Benin

March 11, 2024

Benin

Benin is an emergent U.S. security partner in West Africa, a

region that has seen a wave of military coups, the spillover

of Islamist insurgent violence from the Sahel, and growing

Russian influence. Democratic backsliding under President

Patrice Talon has complicated U.S. engagement, however.

Benin is a focus country under the U.S. Global Fragility Act

(see below). Benin has also offered 2,000 troops to a U.S.backed, Kenyan-led stabilization force planned for Haiti.

Possible issues for Congress include oversight of U.S. aid

and security cooperation amid challenging regional trends.

Politics and Governance

Benin transitioned to multiparty politics in 1990 after

decades of military and one-party rule, leading to a series of

peaceful, competitive elections. President Talon, first

elected in 2016, has instituted a “semi-authoritarian

regime,” however, sidelining the opposition and restricting

freedoms of assembly and the press. New candidacy laws

led to the disqualification of all opposition candidates in the

2019 National Assembly elections. State security forces

dispersed protests and arrested opposition politicians ahead

of the vote. In 2021, Talon won reelection against two littleknown challengers, after the electoral commission

disqualified more prominent candidates. Over 100 people

were arrested during the 2021 elections period, and a

special Court for the Repression of Economic and

Terrorism Infractions later sentenced two opposition leaders

to jail “based on virtually no evidence,” according to the

State Department. Authorities have also arrested journalists

and activists. The U.S.-based organization Freedom House

downgraded Benin from “Free” to “Partly Free” in 2020.

The government has tentatively reopened some space for

the opposition since 2022. Dozens of opposition supporters

were released from jail that year, and opposition parties

won 28 out of 109 seats in 2023 National Assembly

elections. The next presidential election is slated for 2026,

when President Talon will face term limits. Talon has

pledged not to seek reelection. His predecessor Thomas

Boni Yayi floated constitutional changes that could have

paved the way to a third term, but ultimately stepped down.

A member of parliament in Talon’s coalition proposed

amendments in early 2024 to alter the election timeline, but

these did not garner sufficient support to advance.

Security

Benin reported its first Islamist militant attack in 2019,

when two French tourists and their local guide were

kidnapped from a national park. (The French military

rescued the tourists in neighboring Burkina Faso, also

freeing an American and a South Korean hostage.) The

Islamist armed group presence in Benin was previously

“temporary, transitory and often limited in nature,” per one

analysis. Since then, security conditions near Benin’s

northern borders have deteriorated; some 150 violent

incidents were reported in 2023.

Figure I. Benin at a Glance

Source: CIA World Factbook, IMF; 2023 estimates unless noted.

Two U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations are

reportedly active in northern Benin: a regional Al Qaeda

affiliate known as the Group for the Support of Islam and

Muslims (aka JNIM), and the Islamic State (IS) Sahel

affiliate. These Sahel-based groups have reportedly

established a presence in cross-border national parks, where

they allegedly “tax” local commerce and engage in

smuggling, gold trafficking, and other illicit economic

activity. U.N. global terrorism monitors have also relayed

reports that the Islamic State’s Nigeria-based affiliate (ISWest Africa) profits from ivory poaching in Benin. Some

analysts assert that violence in northern Benin is shifting

from a “foreign-based insurgency” to a “nascent civil

conflict,” with JNIM cells increasingly locally embedded.

Ethnic and sectarian divisions may elevate risks of conflict

in the north, where Benin’s Muslim minority population is

concentrated. Some analysts warn that extremists might

leverage grievances among the Peul (Fulani/Fulbe), a

historically pastoralist, mainly Muslim ethnic group present

across West and Central Africa. Tensions over conservation

areas—where restricted access has disrupted local

livelihoods—appear to provide additional opportunities for

extremists, who have reportedly opened areas under their

control to farming, grazing, and small-scale mining.

Benin’s government has expanded military deployments in

the north, engaged in rapid military recruitment, and sought

to procure military equipment from a range of countries

including France, Turkey, China, and Russia. Benin also

has pursued bilateral cooperation with Rwanda, which has

offered to send troops to support counterterrorism. Benin

participates in an African Union-authorized regional

military force to combat Nigeria-based Boko Haram and ISWest Africa. About 250 Beninese troops served in the U.N.

peacekeeping operation in Mali prior to its closure in late

2023; smaller numbers of Beninese personnel continue to

serve in other U.N. missions.

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Benin

Economy and Development Challenges

Benin is Africa’s leading cotton producer, and cotton is its

top export by far, followed by cashews. Benin’s economy

has seen strong growth, expanding by 5.5% in 2023; the

IMF projects 6.3% growth in 2024. Informal trade is

reportedly widespread: Nigeria’s decision in 2023 to end

domestic fuel subsidies reportedly led to a spike in blackmarket fuel prices in Benin. As of early 2024, Benin was

one of seven countries that had signed, but not ratified, the

African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.

(Forty-seven countries have ratified it.)

