
Benin
Overview
Benin is a country in West Africa that covers an area of 114 763 km.1 The country is located between Togo, Niger and Nigeria. In 2019, the total population of Benin was estimated at 11 801 151 and the population growth rate was estimated at 2.72 percent.2 Demographic projections in Benin, mainly in urban areas around Cotonou, Porto Novo or Abomey Calavi show rapid urbanization. According to official figures, Benin will have 12 million inhabitants in 2022, 55 percent of whom will be located in the large urban areas.3 However, housing supply does not follow this dynamic. Over the past 10 years, between 2010 and 2020, the housing demand has been estimated at 320 000 units, while the public offering has produced only 2 000 units for the same period.
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Like many African countries, the country's regional capitals are developing through an anarchic and extensive occupation of land on the periphery. This form of extension poses challenges in terms of access to water, electricity, and other basic social services such as hospitals, schools, etc. This situation has a negative impact on the quality of life of the inhabitants and the viability of housing, particularly in Cotonou and its periphery which is located in a marshy area. Despite this situation, the urbanization rate was estimated at 47.86 percent in 2019 with an annual growth of 3.87 percent.4
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In 2019, the growth rate of gross domestic product (GDP) was 6.87 percent.5 The Beninese economy is suffering from the negative impacts of the closure since August 2019 of the land borders by Nigeria. Indeed, trade with this country represents nearly 20 percent of Benin's GDP. For 2020, with the aftermath of the crisis linked to the global COVID-19 pandemic, forecasts expect economic growth to contract to 2.7 percent.
Access to finance
According to a 2018 Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) report, Benin has an extended banking rate (TBE) of 68.7 percent just behind Togo with 85.4 percent which ranks first in the West African Economic Monetary Union (UEMOA) ranking.6 This rate takes into account the share of the adult population that has access to banking services (having a bank account), postal services, national savings banks and the Treasury, and also those who have access to microfinance services. As of 31 December 2019, decentralized finance had 112 players7 in Benin, whose legal configuration distinguishes three categories namely companies, mutuals and associations.
KEY FIGURES
Main urban centres
Cotonou, Porto-Novo, Abomey-Calavi, Seme-Kpodji, Parakou
Exchange rate (1 July 2020): 1 USD = [a]
1 PPP$ = [b]
584.30 CFA Franc (XOF)
240.73 CFA Franc (XOF)
Total population [b] | Urban population [b]
Population growth rate [b] | Urbanisation rate [b]
GDP per capita (Current US$) [b]
Percentage of population below national poverty line (2017) [b]
Unemployment rate (% of total labour force, national estimate) (2017) [b]
Proportion of adult population that borrowed formally (2017) [b]
Gini coefficient (2017) [b]
HDI country ranking (2018) [c] | HDI country score (2018) [c]
11 801 151 | 5 648 149
2.72% | 3.87%
US$1 219
36.6%
2.5%
9.4%
47.8
163 | 0.52
GDP (Current US$) [b]
Inflation rate (2019) [b]
GDP growth rate [b]Yield on 10-year government bonds
Lending interest rate (2017) [b]
US$14 391 million
6.87%
2.00%
n/a
5.10%
Number of mortgages outstanding (2018) [f]
Value of residential mortgages (Current US$)
Ratio of mortgages to GDP
Typical mortgage rate | Term | Deposit(2019) [f]
Number of mortgage providers
Number of microfinance loans outstanding(2019) [e]
Value of microfinance loans in local currency units [e]
Number of microfinance providers [f]
539
n/a
9% | 10 years | 10%
n/a
n/a
n/a
139 323 000 000 XOF
112
Total number of formal residential dwellings in the country
Total number of residential properties with a title deed (2019) [g]
Number of formal housing units built in this year
Price of the cheapest, newly built house by a formal developer or contractor in an urban area in local currency units (2019) [h]
​Size of cheapest, newly built house by a formal developer or contractor in an urban area
Typical monthly rental for the cheapest, newly built house [i]
Time to register property [k]
Cost of standard 50kg bag of cement in local currency units [j]
Type of deeds registry: digital, scanned or paper [k]
World Bank Ease of Doing Business index rank [k]
Number of procedures to register property [k]
Cost to register property as share of property price [K]
World Bank DBI Quality of Land Administration index score (0-30) [l]
n/a
47 000
n/a
20 000 000 XOF
n/a
150 000 XOF
3 350 XOF
(US$5.73)
Paper
149
4
120 days
3.4% 9
Percentage of women who own a house alone: Total | Urban (2017) [l]
Percentage of households with basic sanitation services:
Total | Urban (2017) [l]
Percentage of households with no electricity: Total | Urban (2017) [l]
Percentage of households with 3+ persons per sleeping room:
Total | Urban (2017) [l]
Percentage of urban population living in slums (2018) [m]
3.2% | 2.5%
13.3% | 22.4%
64.4% | 44.5%
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36.6% | 35.0%
58.8%%
NB: Figures are for 2020 unless stated otherwise.
