Abomey-Calavi is a city,

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements' ...

, and

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

located in the

Atlantique Department Atlantique is one of the twelve departments in Benin. The department is located in south-central Benin along the Atlantic coast, between Mono and Kouffo Department in the west, Zou in the north, and Ouémé in the east. The department of Atlant ...

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

. It is now essentially a suburb of

Cotonou Cotonou (; fon, Kútɔ̀nú) is a city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The ci ...

and at its closest it begins approximately 18 km from the city centre of Cotonou. The main cities of the commune are Abomey-Calavi itself and

Godomey Godomey is a town and arrondissement in the Atlantique Department of southern Benin. It is an administrative division under the jurisdiction of the commune of Abomey-Calavi. According to the population census conducted by the Institut National de ...

to the south. The commune covers an area of 650 square kilometres and as at the May 2013 Census had a population of 655,965 people. Projected to be the eleventh fastest growing city on the African continent between 2020 and 2025, with a 5.27% growth. The city is home to a

constituent monarchy A non-sovereign monarchy or constituent monarchy is one in which the head of the monarchical polity (whether a geographic territory or an ethnic group), and the polity itself, are subject to a temporal authority higher than their own. The const ...

History

The history of Abomey-Calavi is linked to that of

Abomey Abomey is the capital of the Zou Department of Benin. The commune of Abomey covers an area of 142 square kilometres and, as of 2012, had a population of 90,195 people. Abomey houses the Royal Palaces of Abomey, a collection of small traditional ...

and the

Kingdom of Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a region ...

Abomey-Calavi was founded to be near

, in order to facilitate trade.

Education

Its principal university is the

University of Abomey-Calavi The University of Abomey-Calavi ''(french: Université d'Abomey-Calavi)'' is the principal public university in the west African country of Benin. The university is located in the city of Abomey-Calavi in the south of the country. The school i ...

, founded in 1970.

Places of worship

Among the

places of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is somet ...

, they are predominantly

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

churches and temples :

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cotonou The Archdiocese of Cotonou ( la, Archidioecesis Cotonuensis) is the Metropolitan See for the Ecclesiastical province of Cotonou in Benin. History * 1883.06.26: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Dahomey from the Apostolic Vicariate of Benin ...

(

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Protestant Methodist Church in Benin The Protestant Methodist Church in Benin was founded by Methodist missionary and colonial official in West Africa, Thomas Birch Freeman in 1843. He was sent by the Methodist Missionary Society in London. Freeman was the son of a freed slave. Th ...

(

World Methodist Council The World Methodist Council (WMC), founded in 1881, is a consultative body and association of churches in the Methodist tradition. It comprises 80 member denominations in 138 countries which together represent an estimated 80 million people; this ...

Union of Baptist Churches of Benin Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''U ...

(

Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is the largest international Baptist organization with an estimated 51 million people in 2022 with 246 member bodies in 128 countries and territories. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA account ...

Living Faith Church Worldwide Living Faith Church Worldwide (also known as Winners' Chapel) is an Evangelical charismatic Christian denomination and a megachurch. The headquarters is located in Ota, Nigeria. The organization has since become a global network of churches w ...

Redeemed Christian Church of God The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) is a Pentecostal megachurch and denomination founded in Lagos, Nigeria. The General overseer (most senior pastor) is Enoch Adeboye, ordained in 1981. The church in Lagos had an average church attendanc ...

Assemblies of God The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...

. There are also

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

mosques.. The town is also a noted centre of

Voodoo Voodoo may refer to: Religions * African or West African Vodun, practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups * African diaspora religions, a list of related religions sometimes called Vodou/Voodoo ** Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vodu ...

, and contains a large fetish market.Butler, Stuart (2019) ''Bradt Travel Guide - Benin'', pgs. 93-4

Economy

The inhabitants of the commune of Abomey-Calavi carry out several activities in different sectors such as agriculture, livestock farming, fishing, trade, crafts, transport, fuelwood exploitation, transformation of products.Chabi Félix Biaou
Monographie de la commune d'Abomey-Calavi
, Afrique Conseil, Benin, march 2006, p. 14-21

Gallery

File:Abomey-Calavi centre-ville1.jpg, Abomey-Calavi downtown File:Abomey-Calavi centre-ville2.jpg, Main road of Abomey-Calavi File:DEGAN Gabin x ( bottling the workers black beast ).jpg, Traffic congestion File:Université d'Abomey-Calavi.jpg, Main campus of

File:Ganvié-Embarcadère (3).jpg, Abomey-Calavi jetty for

Ganvie Ganvie is a lake village in Benin, Africa, lying in Lake Nokoué, near Cotonou. With a population of around 20,000 people, it is probably the largest lake village in Africa and is very popular with tourists. The village was created in the sixtee ...

Embarcadère à Abomey-Calvi au Bénin.webm, Abomey-Calavi jetty (video)

References

Content in this edit is translated from the existing French Wikipedia article at :fr: Abomey-Calavi; see its history for attribution. Communes of Benin Populated places in the Atlantique Department Arrondissements of Benin Populated places in Benin {{AtlantiqueDepartment-geo-stub