Mono 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 ...

, with its capital at

Lokossa Lokossa is an arrondissement, commune, and the capital city of Mono Department in Benin. The name Lokossa translates into English as "underneath the iroko Iroko (also known as in Igbo language, '' in the Urhobo language of Southern Nigeria, a ...

. It is named for the

Mono River The Mono River is the major river of eastern Togo. Approximately long, and draining a basin of about , it rises between the town of Sokodé and the border with Benin, and flows south. Along the southern portion of the river towards its mouth, ...

which forms much of the

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

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 ...

. The northern areas of the department were split off to create the newly formed

Kouffo Department Kouffo or Couffo is one of the twelve departments of Benin. Kouffo borders the country of Togo and the departments of Mono, Zou and Atlantique. Since 2008, the department's capital has been Aplahoué. The department of Kouffo was created in 199 ...

in 1999. Mono is subdivided into six communes, each centred at one of the principal towns, namely,

Athiémè Athiémè is a town and arrondissement located in the Mono Department of Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. I ...

Bopa BOPA ( da, Borgerlige Partisaner, Civil Partisans) was a group of the Danish resistance movement; it was affiliated with the communists and developed after the occupation of Denmark by Nazi Germany during the Second World War. In 1942, the Commu ...

Comè Comè is a town and Arrondissements of Benin, arrondissement located in the Mono Department of Benin. The commune covers an area of 163 square kilometres and as of 2012 had a population of 33,507 people. It was home to a refugee camp for Togolese ...

Grand-Popo Grand-Popo is a town, arrondissement, and commune in the Mono Department of south-western Benin. The commune covers an area of 289 square kilometres and as at the 2013 Census had a population of 57,636 people. The term "Grand-Popo" is a Europea ...

, Houéyogbé and

. It has an area of . , the total population of the department was 497,243, with 241,554 males and 255,689 females. The proportion of women was 51.40%. The total rural population was 50.30%, while the urban population was 49.70%. The total labour force in the department was 142,220, of which 48.60% were women. The proportion of households with no level of education was 48.70%.

Geography

Mono Department is located in the southwest of Benin and border

to the north,

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 ...

to the east, 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 ...

to the south, and

to the west. It is located in a coastal area that has interconnected lakes and lagoons and elongated coastlines with wide marshes. Lake Ahémé, Benin's second largest lake, lies on the border with the Atlantique Department; smaller lakes in the department include Lake Toho and Lake Togbadji. 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 Mono Department receives less rainfall. The department has mostly low-lying sandy coastal plains towards the

, 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.

Settlements

is the departmental capital; other major settlements include

, Houéyogbé, Possotomè and Sè.

Economy

Freshwater and seawater fishing is the major profession in the region.

Petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

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.

Demographics

According to Benin's 2013 census, the total population of Mono Department was 497,243, with 241,554 males and 255,689 females. The proportion of women was 51.40%. The total rural population was 50.30%, while the urban population was 49.70%. The proportion of women of childbearing age (15 to 49 years old) was 23.70%. The foreign population in the department was 8,975, representing 1.80% 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 39.70%. The proportion of women among the foreign population constituted 57.00%. The number of households in the department was 105,986 and the average household size was 4.7. The intercensal growth rate of population was 2.90%. Among women, the average age of first marriage was 21.6 and the average age at maternity was 28.6. The synthetic index of fertility of women was 4.8. The average number of families per house was 1.2 and the average number of persons per room was 1.8. The total labour force in the department was 142,220, of which 48.60% were women. The proportion of households with no level of education was 48.70% and the proportion of households with children attending school was 80.30%. The crude birth rate was 34.7, the general rate of fertility was 146.10 and the gross reproduction rate was 2.30. The main ethnolinguistic groups in the department are the Aja, Fon,

Gen Gen may refer to: * ''Gen'' (film), 2006 Turkish horror film directed by Togan Gökbakar * Gen (Street Fighter), a video game character from the ''Street Fighter'' series * Gen Fu, a video game character from the ''Dead or Alive'' series * Gen l ...

, Phla (also known as Xwla), Saxwe,

Phera '' Phera'' (English language:''The Return'') is a 1988 Bengali drama film directed by Buddhadeb Dasgupta based on a story of Bengali novelist Narendranath Mitra. It was entered into the 38th Berlin International Film Festival, competition se ...

(also known as Xwela), Kotafon] and Ayizo language, Ayizo. Other groups include the Aguna.

Administrative divisions

Some territories of Mono were moved to the newly formed

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 Kouffo in 1999. Mono is subdivided into six

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

, each centered at one of the principal towns:

, Houéyogbé and

. It has an area of . 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 Departments of Benin