Country or area · Western Africa · Africa · UN WPP 2024

Benin population

Benin population now

15,258,225

A projection read at this second, not a count: the UN's totals for 1 January 2026 and 2027, joined by a straight line. 95% range for 31 December 2026: 15.0–15.7 million.

Mid-2023, UN estimate: 14,111,034

Year: 2026; projection · medium
Population, mid-2026: 15.1704 million; 95% range, 31 Dec: 15.0–15.7 million
Median age: 19.2
Aged 65+: 3.2%

Move through time, 1950–2100

2023 | 2024

male female projection · one cell = 5,000 people

How to read this: one row for each age, newborns at the bottom; men on the left, women on the right.

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries

BEN · 1950–2100 · in brief

Benin in numbers

The UN counts 14,111,034 people in Benin in mid-2023, which makes it the 76th-largest population of the 236 countries and areas the UN reports, and 0.17% of the world's people. That is 6.3 times its 1950 population of 2.3 million.

In the UN's medium projection it is still growing in 2100, when it reaches 39.6 million. The projection is uncertain: on 1 January 2100 the UN's 95% range runs from 18.0 million to 82.4 million.

Births outnumber deaths in every year from 1950 to 2100, estimates and projection alike.

The median age was 23.8 in 1950 and 18.8 in 2023; the projection has 33.9 in 2100. 3.1% of people were 65 or older in 2023, against 12.0% projected for 2100. The working-age population (15–64) is still growing in 2100 in the medium projection.

Among countries it ranks 76th in 2023, 69th in 2050 and 54th in 2100. In the medium projection it overtakes Romania in 2034, Guinea in 2035 and the Netherlands in 2037.

Population, mid-2023: 14,111,034
Rank by population, 2023: 76 of 236
Share of the world, 2023: 0.17%
Change in a year, mid-2022 to mid-2023: +2.55% · +351,534 people
People per km² of land, 2023: 125
Land area, 2023: 112,760 km²
Births, 2023: 478,062
Deaths, 2023: 124,132
Net migration, 2023: −192
Children per woman, 2023: 4.56
Median age, 2023: 18.8 years
Life expectancy at birth, 2023: 60.8 years
In a city, 2025: 41 of every 100
Population, mid-1950: 2,250,476
Projected, mid-2050: 24,433,810
Projected, mid-2100: 39,587,568

BEN · 1950–2100 · total population

Population, 1950–2100

estimates | projections020 m40 m60 m80 m100 m1950197520002025205020752100

estimate projection, up to the bottom of the 95% range 95% range medium projection. Each column is the population on 1 January of one year; the paper rules cut it into equal cells.

