Sub-Saharan Africa · Lower middle income
Benin: the economy in numbers
Per person: $1,658, or $4,817 at purchasing power parity. Population: 14.8 million (2025).
GDP in 2025, current US dollars: #124 of 204 economies. IMF forecast for 2026: +7.0%.
GDP
Adjusted for US inflation, in 2025 dollars: $2.46 billion in 1960, $24.6 billion in 2025.
GDP per capita
In 2025 dollars: $979 per person in 1960, $1,658 in 2025.
Real GDP growth
Average over 2016–2025: 6.2% a year. Years of falling GDP since 1961: 6 of 65.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Inflation
Consumer prices rose by 66.3% from 2000 to 2025. Highest annual inflation: 38.5% in 1994.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Government debt, % of GDP
Highest since 1998: 61.3% of GDP in 2023. IMF forecast for 2031: 50.3%.
Population
1960: 2.52 million · 2025: 14.8 million.
Unemployment rate
1991: 1.6% · 2025: 1.6%.
Life expectancy at birth
1960: 38.8 years · 2024: 61.0 years.
Exports of goods and services
1960: 6.1% · 2025: 17.1%.
Data by year
Show the year-by-year table
| Year | GDP | GDP per capita | Per capita, PPP | Real growth | Inflation | Gov. debt, % GDP | Population | Unemployment | Life expectancy | Exports, % GDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2031 | 6.7%f | 2.0%f | 50.3%f | |||||||
| 2030 | 6.7%f | 2.0%f | 51.7%f | |||||||
| 2029 | 6.7%f | 2.0%f | 53.1%f | |||||||
| 2028 | 6.8%f | 2.0%f | 54.7%f | |||||||
| 2027 | 6.8%f | 2.0%f | 56.5%f | |||||||
| 2026 | 7.0%f | 0.8%f | 58.1%f | |||||||
| 2025 | $24.6B | $1,658 | $4,817 | 8.1% | 1.1% | 59.3% | 14.8M | 1.6% | 17.1% | |
| 2024 | $21.5B | $1,485 | $4,441 | 7.5% | 1.2% | 60.5% | 14.5M | 1.6% | 61.0 | 18.8% |
| 2023 | $19.7B | $1,394 | $4,133 | 6.4% | 2.7% | 61.3% | 14.1M | 1.6% | 60.8 | 20.0% |
| 2022 | $17.4B | $1,266 | $3,844 | 6.3% | 1.4% | 59.7% | 13.8M | 1.7% | 60.5 | 20.8% |
| 2021 | $17.7B | $1,319 | $3,464 | 7.2% | 1.7% | 55.6% | 13.4M | 1.8% | 59.6 | 20.9% |
| 2020 | $15.7B | $1,200 | $3,245 | 3.8% | 3.0% | 46.1% | 13.1M | 1.5% | 60.2 | 19.9% |
| 2019 | $14.4B | $1,131 | $3,149 | 6.9% | 0.7% | 40.4% | 12.7M | 1.2% | 59.9 | 29.6% |
| 2018 | $14.3B | $1,152 | $2,965 | 6.7% | 0.9% | 40.8% | 12.4M | 1.4% | 59.7 | 27.3% |
| 2017 | $12.7B | $1,055 | $2,886 | 5.7% | 0.0% | 39.4% | 12M | 1.7% | 59.5 | 27.2% |
| 2016 | $11.8B | $1,011 | $2,842 | 3.3% | −0.8% | 35.9% | 11.7M | 1.8% | 59.3 | 27.6% |
| 2015 | $11.4B | $1,002 | $2,725 | 1.8% | 0.2% | 30.9% | 11.4M | 1.9% | 59.1 | 24.7% |
| 2014 | $13.3B | $1,204 | $2,670 | 6.4% | −0.5% | 22.3% | 11M | 2.0% | 59.0 | 31.4% |
| 2013 | $12.5B | $1,169 | $2,512 | 7.2% | 0.4% | 18.5% | 10.7M | 2.2% | 58.9 | 27.6% |
| 2012 | $11.1B | $1,072 | $2,346 | 4.8% | 6.7% | 19.5% | 10.4M | 2.5% | 58.6 | 23.9% |
| 2011 | $10.7B | $1,059 | $2,265 | 3.0% | 2.7% | 21.9% | 10.1M | 2.6% | 58.5 | 20.8% |
| 2010 | $9.54B | $973 | $2,220 | 2.1% | 2.2% | 21.0% | 9.8M | 1.0% | 58.4 | 23.1% |
| 2009 | $9.74B | $1,024 | $2,213 | 2.3% | 0.9% | 18.7% | 9.51M | 0.9% | 58.3 | 19.9% |
| 2008 | $9.79B | $1,061 | $2,215 | 4.9% | 7.9% | 18.3% | 9.23M | 0.9% | 58.1 | 22.1% |
