Departments of Benin: population and official figures
Benin is divided into 12 departments. The largest by population is Atlantique with 1,398,229 people (14.0% of the total); the smallest is Mono with 497,243. Population figures are from the 2013 census (RGPH4), the latest official count by department; the national statistics institute (INStaD) website was down for maintenance when these pages were built, so its population projections could not be read. Each department page adds health, schooling, water, electricity, living standards and child protection from INStaD's 2021-2022 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), and commune budgets per inhabitant for 2025 from the Treasury (DGTCP).
Who governs Benin's departments?
Departments (12): Prefect appointed by central government. State administration and legal oversight (tutelle) of the communes; not an elected local government.
How local power works in Benin · Level 5: devolved and state governments worldwide
All 12 departments, largest first
| # | Department | Population | Year | Growth (1 yr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlantique | 1,398,229 | 2013 | – |
| 2 | Borgou | 1,214,249 | 2013 | – |
| 3 | Ouémé | 1,100,404 | 2013 | – |
| 4 | Alibori | 867,463 | 2013 | – |
| 5 | Zou | 851,580 | 2013 | – |
| 6 | Atacora | 772,262 | 2013 | – |
| 7 | Couffo | 745,328 | 2013 | – |
| 8 | Collines | 717,477 | 2013 | – |
| 9 | Littoral | 679,012 | 2013 | – |
| 10 | Plateau | 622,372 | 2013 | – |
| 11 | Donga | 543,130 | 2013 | – |
| 12 | Mono | 497,243 | 2013 | – |
Cities: the largest cities of Benin.
More on Benin: official statistics · government and power · local power
Sources
- Institut National de la Statistique et de l'Analyse Économique (INSAE, now INStaD) with ICF (The DHS Program): Enquête Démographique et de Santé au Bénin 2017-2018 (EDSB-V), final report: Annex Table A.1, population by department and area of residence from the 2013 census (RGPH4), read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 b16170e42e03…)
- Institut National de la Statistique et de la Démographie (INStaD), with UNICEF (copy kept by the WHO/UNICEF JMP): Enquête par grappes à indicateurs multiples (MICS6-Bénin) 2021-2022, Rapport des résultats de l'enquête (revised December 2023): department rows of Tables SR.2.1, SR.2.3, SR.6.1W, CS.2, TM.2.1, TM.3.3, TM.4.2, TM.6.1, TM.6.2, TC.1.2, TC.6.7, TC.8.1, LN.2.3, LN.2.7, LN.4.1, PR.1.1, PR.2.1, PR.3.3, PR.4.1W, PR.7.1W, WS.1.2, WS.3.2 and DV.2.2, read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 b47fa901f5ed…)
- Direction Générale du Trésor et de la Comptabilité Publique (DGTCP), Ministry of Economy and Finance: Note de conjoncture des finances locales, exercice budgétaire 2025 (March 2026): Table 11, commune budgets per inhabitant by department, and local investment by department, read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 8cc614c1e0f4…)
Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.