Benin is among the world’s least developed countries,

ranking 166 out of 191 on the 2022 U.N. Human

Development Index (latest). One in five Beninese live

below the international poverty line and nearly 10% face

food insecurity. Poverty rates are highest in the north,

where access to primary education, clean water, and

sanitation is also limited. Women and girls face large gaps

in literacy and other educational and economic benchmarks.

Women in Benin have among the world’s highest birth and

maternal mortality rates (3rd and 13th, respectively).

Foreign Relations

President Talon has participated in efforts by the Economic

Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to push for

a return to elected civilian rule in four West African states

that have had military coups since 2020 (most recently

Niger, in 2023). ECOWAS initially threatened, but did not

carry out, a military intervention to reverse the coup in

Niger, to which Benin pledged troops. After Niger, Mali,

and Burkina Faso stated plans to leave ECOWAS in early

2024, ECOWAS shifted tack and lifted economic sanctions

on Niger. The sanctions had affected Benin’s economy and

security cooperation with Niger, leading President Talon in

late 2023 to call for relations with Niger to be “quickly

reestablished.” The junta in Niger has reportedly

maintained border restrictions that continue to hamper trade

with Benin. President Talon, jointly with the leaders of

Togo and Sierra Leone, has been designated by ECOWAS

to engage with Niger on a political transition roadmap.

The People’s Republic of China (PRC/China) is a top trade

partner, and PRC entities have financed infrastructure

projects in Benin. Benin signed a cooperation agreement

under China’s Belt and Road Initiative in 2019. President

Talon met with China’s President Xi Jinping in China in

2023, and both pledged to elevate ties to a “strategic

partnership.” Also in 2023, China reportedly agreed to

partially cancel Benin’s debt. A new China National

Petroleum Corporation-operated pipeline, connecting oil

fields in Niger to Benin’s port of Seme, came online in

March 2024. Some surveys indicate that a growing number

of Beninese favor China’s development model over that of

the United States and that the vast majority view China’s

influence as broadly positive.

Benin has longstanding relations with Russia, although it is

not a major Russian partner in Africa. President Talon has

criticized Russia’s actions in Ukraine, while declining to

publicly criticize regional deployments by Russia’s Wagner

Group, a nominally private military company. (Since

Wagner’s official demise in mid-2023, Russian officials

have pledged to continue Africa deployments under more

direct control from Moscow.)

Former colonial ruler France remains a key partner, unlike

in some West African countries. France has increased

counterterrorism support for Benin as juntas in the Sahel

have forced the withdrawal of French troops; the European

Union agreed in 2023 to provide reconnaissance aircraft to

the country. Recent French diplomatic cooperation has

included the return of some artwork and cultural items

looted from Benin during the colonial period.

U.S. Relations and Foreign Assistance

The State Department characterizes U.S.-Benin ties as

“generally excellent,” while noting that “the space for

pluralism, dissent, and free expression narrowed” during

President Talon’s first term. While U.S. officials criticized

the 2019 National Assembly elections and expressed

concern about the 2021 presidential election process, the

U.S. Embassy in Benin welcomed the 2023 National

Assembly elections as “inclusive.”

The State Department and U.S. Agency for International

Development allocated $41 million in bilateral aid to Benin

in FY2022, with $42 million proposed for FY2024. FY2023

data are not yet public. Nearly all bilateral funds support

health programs, including the President’s Malaria

Initiative. In 2023, Benin completed its second Millennium

Challenge Corporation (MCC) aid compact, a five-year

$375 million program to expand access to electricity. In

2022, the MCC signed a concurrent regional compact for

the development of a trade corridor between Benin and

Niger. The MCC allocated $202 million for Benin under the

project, having previously announced that it would

“significantly reduce” planned funds for Benin due to

democratic backsliding. In 2023, the MCC suspended the

Niger portion due to the coup in that country.

The Biden Administration has identified five coastal West

African countries, including Benin, as a focus for assistance

under the Global Fragility Act (GFA, Title V of Division

J, P.L. 116-94), which aims to bolster resilience to security

and governance challenges. The Administration’s GFA plan

for coastal West Africa seeks to “prevent the destabilizing

expansion of terrorism and violent extremism” from the

Sahel, by strengthening social cohesion and enhancing the

responsiveness and accountability of state institutions and

security forces. Planned activities in the region would

support, e.g., conflict mediation, state service delivery,

community radio, journalist training, and youth livelihoods.

Benin receives U.S. security assistance through regional

and global programs, including the State Department-led

Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP) and

the Defense Department’s global train and equip program

under 10 U.S.C. §333. The North Dakota National Guard

has a State Partnership Program with Benin, and Benin has

participated in U.S. military exercises. U.S. special

operations forces personnel have reportedly advised

Beninese military forces on counterterrorism operations.

Following the 2023 coup in Niger, U.S. officials have

reportedly considered relocating U.S. regional intelligence,

surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations from

Niger to Benin and other coastal West African countries.

Alexis Arieff, Specialist in African Affairs

Abigail G. Martin, Research Assistant

IF12609

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Benin

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