| 2007 | $8.17B | $912 | $2,136 | 6.0% | 1.3% | 14.3% | 8.95M | 0.9% | 58.2 | 22.0% |
| 2006 | $7.03B | $809 | $2,021 | 3.9% | 3.8% | 8.4% | 8.69M | 0.9% | 58.0 | 18.1% |
| 2005 | $6.57B | $779 | $1,946 | 1.7% | 5.4% | 27.0% | 8.43M | 0.9% | 57.7 | 18.5% |
| 2004 | $6.19B | $759 | $1,915 | 4.4% | 0.9% | 21.5% | 8.16M | 0.8% | 57.3 | 18.5% |
| 2003 | $5.35B | $676 | $1,842 | 3.4% | 1.5% | 23.4% | 7.91M | 0.7% | 57.1 | 18.6% |
| 2002 | $4.19B | $546 | $1,800 | 4.6% | 2.5% | 30.8% | 7.68M | 0.7% | 56.9 | 19.7% |
| 2001 | $3.67B | $492 | $1,746 | 5.3% | 4.0% | 38.0% | 7.45M | 0.8% | 56.7 | 19.9% |
| 2000 | $3.52B | $487 | $1,671 | 5.9% | 4.2% | 39.6% | 7.22M | 0.9% | 56.6 | 20.6% |
| 1999 | $3.68B | $525 | $1,592 | 5.3% | 0.3% | 39.4% | 7.0M | 0.9% | 56.3 | 23.0% |
| 1998 | $2.46B | $362 | $1,537 | 4.0% | 5.8% | 53.6% | 6.79M | 1.0% | 56.2 | 27.1% |
| 1997 | $2.27B | $345 | $1,508 | 5.7% | 3.5% | 6.58M | 1.1% | 56.0 | 27.2% | |
| 1996 | $2.36B | $369 | $1,444 | 4.3% | 4.9% | 6.39M | 1.2% | 55.6 | 26.5% | |
| 1995 | $2.17B | $348 | $1,395 | 6.0% | 14.5% | 6.23M | 1.3% | 55.4 | 27.4% | |
| 1994 | $1.6B | $262 | $1,316 | 2.0% | 38.5% | 6.1M | 1.5% | 55.0 | 28.3% | |
| 1993 | $2.27B | $387 | $1,311 | 5.8% | 0.4% | 5.87M | 1.5% | 54.6 | 22.5% | |
| 1992 | $1.7B | $302 | $1,265 | 3.0% | 5.9% | 5.62M | 1.5% | 54.1 | 23.2% | |
| 1991 | $1.99B | $365 | $1,239 | 4.2% | 2.1% | 5.45M | 1.6% | 53.4 | 21.0% | |
| 1990 | $1.96B | $371 | $1,186 | 9.0% | 1.1% | 5.28M | 53.0 | 19.2% | ||
| 1989 | $1.5B | $293 | −2.9% | −0.2% | 5.12M | 52.5 | 13.5% | |||
| 1988 | $1.62B | $326 | 3.4% | 3.4% | 4.97M | 52.0 | 13.8% | |||
| 1987 | $1.56B | $324 | −1.5% | −1.3% | 4.82M | 51.3 | 15.3% | |||
| 1986 | $1.34B | $286 | 2.2% | 0.4% | 4.68M | 50.6 | 16.7% | |||
| 1985 | $1.05B | $230 | 7.5% | 1.2% | 4.54M | 50.0 | 23.7% | |||
| 1984 | $1.05B | $239 | 7.9% | 10.3% | 4.41M | 49.4 | 19.6% | |||
| 1983 | $1.1B | $256 | −4.3% | −6.1% | 4.28M | 48.8 | 13.8% | |||
| 1982 | $1.27B | $305 | 2.2% | 4.1% | 4.16M | 48.5 | 17.8% | |||
| 1981 | $1.29B | $320 | 10.0% | 0.8% | 4.04M | 48.1 | 15.9% | |||
| 1980 | $1.41B | $358 | 6.8% | 9.6% | 3.93M | 47.7 | 15.8% | |||
| 1979 | $1.19B | $311 | 6.5% | 3.82M | 47.4 | 17.5% | ||||
| 1978 | $929M | $250 | 1.3% | 3.72M | 46.9 | 16.5% | ||||
| 1977 | $750M | $207 | 5.0% | 3.62M | 46.5 | 16.2% | ||||
| 1976 | $698M | $198 | 0.9% | 3.53M | 46.0 | 13.0% | ||||
| 1975 | $677M | $196 | −4.9% | 3.45M | 45.4 | 14.5% | ||||
| 1974 | $555M | $165 | 3.3% | 3.36M | 44.9 | 14.3% | ||||
| 1973 | $504M | $154 | 3.7% | 3.28M | 44.4 | 15.7% | ||||
| 1972 | $410M | $128 | 6.4% | 3.21M | 43.9 | 14.4% | ||||
| 1971 | $335M | $107 | −1.5% | 3.13M | 43.4 | 17.8% | ||||
| 1970 | $334M | $109 | 2.1% | 3.07M | 43.0 | 15.2% | ||||
| 1969 | $331M | $110 | 2.9% | 3.0M | 42.6 | 11.8% | ||||
| 1968 | $326M | $111 | 3.8% | 2.93M | 42.2 | 9.3% | ||||
| 1967 | $306M | $107 | 1.1% | 2.87M | 41.8 | 7.7% | ||||
| 1966 | $303M | $108 | 3.6% | 2.81M | 41.3 | 6.8% | ||||
| 1965 | $290M | $105 | 5.3% | 2.76M | 41.0 | 7.3% | ||||
