Demographic profile
Benin is the 78th most populous of the 238 countries and territories tracked on this site, home to about 0.17% of everyone alive. Within Western Africa, it ranks 9 of 16.
Each day brings roughly 1,407 births and 351 deaths, adding about 385,696 people over a year. At the current natural-increase rate of 2.7% annually, the population would double in roughly 26 years if the rate held. Real trajectories bend as fertility, mortality and migration shift, which is why the chart below shows both history and projection.
Among its first-level divisions, the largest by our modelled allocation is Atlantique, holding an estimated 27.5% of the national population. The full breakdown of all 12 states and regions is in the table below — regional figures outside Sudan are modelled estimates built on real region names, and are flagged as such.
Literacy stands near 55.0% and adult smoking prevalence around 8.0%, with life expectancy at about 50.2 years. Baselines come from UN World Population Prospects, the World Bank, WHO surveys, WorldPop and HDX; the counters project them forward in real time — the method, and every caveat, is documented on our data sources page.
Quick answers
What is the population of Benin in 2026? Approximately 14,284,193 people (live projection; the counter above updates every second).
How fast is Benin growing? About 2.7% per year — roughly 1,407 births and 351 deaths every day.
What share of the world lives in Benin? Around 0.17% — ranked 78 worldwide by population.