Show the numbers: Benin, 1950–2100

Benin: population on 1 January, births, deaths, fertility and life expectancy, 1950–2100
Year	Kind	Population, 1 Jan	95% range	Births	Deaths	Children per woman	Life expectancy
1950	estimate	2,242,408		92,031	71,297	5.75	35.4
1951	estimate	2,258,543		93,173	71,040	5.78	35.7
1952	estimate	2,276,073		94,854	70,852	5.83	36.0
1953	estimate	2,295,477		96,677	70,627	5.88	36.3
1954	estimate	2,316,926		98,721	70,401	5.94	36.7
1955	estimate	2,340,638		101,013	70,406	5.99	37.0
1956	estimate	2,366,653		103,497	70,411	6.05	37.3
1957	estimate	2,395,131		106,249	70,367	6.11	37.6
1958	estimate	2,426,409		109,050	70,397	6.17	38.0
1959	estimate	2,460,458		112,042	70,487	6.22	38.4
1960	estimate	2,497,371		115,188	70,626	6.28	38.8
1961	estimate	2,537,201		119,609	70,774	6.40	39.2
1962	estimate	2,581,245		122,713	71,049	6.46	39.6
1963	estimate	2,628,072		125,726	71,212	6.51	40.1
1964	estimate	2,677,744		128,765	71,412	6.57	40.5
1965	estimate	2,730,262		131,635	71,482	6.61	41.0
1966	estimate	2,785,610		134,106	71,937	6.63	41.3
1967	estimate	2,843,024		136,584	71,878	6.64	41.8
1968	estimate	2,902,970		139,318	71,993	6.67	42.2
1969	estimate	2,965,544		142,357	72,199	6.71	42.6
1970	estimate	3,030,901		145,533	72,374	6.74	43.0
1971	estimate	3,099,213		148,785	72,752	6.77	43.4
1972	estimate	3,170,320		152,164	72,750	6.80	43.9
1973	estimate	3,244,765		155,217	72,794	6.81	44.4
1974	estimate	3,322,227		158,651	73,028	6.82	44.9
1975	estimate	3,403,039		162,433	73,084	6.83	45.4
1976	estimate	3,487,775		166,284	73,143	6.83	46.0
1977	estimate	3,576,617		170,409	73,209	6.83	46.5
1978	estimate	3,669,787		174,361	73,601	6.82	46.9
1979	estimate	3,766,822		181,002	74,222	6.91	47.4
1980	estimate	3,870,235		188,100	75,128	6.99	47.8
1981	estimate	3,980,267		194,732	76,100	7.06	48.1
1982	estimate	4,096,347		199,707	76,960	7.05	48.5
1983	estimate	4,216,845		204,084	77,737	7.04	48.8
1984	estimate	4,341,111		209,562	77,971	7.03	49.4
1985	estimate	4,470,678		214,868	78,245	7.00	50.0
1986	estimate	4,605,347		220,177	78,133	6.96	50.6
1987	estimate	4,745,493		225,993	78,207	6.92	51.3
1988	estimate	4,891,480		231,437	77,859	6.87	52.0
1989	estimate	5,043,201		235,534	78,299	6.82	52.5
1990	estimate	5,200,113		241,433	78,376	6.74	53.0
1991	estimate	5,362,845		247,077	78,904	6.67	53.4
1992	estimate	5,531,019		252,376	78,583	6.59	54.1
1993	estimate	5,704,669		258,812	78,952	6.51	54.6
1994	estimate	6,040,743		278,604	81,965	6.42	55.0
1995	estimate	6,152,269		276,157	81,674	6.33	55.4
1996	estimate	6,301,277		279,565	81,922	6.28	55.6
1997	estimate	6,482,438		285,592	82,408	6.23	56.0
1998	estimate	6,684,293		291,993	83,651	6.14	56.1
1999	estimate	6,894,684		297,956	84,880	6.03	56.3
2000	estimate	7,110,952		303,881	85,863	5.94	56.6
2001	estimate	7,332,286		310,446	87,565	5.85	56.6
2002	estimate	7,558,906		318,378	88,903	5.79	56.9
2003	estimate	7,791,947		328,197	90,236	5.76	57.1
2004	estimate	8,034,193		337,207	91,575	5.72	57.4
2005	estimate	8,283,995		346,205	92,407	5.69	57.7
2006	estimate	8,568,292		359,386	94,348	5.67	58.0
2007	estimate	8,818,192		366,762	95,458	5.63	58.3
2008	estimate	9,089,746		372,558	98,317	5.55	58.1
2009	estimate	9,367,186		380,206	100,005	5.49	58.3
2010	estimate	9,651,660		389,643	101,943	5.45	58.4
2011	estimate	9,943,308		400,626	104,280	5.44	58.5
2012	estimate	10,243,939		412,846	106,672	5.43	58.6
2013	estimate	10,551,375		423,880	108,070	5.41	58.9
2014	estimate	10,866,292		433,941	110,185	5.37	59.0
2015	estimate	11,193,715		443,019	112,453	5.32	59.1
2016	estimate	11,527,647		450,993	114,439	5.25	59.3
2017	estimate	11,868,036		455,587	115,824	5.16	59.5
2018	estimate	12,211,524		457,631	117,361	5.03	59.7
2019	estimate	12,555,171		458,619	118,810	4.90	59.9
2020	estimate	12,898,339		461,781	119,849	4.79	60.1
2021	estimate	13,241,999		466,510	125,401	4.71	59.6
2022	estimate	13,584,835		472,635	123,117	4.63	60.5
2023	estimate	13,934,166		478,062	124,132	4.56	60.8
2024	estimate	14,287,903		483,336	125,969	4.48	61.0
2025	projection	14,637,545	14.5–14.8 million	489,564	127,886	4.42	61.1
2026	projection	14,991,374	14.7–15.2 million	494,197	129,783	4.34	61.3
2027	projection	15,349,465	15.0–15.7 million	499,774	131,816	4.27	61.5
2028	projection	15,709,362	15.2–16.1 million	503,256	133,788	4.19	61.7
2029	projection	16,071,198	15.5–16.6 million	509,582	135,933	4.13	61.8
2030	projection	16,436,642	15.7–17.1 million	514,344	138,185	4.05	62.0
2031	projection	16,801,002	15.9–17.6 million	519,480	140,387	3.98	62.1
2032	projection	17,170,859	16.1–18.1 million	523,267	142,695	3.90	62.3
2033	projection	17,543,268	16.4–18.6 million	530,676	145,130	3.85	62.5
2034	projection	17,919,607	16.6–19.1 million	536,855	147,640	3.79	62.6