| 1964 | $270M | $100 | 6.7% | 2.7M | 40.5 | 5.1% | ||||
| 1963 | $254M | $96 | 4.7% | 2.65M | 40.1 | 3.8% | ||||
| 1962 | $236M | $91 | −3.4% | 2.6M | 39.6 | 3.5% | ||||
| 1961 | $236M | $92 | 3.1% | 2.56M | 39.2 | 4.6% | ||||
| 1960 | $226M | $90 | 2.52M | 38.8 | 6.1% |
e: IMF estimate; f: IMF forecast. Inflation: IMF data for 1980–1992, World Bank for the other years.
Nearby economies in Sub-Saharan Africa
Nearest by distance between capitals, with GDP per capita.
Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cabo Verde · Cameroon · Central African Republic · Chad · Comoros · Côte d’Ivoire · DR Congo · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Gabon · Gambia · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Lesotho · Liberia · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Mauritius · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Republic of the Congo · Rwanda · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Africa · South Sudan · Sudan · São Tomé and Príncipe · Tanzania · Togo · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe
Rankings
GDP by country · GDP per capita · Real GDP growth · Inflation by country · Government debt to GDP · Stock market to GDP · Population by country · Unemployment by country
Data and methods
- GDP: gross domestic product in current US dollars, converted from the local currency at market exchange rates (World Bank); not adjusted for inflation.
- Purchasing power parity (PPP): GDP per person in international dollars, which buy the same basket of goods and services in every country. It compares living standards across countries in the same year; it is not adjusted for inflation over time.
- In 2025 dollars: the charts can remove US inflation (US consumer price index, annual average) so that dollar amounts from different years compare in today's money. Exchange rate swings still show.
- Growth and inflation: World Bank data (calendar years). Years the World Bank does not cover yet, and the estimates and forecasts, come from the IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026): its forecasts start in 2026, and the years after a country's last actual year are IMF estimates.
- Government debt: gross debt of the general government (central, state and local government and social security funds) as a percentage of GDP, IMF. The World Bank's central government debt is narrower and covers fewer countries.
- Stock market capitalization: the end-of-year value of domestic companies listed on the country's exchanges (World Federation of Exchanges via the World Bank; before 2016, Standard & Poor's), as a percentage of GDP: the “Buffett indicator”. Investment funds are excluded, and so are companies listed only abroad; companies from elsewhere that list on an exchange count for its country (Hong Kong lists many mainland Chinese companies).
- Unemployment: ILO modeled estimates (share of the labor force); comparable across countries, but they may differ from national figures.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)