HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ouémé 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 ...
, containing the capital of the country
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 ...
. It is subdivided into nine communes, each centred at one of the principal towns:
Adjarra Adjarra is a town and commune in Ouémé Department, Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Republic of Dahomey, Dahomey, is a country in West Africa ...
, Adjohoun, Aguégués,
Akpro-Missérété Akpro-Missérété is a city, arrondissement, and commune in Ouémé Department, Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Republic of Dahomey, Dahomey, ...
,
Avrankou Avrankou is a town, arrondissement, and commune in the Ouémé Department of south-eastern Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Republic of Dahome ...
, Bonou,
Dangbo Dangbo is a town, arrondissement, and commune in the Ouémé Department of south-eastern Benin.The commune covers an area of 340 square kilometres and as of 2002 had a population of 66,055 people. Dangbo is the site of Benin'Institute for Mat ...
,
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 ...
and Sèmè-Kpodji. In 1999, the northern section of Ouémé was split off to form the department of
Plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides h ...
. , the total population of the department was 1,100,404, with 534,814 males and 565,590 females. The proportion of women was 51.40%. The total rural population was 37.20%, while the urban population was 62.80%. The total labor force in the department was 383,716, of which 49.50% were women. The proportion of households with no level of education was 43.80% and the proportion of households with children attending school was 81.70%.


Geography

Ouémé Department borders
Zou Department Zou is one of the twelve departments of Benin, named for the Zou River which travels through the department before emptying into the Atlantic in the south of the country. The department of Zou was split in two in 1999, with the northern territor ...
to the north, Plateau Department to the northeast,
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 ...
to the southeast, 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,
Littoral Department Littoral is one of the twelve departments of Benin. At , Littoral is the smallest department in the country. Its capital is Cotonou, Benin's largest city. The department was created in 1999 with the splitting up of territories of Atlantique Depa ...
to the southwest, and
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 Atla ...
to the west. It is located in a coastal area that has interconnected lakes and lagoons and elongated coastlines with wide marshes. The southern regions of Benin receive two spells of rain 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 Ouémé Department receives less rainfall. The department 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, including part of
Lake Nokoué Lake Nokoué is a lake in the southern part of Benin. It is wide and long and covers an area of . The lake is partly fed by the Ouémé River and the Sô River, both of which deposit sediments from throughout the region in the lake. The city o ...
in the southwest. The highest elevation in the department around the coastal plains is compared to the average above average mean sea level of the country.


Settlements

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 ...
is the departmental capital (as well as the capital of Benin as a whole); other major settlements include
Adjarra Adjarra is a town and commune in Ouémé Department, Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Republic of Dahomey, Dahomey, is a country in West Africa ...
, Adjohoun, Affamè, Aguégués,
Avrankou Avrankou is a town, arrondissement, and commune in the Ouémé Department of south-eastern Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Republic of Dahome ...
, Bonou, Ekpè and Sèmè-Kpodji.


Economy

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.


Demographics

According to Benin's 2013 census, the total population of the department was 1,100,404, with 534,814 males and 565,590 females. The proportion of women was 51.40%. The total rural population was 37.20%, while the urban population was 62.80%. The proportion of women of childbearing age (15 to 49 years old) was 24.80%. The foreign population was 17,065, representing 1.60% of the department's 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 37.60%. The proportion of women among the foreign population constituted 51.40%. The number of households in the department was 232,620 and the average household size was 4.7. The intercensal growth rate of the population was 3.70%. Among women, the average age of first marriage was 21.7 and the average age at maternity was 28.7. The synthetic index of fertility of women was 4.6. The average number of families per house was 1.2 and the average number of persons per room was 2.1. The total labour force in the department was 383,716, of which 49.50% were women. The proportion of households with no level of education was 43.80% and the proportion of households with children attending school was 81.70%. The crude birth rate was 36.7, the general rate of fertility was 148.20 and the gross reproduction rate was 2.20. The main ethnolinguistic groups in the department include the Ayizo, Ede, Fon,
Gun A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, p ...
, Phla (or 'Xwla'), Tofin and Yoruba.


Administrative divisions

In 1999, the department of Plateau was split off from Ouémé, reducing Ouémé's area to . Ouémé is subdivided into nine
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, religious, ...
, each centered at one of the principal towns:
Adjarra Adjarra is a town and commune in Ouémé Department, Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Republic of Dahomey, Dahomey, is a country in West Africa ...
, Adjohoun, Aguégués,
Akpro-Missérété Akpro-Missérété is a city, arrondissement, and commune in Ouémé Department, Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Republic of Dahomey, Dahomey, ...
,
Avrankou Avrankou is a town, arrondissement, and commune in the Ouémé Department of south-eastern Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Republic of Dahome ...
, Bonou,
Dangbo Dangbo is a town, arrondissement, and commune in the Ouémé Department of south-eastern Benin.The commune covers an area of 340 square kilometres and as of 2002 had a population of 66,055 people. Dangbo is the site of Benin'Institute for Mat ...
,
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 ...
and Sèmè-Kpodji. 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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oueme Departments of Benin Departments in Yorubaland