2035	projection	18,300,218	16.8–19.6 million	544,105	150,246	3.75	62.8
2036	projection	18,685,045	17.0–20.2 million	548,965	152,841	3.68	62.9
2037	projection	19,071,045	17.2–20.8 million	554,195	155,368	3.63	63.1
2038	projection	19,457,954	17.4–21.3 million	558,737	158,006	3.57	63.2
2039	projection	19,852,596	17.5–21.9 million	564,256	160,886	3.52	63.4
2040	projection	20,247,342	17.7–22.5 million	571,123	163,784	3.48	63.5
2041	projection	20,644,177	17.8–23.1 million	574,519	166,623	3.43	63.7
2042	projection	21,042,351	18.0–23.7 million	579,762	169,520	3.39	63.8
2043	projection	21,443,611	18.2–24.3 million	583,846	172,571	3.35	64.0
2044	projection	21,843,663	18.3–24.9 million	587,725	175,545	3.31	64.1
2045	projection	22,241,479	18.5–25.5 million	590,561	178,756	3.26	64.2
2046	projection	22,645,813	18.7–26.2 million	595,176	182,134	3.23	64.3
2047	projection	23,046,579	18.9–26.9 million	596,001	185,375	3.18	64.5
2048	projection	23,443,698	19.1–27.6 million	597,838	188,452	3.14	64.6
2049	projection	23,840,683	19.3–28.3 million	599,181	191,608	3.10	64.7
2050	projection	24,236,532	19.5–28.9 million	599,489	194,830	3.06	64.9
2051	projection	24,631,087	19.6–29.7 million	602,088	198,257	3.03	65.0
2052	projection	25,024,602	19.6–30.4 million	603,728	201,957	2.99	65.1
2053	projection	25,417,106	19.8–31.3 million	606,296	205,495	2.96	65.2
2054	projection	25,803,583	19.9–32.0 million	607,573	208,975	2.93	65.4
2055	projection	26,192,745	20.0–32.6 million	608,425	212,757	2.90	65.5
2056	projection	26,579,505	20.2–33.4 million	609,684	216,455	2.87	65.6
2057	projection	26,957,202	20.2–34.2 million	611,280	220,127	2.84	65.8
2058	projection	27,336,715	20.2–35.0 million	613,329	223,940	2.81	65.9
2059	projection	27,711,464	20.3–35.9 million	614,843	227,950	2.79	66.0
2060	projection	28,086,680	20.4–36.7 million	616,786	231,996	2.76	66.1
2061	projection	28,458,839	20.5–37.6 million	618,893	236,117	2.74	66.3
2062	projection	28,827,565	20.5–38.3 million	620,479	240,189	2.71	66.4
2063	projection	29,196,249	20.4–39.1 million	621,991	244,482	2.69	66.5
2064	projection	29,562,446	20.4–40.0 million	624,744	248,860	2.67	66.6
2065	projection	29,929,706	20.5–41.0 million	627,192	253,477	2.65	66.7
2066	projection	30,293,272	20.5–41.9 million	629,215	258,045	2.63	66.8
2067	projection	30,649,533	20.5–42.8 million	630,642	262,536	2.62	67.0
2068	projection	31,002,446	20.6–43.7 million	632,254	267,176	2.60	67.1
2069	projection	31,352,519	20.6–44.6 million	633,037	271,780	2.58	67.2
2070	projection	31,704,892	20.6–45.6 million	633,880	276,688	2.56	67.3
2071	projection	32,053,674	20.6–46.6 million	634,948	281,289	2.54	67.4
2072	projection	32,394,445	20.5–47.5 million	634,962	285,959	2.52	67.5
2073	projection	32,735,007	20.6–48.4 million	634,794	290,831	2.50	67.6
2074	projection	33,066,216	20.6–49.4 million	633,222	295,602	2.48	67.8
2075	projection	33,392,044	20.5–50.4 million	632,681	300,430	2.46	67.9
2076	projection	33,704,836	20.5–51.6 million	631,949	305,371	2.44	68.0
2077	projection	34,015,833	20.5–52.6 million	631,157	310,180	2.43	68.1
2078	projection	34,322,699	20.4–53.6 million	630,612	315,039	2.41	68.2
2079	projection	34,623,891	20.4–54.8 million	630,270	320,005	2.40	68.3
2080	projection	34,918,740	20.3–56.0 million	629,161	325,224	2.38	68.4
2081	projection	35,207,308	20.1–57.1 million	628,296	330,069	2.37	68.6
2082	projection	35,490,513	20.1–58.3 million	626,256	335,140	2.35	68.7
2083	projection	35,774,179	20.0–59.5 million	624,824	340,232	2.33	68.8
2084	projection	36,046,989	20.0–60.8 million	623,907	345,406	2.32	68.9
2085	projection	36,309,104	19.9–62.1 million	622,554	350,601	2.31	69.0
2086	projection	36,568,855	19.9–63.2 million	621,562	355,676	2.29	69.1
2087	projection	36,818,861	19.7–64.4 million	620,561	360,886	2.28	69.3
2088	projection	37,066,604	19.6–65.7 million	619,553	366,408	2.27	69.3
2089	projection	37,307,255	19.5–67.2 million	618,639	371,710	2.26	69.5
2090	projection	37,541,023	19.4–68.6 million	616,792	377,121	2.24	69.6
2091	projection	37,762,924	19.3–70.0 million	615,194	382,231	2.23	69.7
2092	projection	37,979,520	19.1–71.6 million	613,582	387,228	2.21	69.8
2093	projection	38,192,701	19.1–73.1 million	612,754	392,466	2.20	69.9
2094	projection	38,397,556	18.9–74.3 million	612,170	397,470	2.19	70.0
2095	projection	38,603,097	18.8–75.9 million	611,543	402,206	2.19	70.1
2096	projection	38,798,259	18.7–77.3 million	610,485	406,876	2.18	70.2
2097	projection	38,987,211	18.5–79.0 million	608,559	411,570	2.16	70.3
2098	projection	39,162,406	18.4–80.2 million	607,298	415,710	2.15	70.5
2099	projection	39,337,336	18.2–81.4 million	605,888	420,096	2.15	70.6
2100	projection	39,506,383	18.0–82.4 million	604,119	424,303	2.14	70.7

