The Benin–Burkina Faso border is 386 km (240 m) in length and runs from the

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

with

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

in the southwest to the tripoint with

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesPendjari River, which it then follows for some distance. An overland section then connects up the

Mékrou River The Mékrou River is a river of Benin, Burkina Faso, and Niger. It flows through the W National Park. A tributary of the Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in ...

, which forms the boundary up the tripoint with Niger. Virtually the entire boundary area is protected by various trans-border parks which together form the

W-Arly-Pendjari Complex W-Arly-Pendjari Complex, also known as the "WAP Complex", is a transboundary Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site in Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger covering: *Arli National Park in Burkina Faso *Pendjari National Park in Benin *W National Park, share ...

History

During the second half of the 19th century France began creating small trading settlements on the West African coast. In 1851 a treaty of friendship was signed between France 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 ...

in what is now southern Benin, followed by the creation of a protectorate in

Porto Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of Gu ...

in 1863. The colony 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 ...

(the former name of Benin) was declared in 1894, and was later included within the much larger federal colony of

French West Africa French West Africa (french: Afrique-Occidentale française, ) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now Burki ...

(''Afrique occidentale française'', abbreviated AOF) in 1899. The 1880s saw an intense competition between the European powers for territories in Africa, a process known as the

Scramble for Africa The Scramble for Africa, also called the Partition of Africa, or Conquest of Africa, was the invasion, annexation, division, and colonisation of Africa, colonization of most of Africa by seven Western Europe, Western European powers during a ...

; the process culminated in the

Berlin Conference The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, also known as the Congo Conference (, ) or West Africa Conference (, ), regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period and coincided with Germany's sudden emergence ...

of 1884, in which the European nations concerned agreed upon their respective territorial claims and the rules of engagements going forward. As a result of this

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

gained control of the upper valley of the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...

(roughly equivalent to the areas of modern

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

and

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesFrench Sudan French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

) and Burkina Faso (then called Upper Volta) during the 1880s-90s. This region was organised as

Upper Senegal and Niger Upper Senegal and Niger () was a colony in French West Africa, created on 21 October 1904 from colonial Senegambia and Niger by the decree "For the Reorganisation of the general government of French West Africa". At its creation, the "Colony of ...

; various French decrees delimited a border between this colony and Dahomey during the period 1901–14. The colony of Upper Volta (modern Burkina Faso) was constituted in March 1919; the colony was abolished in 1932 and its territory divided between what Niger and Ivory Coast, but it was then reconstituted within its previous borders in 1947. The Dahomey-Upper Volta boundary was finalised by French statue on 27 October 1938. As the movement for decolonisation grew in the post-

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

era, France gradually granted more political rights and representation for its African territories, culminating in the granting of broad internal autonomy to each colony in 1958 within the framework of the

French Community The French Community (1958–1960; french: Communauté française) was the constitutional organization set up in 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which ...

. Dahomey declared full independence on 1 August 1960, followed shortly thereafter by Upper Volta on 5 August, and their mutual frontier became an international boundary between two sovereign states. Parts of the border remained contested on the ground, with several incidents in the disputed areas of Koalou and Niorgou sparking tension in the 2000s. As a result, the two countries signed an agreement in May 2009 which created a small neutral zone in the area, pending a final decision on the matter by the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

. In recent years the boundary region had been affected by the ongoing Islamist insurgency in the

Sahel The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid c ...

, predominantly on the Burkinabe side of the border. In May 2019 two French tourists exploring the Pendjari National Park were kidnapped and their Beninese guide killed. At present third-party governments generally advise against travelling in the border region.

Settlements near the border

Benin

Porga Porga is a town located in the Atakora Department of Benin. The Porga Airport serves Porga. History On December 1-2, 2021, a group of militants, possibly from Burkina Faso, attacked a border security post in Porga, killing two soldiers. Thi ...

Burkina Faso

* Momba * Tanli * Tanbarga * Madjori

Border crossings

The main border crossing is at

.Butler, Stuart (2019) ''Bradt Travel Guide - Benin'', pgs. 44

References