[a] Xe.com
[b] World Bank World Development Indicators
[c] Human Development Reports, United Nations Development Programme
[d]Bank of Africa Benin
[e]The Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO)
[f] Ministry of Economy and Finance
[g]National Agency of the Domain and the Land
[h]Expat.com
[i] BENIN-IMMO
[j] CIMBENIN Cement Plant
[k] World Bank Ease of Doing Business Indicators
[l]Demographic and Health Surveys, USAID
[m] United Nations Human Settlements Programme
(UN-HABITAT0
In the second quarter of 2020, Benin had 3 207 311 clients in the microfinance sector for a healthy loan portfolio of FCFA 407 606 394 (US$697 597). The number of service points during this period amounted to 695 points throughout the country.8
At the end of May 2020, the Beninese banking landscape had 14 banking establishments made up of 12 subsidiaries, two branches and a financial institution of a banking nature.9 Digital finance is constantly developing with mobile payment and digital banking. This new trend in finance opens up other alternatives to traditional finance by using new technologies. Two operators share the mobile payment market in the country: MOOV Benin through its MOOV Money service and MTN with its MTN MONEY service.
According to the 2019 annual report10 of the Electronic Communications and Post Regulatory Authority (ARCEP), the network of mobile money distributors experienced a 60.4 percent increase in 2019 and is a real income-generating activity and jobs for the populations.11 It is an important means of financial inclusion for disadvantaged populations in both urban and rural areas.
The housing finance system in Benin remains dominated by formal banking institutions with the majority of banks offering home loans. The duration of the loans varies from 20 to 25 years depending on the bank. The interest rate also varies depending on the bank and the length of the loan. In the case of the new Inter-African Bank Insurance Company (NSIA BANQUE), the rate applied is 7.9 percent excluding taxes for a maximum term of 20 years. For the Bank of Africa (BOA), the loan term can be up to 25 years. The BOA, in partnership with other shareholders, was behind the creation in 2004 of the Housing Bank of Benin (BHB) which did not have the expected success despite the FCFA 5 billion (US$ 8 557 247) in capital invested into it in 2016. BHB was finally absorbed by the BOA Group in 2018. Real estate products offered by banks are intended only for people with regular income or employment which leaves a good number of Beninese outside the formal housing financing system. In order to circumvent the eligibility criteria, many consumer loans with terms of up to six years taken out with banks, go towards real estate projects.
Affordability
A large majority of the population, mainly located in the large urban areas, do not have access to decent housing. One of the components of the 2016-2021 Government Action Plan (PAG) includes the construction of 20 000 social housing units12 by 2021 to try to reduce the housing deficit. This programme consists of F4-type housing in 14 towns, including 12 960 individual housing units and 7 040 collective housing units.13
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The sources of financing for housing, in particular mortgage loans, remain accessible only to a tiny part of the population. In these cases, the share of income that can cover home loans can go up to 45 percent with some banks like BOA BENIN for example. For households who cannot afford mortgage loans, self-construction provides an alternative for those households that have the financial means to build their own homes on an incremental basis. Others access rental housing at high costs and not always decent quality.
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The peri-urban area of Cotonou, which is undergoing the strongest development, is characterized by great land pressure on available housing and an anarchic development of peripheral areas.