Show the numbers: Benin, mid-2026, by single year of age

Benin: population by single year of age, mid-2026
Age	Male	Female
0	239,814	231,861
1	233,192	226,242
2	228,334	221,812
3	223,938	217,728
4	219,500	213,539
5	215,332	209,648
6	211,969	206,526
7	209,596	204,322
8	207,628	202,438
9	204,986	199,836
10	201,107	196,026
11	196,326	191,324
12	191,152	186,204
13	185,576	180,700
14	179,544	174,832
15	173,545	169,015
16	168,166	163,732
17	163,474	159,060
18	159,467	155,075
19	155,399	151,046
20	149,934	145,635
21	144,264	140,090
22	139,407	135,500
23	134,480	130,899
24	129,922	126,550
25	126,114	122,860
26	122,702	119,588
27	119,364	116,458
28	115,912	113,234
29	112,410	109,946
30	109,375	107,118
31	107,791	105,730
32	103,755	101,964
33	98,308	96,798
34	95,105	93,808
35	92,038	91,025
36	88,860	88,209
37	85,977	85,695
38	83,190	83,248
39	80,132	80,496
40	77,148	77,780
41	74,286	75,142
42	71,392	72,468
43	68,632	69,922
44	65,942	67,411
45	62,883	64,491
46	59,508	61,258
47	56,196	58,102
48	53,466	55,521
49	51,203	53,400
50	49,025	51,342
51	46,953	49,369
52	44,976	47,476
53	43,123	45,694
54	41,288	43,918
55	39,440	42,118
56	37,643	40,350
57	35,892	38,616
58	34,204	36,942
59	32,588	35,340
60	30,998	33,764
61	29,356	32,144
62	27,661	30,468
63	25,966	28,774
64	24,282	27,078
65	22,490	25,246
66	20,741	23,435
67	19,172	21,799
68	17,677	20,226
69	16,243	18,704
70	14,875	17,243
71	13,582	15,850
72	12,360	14,524
73	11,208	13,272
74	10,119	12,081
75	9,105	10,970
76	8,128	9,884
77	7,310	8,968
78	6,505	8,074
79	5,477	7,372
80	4,639	6,749
81	4,016	5,906
82	3,399	5,058
83	2,820	4,246
84	2,293	3,505
85	1,838	2,858
86	1,450	2,295
87	1,116	1,810
88	839	1,404
89	617	1,074
90	442	808
91	307	594
92	207	428
93	136	302
94	86	207
95	54	138
96	32	88
97	19	55
98	11	34
99	6	20
100+	6	24

