Cotonou

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Cotonou
Map of Benin, position of Cotonou highlighted
Basic data
State : BeninBenin Benin
Department : Littoral
Height : 7  m above sea level NN
Area : 79  km²
Residents : 679,012 (2013)
Population density : 8,595 inhabitants per km²
Structure and administration (as of 2015)
Mayor: Léhady Vinagnon Soglo (since 2015)
Cotonou.JPG
Street scene in Cotonou

Cotonou [ kɔtɔˈnu ] is the capital in the West African Benin and is the economic center as well as the seat of government of the country. The capital is however Porto-Novo , where the parliament has its seat. The city forms the Littoral department .

population

Cotonou has 679,012 inhabitants (as of 2013).

Population development:

  • 1979: 320,348 inhabitants (census)
  • 1992: 536,827 inhabitants (census)
  • 2002: 665,100 inhabitants (census)
  • 2013: 679,012 inhabitants (census)

history

The town's name is derived from Cotonou Ku Tonu , which in the language of the Fon about mouth of the river of death means. It was originally a in a lagoon situated fishing village and developed over time as a transit place for the overseas trade of the kings of Dahomey .

Cotonou belonged to the Dahomey Kingdom in the 18th century . In 1851, France signed an agreement with King Gézo at home that allowed him to set up a trading post in Cotonou. In 1883 the French navy occupied the city to prevent Britain from conquering the area.

On June 26, 1883, an Apostolic Prefecture of the Roman Catholic Church was established in Cotonou , which was elevated to the Archbishopric of Cotonou in 1955 . The episcopal church is the Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-Miséricorde .

On June 23, 2000, the Cotonou Agreement was signed in Cotonou , which, following the Lomé Agreement, regulates the relationship between the European Community and the ACP countries ,

Infrastructure

Cotonou skyline

Cotonous airport , road and rail links make it the central transportation hub in the country. The port of Cotonou is the largest port in the country and one of the most important in all of West Africa. A large part of the goods transport for the landlocked countries Niger and Burkina Faso runs through it .

economy

Cotonou is the economic capital of Benin and, above all, an important trading center due to the port . a. for goods to Burkina Faso , Mali and Niger . The city experienced a boom as a result of the civil war in the Ivory Coast , as a lot of trade moved away from Abidjan , the seat of government of the Ivory Coast .

Produced palm oil , beer , textiles and cement , as well as motor vehicles and bicycles , and there are sawmills in the city. Petroleum products , bauxite and iron are exported . Oil is being drilled off the coast.

In a ranking of cities according to their quality of life, Cotonou was ranked 182nd out of 231 cities worldwide in 2018.

Markets
  • The international market in the Dantokpa district is one of the largest in West Africa.
  • The fish market starts early every morning
  • The fruit market in the Ganhi district is just as well attended as
  • the art market.

Climate table

Cotonou
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.
 
 
9
 
31
24
 
 
37
 
32
25th
 
 
74
 
32
26th
 
 
137
 
32
26th
 
 
197
 
31
25th
 
 
356
 
29
24
 
 
147
 
28
24
 
 
65
 
28
23
 
 
99
 
28
24
 
 
127
 
30th
24
 
 
41
 
31
24
 
 
20th
 
31
24
Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm
Source: wetterkontor.de
Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Cotonou
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 30.8 31.6 31.9 31.6 31.0 29.2 28.0 27.8 28.4 29.6 30.9 30.8 O 30.1
Min. Temperature (° C) 23.8 25.4 25.9 25.6 24.6 23.7 23.7 23.4 23.6 23.8 24.3 23.8 O 24.3
Precipitation ( mm ) 9 37 74 137 197 356 147 65 99 127 41 20th Σ 1,309
Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 6.9 7.5 7.2 7.3 6.9 4.7 4.4 4.8 5.5 6.7 8.1 7.2 O 6.4
Rainy days ( d ) 1 2 4th 7th 11 14th 7th 5 9 9 3 1 Σ 73
Water temperature (° C) 27 27 28 29 28 27 26th 24 25th 26th 27 28 O 26.8
Humidity ( % ) 82 82 80 82 83 87 86 86 86 86 85 83 O 84
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
30.8
23.8
31.6
25.4
31.9
25.9
31.6
25.6
31.0
24.6
29.2
23.7
28.0
23.7
27.8
23.4
28.4
23.6
29.6
23.8
30.9
24.3
30.8
23.8
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
N
i
e
d
e
r
s
c
h
l
a
g 		9
37
74
137
197
356
147
65
99
127
41
20th
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Source: wetterkontor.de

Sports

The football club Energie Sport FC played in the Benin Premier League for several years in the late 1990s .

Town twinning

Sister towns of Cotonou are

sons and daughters of the town

Web links

Commons : Cotonou  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikivoyage: Cotonou  - travel guide

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ citypopulation: Benin - Cities
  2. ↑ Benin . German Society for International Cooperation (Ed.) Accessed December 28, 2015.
  3. ↑ Mercer's 2018 Quality of Living Rankings. Retrieved August 18, 2018 .
  4. ↑ Ville de Cotonou - Jumelage ( Memento from January 14, 2017 in the Internet Archive )