode CLDR. Sources and dates →
Flag of Benin
The flag of Benin features a green vertical band on its hoist side that takes up about two-fifth the width of the field and two equal horizontal bands of yellow and red adjoining the vertical band.
Where it is
Benin is grouped in Western Africa, within Roam’s Africa region. Its land-border list includes 4 countries in this atlas: Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Togo. The source classifies it as not landlocked.
Benin has a recorded area of 112,622 square kilometres. Among the 16 countries assigned to Western Africa in this dataset, it ranks 10 by area, from largest to smallest. Senegal is immediately above it in that ordering, at 196,722 km². Liberia is immediately below it, at 111,369 km². This comparison uses the source’s area figures and subregions, not a ranking of all territories.
The marker shows the atlas location. Small countries may be too small for an outline at this scale. Map boundaries are illustrative.
People, languages and currency
The World Bank records 14,814,460 people for Benin in 2025. This is the latest non-empty annual observation in Roam’s committed 2020–2025 download, rather than a live population counter. Dividing that population by the source area gives approximately 132 people per square kilometre. This calculated average does not describe how evenly people are distributed.
The language entries in the source are French. They describe the dataset’s listed languages, not every language spoken by residents. The currency listed for this date is West African CFA Franc (XOF). Currency assignments are selected from Unicode CLDR’s date ranges for 23 October 2026; the three-letter codes identify currencies, not countries.
Test yourself
Cover the facts above and work through these five questions. Open each answer when you are ready to check it. You can use this section without JavaScript.
What is the capital of Benin?
Reveal answer
Porto-Novo. Porto-Novo is the official capital. Cotonou is the seat of government and the largest city.
Without looking at the image, how would you describe the flag of Benin?
Reveal answer
The flag of Benin features a green vertical band on its hoist side that takes up about two-fifth the width of the field and two equal horizontal bands of yellow and red adjoining the vertical band.
Which land neighbours of Benin are included in this atlas?
Reveal answer
Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, and Togo. The source classifies Benin as not landlocked.
Which languages does the source list for Benin?
Reveal answer
French. These are the source’s language entries, not a complete inventory of every language spoken in Benin.
Which currency codes are listed for Benin?
Reveal answer
West African CFA Franc (XOF). These assignments use Unicode CLDR’s legal-tender date ranges for 23 October 2026.
Try it from memory
5 questions. Answers and feedback appear after each attempt. This short quiz does not change your daily score or saved progress.