BEN · 1950–2100 · every age, every year

Benin, every age in every year

Each column is a year and each row an age; the denser the ink in a cell, the more people. Everyone born in the same year climbs one 45° diagonal, so famines, baby booms and migration show up as streaks. Select a cell to follow its generation.

BEN · ages 15–64

Who does the work in Benin

In Benin the number of people aged 15–64 is still growing in 2100, the last year the UN projects. In 2023 there were 7,771,770 of them.

100 aged 15–64

76 children

6 aged 65+

aged 15–64 children under 15 aged 65 and over

How to read this: take 100 people of working age — the orange row — and the two rows under it are the children (teal) and the people of 65 and over (violet) who lived alongside them in 2023.

At no point between 1950 and 2100 do fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people aged 15–64 here.

fewer than 50 dependants per 100 the same, projected 50 or more

How to read this: one stripe a year from 1950 to 2100. A stripe takes colour in a year when fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people of working age, and stays grey otherwise; hatching means the year is projected.

How every country compares

BEN · arrivals minus departures

Who arrives in Benin, and who leaves

In 2020–2025 Benin loses 1,885 people a year: everyone who arrives, minus everyone who leaves. The age at which that happens most is 20–24, at 755 a year more leaving than arriving.

one square = 100 people a year

020406080+

more arrive than leave more leave than arrive

How to read this: age runs left to right, babies to 100. A blue square above the line means arrivals outnumber departures at that age, an orange square below it means the opposite. The figures are the UN's projection for 2020–2025; nobody recorded migration by age before 2020.

Across the counted years, 1950 to 2023, its biggest single-year gain was 156,223 (1993); its biggest loss, 85,128 (1994).

In 2024, 418,202 people living in Benin had been born in another country, 3 of every 100 people there, against 2 in 1990.

How migration works everywhere

BEN · births by the mother's age · 1950–2100

Who has the babies in Benin

Of every 100 babies born in Benin in 2023, 12 had a mother under 20, 73 a mother aged 20 to 34 and 15 a mother aged 35 or older. In 1950 it was 14 under 20 and 18 aged 35 or older.

1950
14 · 68 · 18

2023
12 · 73 · 15

2050 · projected
9 · 77 · 14

The mother's age: under 20 20 to 34 35 or older projected

How to read this: one block a year, 100 squares in each, a square for every hundredth baby. The colour is the mother's age group, and the three numbers underneath are those groups in order, youngest first.

Babies born, 2023: 478,062
Average age when women have a baby: 29.1 years; 28.9 in 1950
Babies a year per 1,000 girls aged 15–19: 78; 114 in 1950

Babies by the mother's age, 1950–2100

Babies born in Benin by the mother's age
Mother's age	1950	1975	2000	2023	2050 projected	2100 projected
10–14	1,357	2,551	4,697	1,479	382	80
15–19	11,590	24,026	45,577	57,354	54,031	29,091
20–24	24,145	41,381	77,707	132,301	161,910	125,788
25–29	21,829	37,391	71,708	127,030	169,761	184,819
30–34	16,494	28,325	53,694	88,684	126,739	161,838
35–39	10,067	17,621	32,902	48,654	63,199	79,039
40–44	5,083	9,005	13,904	18,069	18,813	19,796
45–49	1,379	2,025	3,508	4,268	4,427	3,539
50–54	87	108	184	223	227	129
All babies	92,031	162,433	303,881	478,062	599,489	604,119

The UN's births for each year, split by the mother's age in the UN's own proportions.

