Zagnanado or Zangnanado is a town,

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

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 ...

of southern-central

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 ...

. It is located 47 kilometres from

Abomey Abomey is the capital of the Zou Department of Benin. The commune of Abomey covers an area of 142 square kilometres and, as of 2012, had a population of 90,195 people. Abomey houses the Royal Palaces of Abomey, a collection of small traditional ...

and 165 kilometres north of

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 ...

. The commune covers an area of 750 square kilometres and as of 2013 had a population of 132,401 people.http://www.geohive.com/cntry/benin.aspx

History

The territorial entity that is today the municipality of Zagnanado has undergone several administrative changes since the colonial period until today. Since the early eighteenth century, the region depended on the kingdom of

. Guézo made the area headquarters of the army during his campaigns against the

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 ...

and Kétou of Abeokuta. By the Act of June 21, 1895, King Agoli-Agbo, he authorised full authority over the Agonlin region. In the early twentieth century, Zagnanado and surrounding villages were visited by many missionaries who spread

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. During the colonial period and into the 1970s, Agonlin remained a single administrative entity. However, in 1978 it was divided into three communes, Zagnanado, Covè and

Ouinhi Ouinhi is a town, arrondissement, and commune in the Zou Department of south-western Benin. The commune covers an area of 483 square kilometres and as of 2013 had a population of 59,381 people. It is bounded on the north-west by the commune of ...

Geography

3 rivers flow through the commune, the longest flows through for 93 kilometers. Zagnanado is bordered by Dassa-Zoumè to the north,

and

Zogbodomè Zogbodomey or Zogbodomè is a town, arrondissement, and commune in the Zou Department of south-western Benin. The commune covers an area of 600 square kilometres and as of 2002 had a population of 72,338 people. Administrative divisions Zogbod ...

to the south, Covè,

Za-Kpota Za-Kpota or Zakpota is a town, arrondissement, and commune in the Zou Department of south-western Benin. It is located 153 kilometres north of Cotonou and 33 kilometres east of Abomey (Bohicon is even closer). History Za-Kpota dates back to 1 ...

and

Djidja Djidja is a town, Arrondissements of Benin, arrondissement, and Communes of Benin, commune in the Zou Department of south-western Benin. The commune covers an area of 2184 square kilometres and as of 2013 had a population of 123,542 people. Ge ...

to the west and

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 ...

and Kétou to the east.

Administrative divisions

Zagnanado is subdivided into six arrondissements, Agonlin-Houégbo, Banami,

Don Tan Don Tan (, ) is the southeasternmost district (''amphoe'') of Mukdahan province, northeastern Thailand. History Originally Don Tan was a ''tambon'' of Mukdahan district, Nakhon Phanom province. Don Tan was upgraded to a minor district (''king ...

Dovi Dovi is an arrondissement in the Zou department of Benin. It is an administrative division under the jurisdiction of the commune of Zagnanado Zagnanado or Zangnanado is a town, arrondissement, and commune in the Zou Department of southern-ce ...

, Kpedekpo and Zagnanado. They contain 27 villages and 7 city districts.

Demographics

The population of Zagnanado is dominated by two major ethnic groups; Mahi representing 90.5% and Yoruba representing 8.1% and the rest minorities. The main religions are

(47.2%),

animism Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, Soul, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct Spirituality, spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—Animal, animals, Plant, plants, Ro ...

(30.5%) and

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

(2.8%). The population of the commune of Zagnanado, according to the 2002 census is 36,756 people, which is 6.1% of the population of the Zou Department. Data from the last census shows that from 1992 to 2002, the population Zagnanado experienced a small increase of 0.7% per year while between 1979 and 1992 growth was about 2.2% per year.

References

External links

Communes du Benin
{{Authority control Communes of Benin Arrondissements of Benin Populated places in the Zou Department