As part of the action against the COVID-19 pandemic, the Beninese government has taken social measures to relieve households through cash donations for the most disadvantaged populations which took place after carrying out a census of the people in dire need.
Housing supply
With less than a year from the end of the first term of current President Patrice Talon, who came to power in 2016, the PAG is already taking stock. This ambitious program included the improvement of the living conditions of the population with the construction of 20 000 social housing for an amount of FCFA 347 billion (approximately US$600 million). The project got off the ground with the allocation of 3 035 housing units to the Spanish company Pablo and Natalia Holding Group (PNHG). The first housing units are scheduled to be delivered in 2021. The total duration of the project was 18 months, but this completion date will likely be impacted by the pandemic. Other calls for tenders are underway for the allocation of other lots within the framework of this social housing project.
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​Efforts are also underway to improve access to basic social services such as water and electricity. In 2019, the State signed a contract with the Canadian company Monitora Hydro International Ltd to manage the Beninese Electric Power Company (SBEE). This form of governance seeks to improve the services offered to the entire population with a view to improving the living environment. Access to drinking water, especially in rural areas, is improving. Thanks to the actions contained in the PAG, nearly 70 percent of the population already have access to improved drinking water sources, especially in rural areas.14
COVID-19 response
Benin has been impacted by the socioeconomic consequences linked to the global COVID-19 pandemic. General confinement has not been imposed in view of the economic situation of the population.
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The Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) has taken measures to contain the adverse impacts of the pandemic, with the establishment through the banking system, of an adapted framework to support companies that are experiencing difficulties in repaying the loans are experiencing difficulties in repaying the loans granted to them. The BCEAO called on the banks to grant the appropriate extensions of deadlines, in particular to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and industries (SMIs). The central bank has also initiated negotiations with companies issuing electronic money to reduce transaction costs and encouraged populations to make greater use of digital means of payment in order to limit contacts and travel. From April 2020, the BCEAO lowered its key rate to 2.50 percent.22
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To cope with the consequences of COVID-19, the Beninese authorities announced a series of social measures through a FCFA 74.12 billion (US$126 647 270) funded program.23 This programme includes a subsidy of FCFA 5.7 billion (US$9 760 273) applied to water and electricity tariffs for the entire population. Another component of this programme concerns support for the informal sector with a financing of FCFA 4.9 billion (US$8 386 103) intended for more than 55 000 people through a vast identification plan for small artisans and other stakeholders in the informal sector. The private sector will receive a support estimated at FCFA 63.38 billion (US$108 471 675) intended to cover salaries, commercial rents or to ensure the reimbursement of VAT
Property markets
The real estate market remains poorly structured in Benin despite the strong demand for housing resulting from the rapid urbanization of large cities and the increasing demographic and economic growth that the country has experienced in recent years. The sale of bare land constitutes the major part of transactions on the market despite the great insecurity of land that persists. Recent improvements made by the government aim to improve the situation. Among them, we can cite the setting up in April 2020 of a digital platform "E notary" which makes it possible to register a land transfer online and to obtain a new land title
TANZANIA
Annual income profile for rural and urban households based on consumption (PPP$), 2019
PPP$40 001 – PPP$10 000 000

PPP$23 001 – PPP$40 000
PPP$12 001 – PPP$23 000
PPP$8 001 – PPP$12 000
PPP$5 001 – PPP$8 000
PPP$3 601 – PPP$5 000
PPP$2 401 – PPP$3 600
PPP$1 601 – PPP$2 400
PPP$801 – PPP$1 600
<PPP$800
No. of households (thousands)
Population:
11 801 151
Urbanisation rate:
3.87%
Cost of cheapest newly built house:
20 000 000 XOF
House price PPP$:
PPP $95 115
Urban households that could afford this house with finance:
4.10%
1 PPP$:
240.73 CFA franc
in 72 hours. The online cadastre platform18 provides access to a number of services, including the possibility of verifying ownership of a plot or extracting the cadastral plan of a plot. This platform makes it possible to obtain mortgage statements of buildings, transfer properties online, submit grievances and complaints related to a piece of land and assess the possibility of undertaking a transfer of ownership. The digital cadastre of the main cities of Cotonou and Porto Novo are part of this online registration system.
