Plateau 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 ...

. The department of Plateau was created in 1999 with an area of when it was split off from

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 ...

. Plateau is subdivided into five communes, each centred at one of the principal towns:

Adja-Ouèrè Adja-Ouèrè is a town, arrondissement, and commune in the Plateau Department of south-eastern Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a c ...

Ifangni Ifangni is a town, arrondissement, and commune in the Plateau Department of south-eastern Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a coun ...

, Kétou, Pobè and

Sakété Sakété is a city of the Plateau Department of Benin. The commune covers an area of 432 square kilometres and as of 2013 had a population of 114,207 people. It is the birthplace of politician Rafiatou Karimou Rafiatou Karimou (2 May 1946 – 4 ...

. , the total population of the department was 622,372, with 300,065 males and 322,307 females. The proportion of women was 51.80%. The total rural population was 54.80%, while the urban population was 45.20%. The total labour force in the department was 185,815, of which 43.10% were women. The proportion of households with no level of education was 65.50%.

Geography

Plateau Department border

Collines Department Collines is one of the twelve departments of Benin, located in the centre of the country; its name means "''hills''" in French. The department of Collines was created in 1999 when it was split off from Zou Department. In 2016, the city of Dassa-Z ...

to the north,

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 o ...

to the east,

to the southwest, and

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 west. It is characterised by plateaus ranging from above the mean sea level. The plateaus are split by valleys running from north to south, created by the Iguidi river. The river deposits of clay have rich

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 ...

deposits underneath; there is siliceous clay and forested area around the river basin. 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 .

Settlements

is the departmental capital; other major settlements include Idigny,

, Ita-Djèbou, Kétou and Pobè.

Demographics

According to Benin's 2013 census, the total population of the department was 622,372, with 300,065 males and 322,307 females. The proportion of women was 51.80%. The total rural population was 54.80%, while the urban population was 45.20%. The proportion of women of childbearing age (15 to 49 years old) was 24.30%. The foreign population was 2,605, representing 0.40% of the total population in the department. 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 31.70%. The proportion of women among the foreign population constituted 42.50%. The number of households in the department was 110,532 and the average household size was 5.6. The intercensal growth rate of the population was 3.80%. Among women, the average age of first marriage was 21.4 and the average age at maternity was 28.8. The synthetic index of fertility of women was 4.7. The average number of families in a house was 1.3 and the average number of persons per room was 1.7. The total labour force in the department was 185,815, of which 43.10% were women. The proportion of households with no level of education was 65.50% and the proportion of households with children attending school was 60.00%. The crude birth rate was 36.2, the general rate of fertility was 149.10 and the gross reproduction rate was 2.30. The population is predominantly

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

of the following subgroups: the Nagot group at 45.7% and the Ohori (also known as the ''Holli'') at 20.9%, for a total of 66.6% of the department's population. The Yoruba group is followed by the Fon group of the following subgroups: Ogu at 12.4% of the population, Fon at 8.2% of the population, and Torri at 6.5%.

Administrative divisions

The department of Plateau was created in 1999 when it was split off from

. It has an area of . Plateau is subdivided into five

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:

, Kétou, Pobè and

. 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 States and territories established in 1999 Departments in Yorubaland 1999 establishments in Benin