Malanville 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 ...

in the

Alibori Department Alibori is the largest and northernmost department (French: ''département'') of Benin. Externally the department borders the countries of Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria, and internally the departments of Atakora and Borgou. The department of ...

of northeastern

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 ...

, located across the

River Niger 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 Mali, ...

from

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagescross-border trade Border trade, in general, refers to the flow of goods and services across the border between different jurisdictions. In this sense, border trade is a part of the normal trade that flows through the ordinary export/import legal and logistical fram ...

and has a major market. Malanville is also a centre for

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and ''Porteresia'', both wild and domesticated, ...

-growing. The commune covers an area of 3016 square kilometres and as of 2013 had a population of 168,006 people.

History

Malanville has an extremely diverse population consisting of a large Muslim community, large Christian community, French speakers and speakers of local languages, as well as several practitioners of local religions. The cuisine is a mixture of African and European. Despite the differences that exist between these groups, they live side by side in peace and share public and private sector responsibilities.

Geography

Malanville is located in Bénin's northern region, along the Bénin/Niger border, located 733 kilometres from

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 ...

. It is connected to the city of

Gaya, Niger Gaya is a city in the Gaya Department of the Dosso Region of Niger. The city is situated 254 km southeast of the capital, Niamey, is located on the banks of the Niger River, and is near the borders with Benin and Nigeria. Gaya has a pop ...

via a bridge over 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 Mali, ...

. It resides approximately 35 km down the Niger River from Karimama which it is indirectly connected to via road. The terrain and climate are desert-like, arid, and sunny, and have little water. Communally, Malanville is bounded to the north by

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesKandi and

Ségbana Ségbana is a town, arrondissement and commune located in the Alibori Department of Benin. The commune covers an area of 4471 square kilometres and as of 2013 had a population of 89,268 people. Geography The commune of Ségbana is located 722 kil ...

, to the west by Karimama and to the east by

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

Administrative divisions

Malanville is subdivided into five arrondissements; Malanville, Garou, Guénè, Mandécali and Tomboutou . They contain 20 villages and 12 urban districts.

Economy

The population of Malanville engages primarily in agricultural activities, followed by trade, transportation and handicrafts. The main crops grown are

onions An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onio ...

groundnut Groundnut may refer to: * Seeds that ripen underground, of the following plants, all in the Faboideae The Faboideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. An acceptable alternative name for the subfamily is Papi ...

s and

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

es. The tourism sector is growing as the shared border with Niger allows visitors to experience National Park W, a game reserve with elephants, giraffe, etc. Services such as hotels and restaurants are starting to develop due to greater levels of tourism.

Culture and education

There is a high school and three elementary/middle schools, but there is not any type of cultural center or public library in Malanville.

References

{{Authority control Arrondissements of Benin Populated places in the Alibori Department Communes of Benin Benin–Niger border crossings Niger River