Since 2018, nearly 47 000 land title files have been digitized, which corresponds to approximately 18 percent of the territory. According to the 'Doing Business 2020' report on Benin, the time limit for registering a property is 120 days at an estimated cost of 3.4 percent of the property's value.19
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As part of improving the business climate, the dynamics of reforms currently underway in Benin also affect land. Reforms have also been carried out by the Agence Nationale du Domaine et du Foncier (ANDF) to secure transactions. The reduction in property transaction fees and the establishment of the Land Compensation Fund are effective. The effectiveness of the Land Compensation Fund is a major step forward in the management of land-related complaints in Benin.
The rental segment is dominated by transactions carried out mostly by informal real estate agents. In Cotonou, in the "Haie Vive" district, one of the residential areas, the monthly rent for a 3-bedroom villa is FCFA 500 000 (US$856) minimum. The rental market is governed by Law No. 2018-12 of July 2, 201820 on the legal regime of the lease for domestic residential use in Benin and which sets the authorized thresholds for monthly and annual rents, deposits to be paid and sets the fees paid to real estate agents. This law sets a number of rules and defines the conditions for exercising the profession of real estate agents. To date, there are no exact statistics on the number of real estate agents operating in the Beninese market. However, they are organized within the Association des Agents Immobiliers du Bénin (ANAIB).
Policy and legislation
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Decree No. 99-313 of 22 June, 1999 organized the performance of the real estate sector.
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In 2005, the housing policy of Benin defined the framework of the housing policy and the financing of housing.
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In 2007, Law 2007-03 January organized rural land tenure.
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Decree No. 2009-693 of 31 December, 2009 approved the framework-letter for land reform in Benin.
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Decree No. 2010-329 of 19 July, 2010 approved the declaration of land policy in Benin.
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Law 2013-01 of 13 August, 2013 represents the current land code of Benin, the first of its kind in Benin which organizes land ownership rights.
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In 2015, Decree No. 2015-010 created the National Land and Estate Agency, which develops and manages the land register of Benin.
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Law No. 2018-12 of 2 July, 2018 governs the rental market
In terms of financial legislation, a uniform law regulating the Credit Reference Bureau improves information on credits and more generally the business environment in Benin and in the other WAMU countries.
Opportunities
A housing program aimed at building 20 000 low-cost housing units in five years (2016-2021) was launched by the State. Its first phase concerns the servicing of land and the construction of 12 049 housing units, including 10 849 in Ouèdo, 250 in Porto-Novo and 500 in Parakou. The second phase will consist of the construction of the remaining housing units distributed in the 11 other cities of the country.21 This project represents a real opportunity for local and international investors to invest in a viable project that has state support. The government seems to have learned from the failure of previous social housing projects. The current project is in the form of a public-private partnership.
The development of a middle class in the country, the growth of the population in urban areas, the lack of quality housing remain interesting indicators which show that the housing market in Benin remains attractive. Recent improvements to the land sector through the ANDF are helping to better secure transactions.
C
H
F
COVID-19 response
The availability of data on the housing market in Benin remains a major difficulty. There are no regular studies on housing needs or rental availability. The real estate market remains largely informal which makes it impossible to have up-to-date and reliable information on the sector despite its dynamism.
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INSAE remains the main and reliable source of information on demographic and economic data.
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The official website of the government of Benin provides information on the measures taken to fight COVID-19.
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ARCEP's annual report is detailed and provides an understanding of the dynamics of the evolution of digital payments in Benin and its impact on the lives of populations.
Website
Government of the Republic of Benin https://www.gouv.bj/
Ministry of Economy and Finance https://finances.bj/
Ministry of Living Environment and Sustainable Development https://www.cadredevie.bj/
National Estate and Land Agency https://www.andf.bj/
National Estate and Land Agency / E-Notary Platform https://www.enotaire.andf.bj/
National Agency for the Supervision of Decentralized Financial Systems https://www.anssfd.org/
Benin Government Action Program Revealed http://revealingbenin.com/
Real Estate and Urban Development Company https://simaubenin.com/
Cadastre of Benin https://cadastre.bj/
Online building permit application https://permisdeconstruire.gouv.bj/