Littoral is one of the twelve

departments of Benin Benin is divided into 12 departments (French: ''départements''), and subdivided into 77 communes (see Communes of Benin). In 1999, the previous six departments were each split into two halves, forming the current 12. Each of the six new depa ...

. At , Littoral is the smallest department in the country. Its capital is

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 ...

, Benin's largest city. The department was created in 1999 with the splitting up of territories of

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 ...

. As per 2013 census, the total population of the department was 679,012 with 325,872 males and 353,140 females. The entire population was urban while the total labour force in the department numbered 253,892. The proportion of households with no level of attained formal education was 21.1%, by far the lowest of any department in the country.

Geography

Littoral Department borders

Ouémé Department Ouémé is one of the twelve departments of Benin, containing the capital of the country Porto Novo. It is subdivided into nine communes, each centred at one of the principal towns: Adjarra, Adjohoun, Aguégués, Akpro-Missérété, Avrankou, B ...

and

and is situated in a coastal area that has interconnected lakes and lagoons and elongated coastlines with wide marshes. Freshwater and seawater fishing is the major profession in the region. Petroleum was discovered in the 1960s in offshore areas, while

titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...

, low-quality

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

ilmenite Ilmenite is a titanium-iron oxide mineral with the idealized formula . It is a weakly magnetic black or steel-gray solid. Ilmenite is the most important ore of titanium and the main source of titanium dioxide, which is used in paints, printing ...

and

chromite Chromite is a crystalline mineral composed primarily of iron(II) oxide and chromium(III) oxide compounds. It can be represented by the chemical formula of FeCr2O4. It is an oxide mineral belonging to the spinel group. The element magnesium can s ...

are the major minerals. The southern regions of Benin receive two spells from March to July and September to November while the northern regions of the country receive one season of rainfall from May to September. The country receives an average annual rainfall of around , but Littoral Department receives less rainfall. The department's region has mostly low-lying sandy coastal plains towards the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, marshes, lagoons and lakes. The highest elevation in the department around the coastal plains is compared to the average above average mean sea level of the country.

Demographics

According to Benin's 2013 census, the total population of Littoral Department was 679,012, with 325,872 males and 353,140 females. The proportion of women was 52.00%. The entire population lived in urban areas. The proportion of women of childbearing age (15 to 49 years old) was 28.00%. The total foreign population in the department was 57,516, representing 8.50% of the total population. The

labour force participation rate Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the referen ...

among foreigners aged 15–64 years was 40.70%. The proportion of women among the foreign population constituted 48.90%. The number of households in the department was 166,433 and the average household size was 4.1. The intercensal growth rate of the population was 0.20%. Among women, the average age of first marriage was 23.4 and the average age at first birth was 29. The synthetic index of fertility of women was 3.7. The average number of families per house was 1.1 and the average number of persons per room was 1.7. The total labour force in the department was 253,892, of which 46.00% were women. The proportion of households with no level of education was 21.10% and the proportion of households with children attending school was 88.50%. The crude birth rate was 33.6, the general rate of fertility was 120.10 and the gross reproduction rate was 1.80.

Administrative divisions

The

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of Littoral was created in 1999, when it was split off from

and Cotonou was made its capital. It is the smallest of all departments in the country. Littoral comprises just one

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 ...

/city,

, Benin's largest city and its economic capital. Cotonou is subdivided into 13

arrondissements 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'', ...

, which are further subdivided into 165 neighborhoods. Benin originally had six administrative regions (''départements''), which have now been bifurcated to make 12. Each of the deconcentrated administrative services (''directions départementales'') of the sectoral ministries takes care of two administrative regions. A law passed in 1999 transformed the ''sous-prefectures'', the lowest level of territorial administration, into local governments. Municipalities and communal councils have elected representatives who manage the administration of the regions. The latest elections of the municipal and communal councils were held in June 2015.

References

External links

{{Authority control Cotonou Departments of Benin States and territories established in 1999