BEN · healthy years · 2021

Years in good health in Benin

In Benin, WHO puts the healthy years a newborn could expect in 2021 at 55.7 (95% range 54.7–56.9), out of 64.0 in all. That leaves 8.3 years in less than full health, fewer than the world's 9.5, which mostly means lives are shorter here, with fewer years in which to be ill.

Women

56.6 in full health, 9.8 not: 66.4 years

Men

54.9 in full health, 6.8 not: 61.7 years

a year in full health a year in less than full health

How to read this: each square is a year of life, each row ten years; filled squares are years in full health, rounded to whole years.

Women: 56.6 healthy years of 66.4. Men: 54.9 of 61.7.

BEN · forced from home · end of 2025

Displacement in Benin

At the end of 2025, Benin was hosting 28,921 people who had crossed a border into it, about 2 of every 1,000 people living there.

hosted from abroad28,921
displaced inside it27,294
Benin nationals abroad4,687

stayed inside their own country crossed a border

How to read this: one square stands for 500 people, so the rows can be compared with one another. The last row is people from Benin living in another country, wherever they are.

In 2025, 5,098 people asked for asylum in Benin for the first time; 1,480 people from Benin asked for asylum in another country. Of every 100 people from Benin whose claims were decided that year, 13 were given protection. Who asks for asylum, and who is given it

How the world's displacement is counted

BEN · of every 100 people

How people live in Benin

Of every 100 people in Benin in 2025, 41 lived in a city, 33 in a town or suburb and 26 in the countryside.

cities towns and suburbs rural areas

41 of every 100 have no electricity at home (2024). 66 of every 100 do not use the internet (2024).

How to read this: everyone here, shrunk to 100 squares, with the colour saying whether that hundredth person lives in a city, a town or the countryside. Every country is measured by the same rule.

How the world's people live

BEN · adults 25 and over · 2020

How far people in Benin went in school

Of every 100 adults in Benin in 2020, 50 never went to school and 12 finished upper secondary or went further.

50 never went to school 15 some primary 15 finished primary 8 finished lower secondary 8 finished upper secondary 4 studied after school

The young went further: 34.2 of every 100 women aged 25–29 never went to school, against 83.3 of every 100 aged 60–64 (men: 20.5 against 56).

The middle projection has its working-age people most numerous in 2095; those among them who finished upper secondary are still growing in 2100.

How to read this: every adult here as one of 100 squares. The stronger the colour, the further that person went in school (the Wittgenstein Centre, 2020).

How far the world's people went in school

BEN · cities · 2025

Cities in Benin

Benin had 29 cities in 2025, home to 6.0 million people. The largest, Cotonou, holds 17 of every 100 people in Benin.

Cotonou2,506,489
Porto-Novo818,617
Parakou395,528
Bohicon293,833
Djougou159,643
Whydah134,144
Pobè123,350
Kandi121,259
Aplahoué118,390
Malanville114,386

How to read this: one bar for each of the 10 largest cities, 2025, all on the same scale. "City" here means the built-up area the UN measures, not the boundary the city draws itself.

All the world's cities

Apparatus

Sources and method

Every figure on this page comes from the UN's World Population Prospects 2024: the annual country tables (estimates to 2023, projections with 95% intervals from 2024), and the population by single year of age and sex for the pyramid.

The censuses, surveys and registers behind the UN's estimates for Benin are listed, source by source, on the UN's own data sources page.

Sources: UN WPP 2024 · World Bank · UNHCR · country code lists · UN WUP 2025 · Wittgenstein Centre · WHO GHO · flag-icons · Natural Earth. Every source, its licence and how to cite it →

Checked before it was drawn

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries The pyramid for every year was checked against the published total. What that stamp counts, and what every page here has to pass before it can be built: how this site checks its figures.