# Benin and Togo compared Benin and Togo side by side: 41 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 1 events their chronicles record of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/ben-vs-tgo Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates) Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Formation - Benin: c. 1600 — The Kingdom of Dahomey is founded on the Abomey plateau - Togo: 27 April 1960 — Independence of the Republic of Togo ## Economy | Metric | Benin | Observed | Togo | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $21 B | 2024 | $11 B | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $1,485 | 2024 | $1,119 | 2024 | | GDP growth | 7.5% | 2024 | 6.5% | 2024 | | Inflation | 1.2% | 2024 | 2.9% | 2024 | | Trade openness | 40.6% | 2024 | 61.6% | 2022 | ## Society | Metric | Benin | Observed | Togo | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 14 m | 2024 | 9.5 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 61.0 yrs | 2024 | 62.9 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 52.5% | 2024 | 43.8% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 4.5 | 2024 | 4.1 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | Benin | Observed | Togo | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 50.2 | 2024 | 39.8 | 2024 | | Political stability | 59.0 | 2024 | 52.1 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 47.7 | 2024 | 35.8 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 50.5 | 2024 | 48.4 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 49.9 | 2024 | 46.1 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 43.0 | 2024 | 34.4 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | Benin | Observed | Togo | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 3.3% | 2023 | 6.1% | 2023 | | Physicians | 0.22 | 2023 | 0.08 | 2022 | | Under-5 mortality | 74.7 | 2024 | 56.1 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 44.0% | 2024 | 81.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | 17.7% | 2024 | 20.5% | 2024 | ## Education | Metric | Benin | Observed | Togo | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Adult literacy | 51.4% | 2022 | 72.6% | 2022 | | Education spending | 3.2% | 2023 | 4.1% | 2023 | | Primary enrolment | 108.0% | 2022 | 114.3% | 2024 | | Secondary enrolment | 43.6% | 2022 | 63.4% | 2023 | | Tertiary enrolment | 10.2% | 2022 | 14.9% | 2020 | ## Technology | Metric | Benin | Observed | Togo | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Internet users | 34.0% | 2024 | 39.5% | 2024 | | Mobile subscriptions | 126 | 2024 | 81 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | 30.5% | 2024 | 0.7% | 2024 | | R&D spending | — | — | 0.2% | 2024 | | Researchers (per million) | — | — | 58 | 2024 | ## Geography | Metric | Benin | Observed | Togo | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 112,760 km² | 2023 | 54,390 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 26.5% | 2023 | 22.1% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 41.8% | 2023 | 70.2% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 0.5 | 2024 | 0.3 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 54.5% | 2021 | 75.1% | 2021 | ## Resources | Metric | Benin | Observed | Togo | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 2.3% | 2021 | 7.9% | 2021 | | Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 4.9% | 2021 | | Forest rents | 2.3% | 2021 | 3.0% | 2021 | | Electricity access | 57.0% | 2023 | 59.2% | 2023 | | Phosphate rock | — | — | 1.6 Mt | 2025 | ## Military | Metric | Benin | Observed | Togo | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 0.7% | 2024 | 2.0% | 2024 | | Defense spending | $154 M | 2024 | $195 M | 2024 | | Armed forces | 12,000 | 2020 | 10,000 | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/BEN.md and https://terralore.co/country/TGO.md. ## Entangled histories (1 event) Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources. - c. 15th–17th centuries: **The Ewe exodus from Notsé** — Ewe tradition tells of escape from the walled town of Notsé and the tyranny of King Agokoli, after which the people dispersed westward and southward — a foundational narrative of Ewe identity across Ghana, Togo and Benin. (from the Togo chronicle; sources: Exodus of the Ewe from Notsé; Togo (country overview and history)) ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex - Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/BEN/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/TGO/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "Benin and Togo compared", terralore.co/compare/ben-vs-tgo, retrieved .