The Benin–Niger border is 277 km (172 m) in length and runs from the

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

with

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

in the west to the tripoint with

Nigeria Nigeria, 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 Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

in the east.

Description

The Benin–Niger border starts in the north-west at the

with Burkina Faso in the Mékrou River, then follows this river in a north-eastwards direction before reaching 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, Nige ...

. The border then follows the Niger River south-eastwards to the Nigerian tripoint. The entire Mékrou river section of the boundary falls within the trans-border W National Park, home to numerous species such as hippos and

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

s. Furthermore, the Nigerien side of the Niger river section is protected as the Dosso Reserve, which protects one of the last remaining populations of West African giraffe.

History

The 1880s saw an intense competition between the European powers for territories in Africa, a process known as the

Scramble for Africa The Scramble for Africa was the invasion, conquest, and colonialism, colonisation of most of Africa by seven Western European powers driven by the Second Industrial Revolution during the late 19th century and early 20th century in the era of ...

. This culminated in the

Berlin Conference The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 was a meeting of colonial powers that concluded with the signing of the General Act of Berlin,

of 1884, in which the European nations concerned agreed upon their respective territorial claims and the rules of engagements going forward. As a result of this

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

gained control of the upper valley of the

(roughly equivalent to the areas of modern

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

and Niger). France began occupying the area of modern Benin from 1893, later naming it

Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African List of kingdoms in Africa throughout history, kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. It developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in ...

; the area encompassing the territory of modern Niger was conquered in 1900. Both areas came the control of the federal colony of

French West Africa French West Africa (, ) was a federation of eight French colonial empires#Second French colonial empire, French colonial territories in West Africa: Colonial Mauritania, Mauritania, French Senegal, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guin ...

(''Afrique occidentale française'', abbreviated AOF). The rivers Niger and Mékrou were confirmed as forming the boundary between Niger and Dahomey in a French statute of 27 October 1938. As the movement for decolonisation grew in the post-

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

era, France gradually granted more political rights and representation for its African colonies, culminating in the granting of broad internal autonomy to each colony in 1958 within the framework of the

French Community The French Community () was the constitutional organization set up in October 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which had reorganized the colonial em ...

. In August 1960 both Niger and

(renamed Benin in 1975) gained full independence, and their mutual frontier became an international one between two sovereign states. Since independence there were a number of disputes over the precise allocation of 24 riverine islands, most notably Lété Island, none of which had been covered by the colonial-era boundary agreement. The two states forwarded the case to the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

in 2001; in 2005 the ICJ adjudicated on the matter, awarding 16 islands to Niger and nine to Benin.

Settlements

Benin

* Pékinga * Compa * Karimama * Malanville * Mandécali

Niger

* Koulou * Sia * Tenda * Tara * Gaya

Border crossings

The main border crossing is located at Malanville (Benin)-Gaya (Niger).Geels, Jolijn, (2006) ''Bradt Travel Guide - Niger'', pgs. 47 It is also possible to travel via the W National Park, where the border itself is open.Butler, Stuart (2019) ''Bradt Travel Guide - Niger'', pgs. 44

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benin-Niger border Borders of Benin Borders of Niger International borders