Its geography is a narrow strip of land running north-south. In
the south, its' coast faces onto the Bight of Benin in the east
Atlantic Ocean. Sandbanks create difficult access to a coast
with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands. Its
population is growing at nearly 3% per year. Benin's major
environmental issues include: - inadequate supplies of potable
water; - poaching threatens wildlife populations; -
deforestation; and, Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a
prominent West African kingdom that rose in the 15th century.
The territory became a French Colony in 1872 and achieved
independence on 1 August 1960, as the Republic of Benin. A
succession of military governments ended in 1972 with the rise
to power of Mathieu Kerekou and the establishment of a
government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to
representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free
elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore Soglo as
president, marking the first successful transfer of power in