Benin Weather and Climate

According to COUNTRYAAH, Benin is a State of West Africa (114,763 km²). Capital: Porto-Novo. Administrative division: departments (12). Population: 8,935,000 (2009 estimate). Language: French (official), baatonu, dendi, fongbé, gengné, yoruba. Religion: animists / traditional beliefs 30.2%, Catholics 27.1%, Muslims 24.4%, atheists 6.5%, Protestants 5.4%, others 6.4%. Monetary unit: CFA franc (100 cents). Human Development Index: 0.492 (161st place). Borders: Burkina Faso and Niger (N), Nigeria (E), Atlantic Ocean (Gulf of Guinea) (S), Togo (W). Member of: CEDEAO, OCI, UN, AU and WTO, EU associate.

Benin is a republic. Under the Constitution approved in 1990, which replaces the 1977 one, the president is elected by direct suffrage for 5 years, while the members of Parliament are elected every 4 years. The country’s judicial system is based on French law and local customs. The Supreme Court, which is based in Cotonou, represents the highest instance of judgment, while Courts of Magistrates, which act as courts of first instance, are distributed in each province. The death penalty is in force, but executions have not taken place since 1987. In addition to the armed forces, divided into three traditional weapons, the country is also home to the gendarmerie, a paramilitary organization that works to maintain internal security. Military service is carried out on a selective basis and lasts for 18 months. The organization of education in Benin was organized for years according to a model that borrowed its fundamental characteristics from the French school system while adapting to the social and cultural conditions of a West African country. Since 1975 the state has acquired control of the whole educational apparatus and established that education must be free, compulsory and secular. Primary education starts at 6 years and lasts 6 years, secondary education lasts 7 years and is divided into two cycles of 4 and 3 years respectively. Despite this, the level of illiteracy continues to remain at quite high levels: in 2010 it was around 59.2%. In Cotonou there is a university that opened in 1970.

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Temperatures, precipitation, sunshine in Cotonou (Benin)

Temperatures

The annual average temperature in Cotonou is 27.2 ° C. For comparison: Munich reaches an average of 8.6 ° C, in Berlin it is 9.6 ° C. The warmest month is March (28.9 ° C), coldest month of August, with mean values of 25.6 ° C. The maximum water temperature in Cotonou is 29 ° C. Comfortable bathing is possible at these temperatures. All months have a water temperature of at least 21 ° C and are therefore suitable for a beach holiday.

Precipitation

The annual precipitation is 1309 mm on 73 days with precipitation. For comparison: In Munich, 967 mm, in Berlin 570 mm, precipitation is measured annually. The months of May and June are considered the rainy season, as more than 175 mm of precipitation can be expected per month. Overall, around 553 mm of precipitation can be expected in the rainy season. You cannot expect snow in any month in Cotonou.

Sunshine

As our climate table shows, November is the sunniest month with an average of 8.1 hours of sunshine per day. The average annual sunshine is 6.4 hours per day. For comparison: In Munich and Berlin, the sun shines an average of 4.7 hours per day throughout the year.

Cities nearby

The following larger towns are nearby and have a similar climate: Porto-Novo.