Skip to content
Nations Inquiry — home
A voodoo temple now stands guard in the hallowed grounds of the Door of No Return along Benin's Atlantic coast. The Door of No Return has been declared as a…

Photo: Shubert Ciencia derivative work: JamesA · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale

Development & Human Capital

186th

of 196 countries placed

Placed from 3 of 3 key statistics

01The evidence

The 3 key statistics that decide it

Only these place Benin on development & human capital — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used — or, for a survey-based key, each country’s latest reading; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.

Why these keys
  1. Key 1 of 3

    Social Protection Coverage

    International Labour Organization (ILO)

    Why it is a key: The share of people covered by at least one social protection benefit: whether the state catches anybody when they fall.

    Latest reading per country, 2015–2025 · Benin’s is from 2020 · CC BY 4.0

    8.4

    Population covered by at least one social protection benefit (%)

    Higher is better

    Benin: 8.4. Across the 208 countries at their latest reading, values run from 0 (Somalia) to 100 (Switzerland); the world median is 52.1.

    World median
    52.1
    Best in Western Africa
    60.3 Cabo Verde
    Land neighbours
    Burkina Faso 9.7 · Niger 20.6 · Nigeria 14.8 · Togo 38.7

    Each grey tick is one of 208 countries at its latest reading, 2015–2025.

  2. Key 2 of 3

    Maternal Mortality Ratio

    UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG)

    Why it is a key: Whether a woman survives giving birth — the reach of a health system at the moment it is hardest to fake.

    2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 3.0 IGO

    518.23

    Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births

    Lower is better

    Benin: 518.23. Across the 195 countries in this edition, values run from 0.11 (Cook Islands) to 992.83 (Nigeria); the world median is 46.65.

    World median
    46.65
    Best in Western Africa
    40.04 Cabo Verde
    Land neighbours
    Burkina Faso 241.79 · Niger 350.27 · Nigeria 992.83 · Togo 348.9

    Each grey tick is one of 195 countries in the 2023 edition.

  3. Key 3 of 3

    Human Development Index

    UNDP Human Development Report Office

    Why it is a key: The standard composite of health, schooling and income, carrying UNDP's own published rank.

    2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 3.0 IGO

    0.515

    HDI score (0–1)

    Higher is better

    Ranked 173rd of 193 by UNDP Human Development Report Office

    Benin: 0.515. Across the 193 countries in this edition, values run from 0.388 (South Sudan) to 0.972 (Iceland); the world median is 0.762.

    World median
    0.762
    Best in Western Africa
    0.668 Cabo Verde
    Land neighbours
    Burkina Faso 0.459 · Niger 0.419 · Nigeria 0.56 · Togo 0.571

    Each grey tick is one of 193 countries in the 2023 edition.

03In context

Benin beside its neighbours

A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 196 countries on development & human capital, never a place within the region.

Western Africa
1st196thNot placed · 28 countries with too few key statisticsNo data

The whole world on development & human capital

Benin and the countries it borders

The standing is each country’s place among all 196 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.

CountryStandingSocial Protection CoveragePopulation covered by at least one social protection benefit (%)Maternal Mortality RatioMaternal deaths per 100,000 live birthsHuman Development IndexHDI score (0–1)
Togo152nd38.7348.90.571
Niger175th20.6350.270.419
Nigeria179th14.8992.830.56
Burkina Faso180th9.7241.790.459
Benin186th8.4518.230.515

“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.

Placed either side on development & human capital

The countries immediately above and below Benin in the topic’s list.

04Context, no vote

Where Benin is ahead of the world, and behind

27 more statistics filed under development & human capital, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.

Every country

Ahead of the world median3

Statistics on which Benin does better than the middle country measured.

  • Country Policy and Institutional AssessmentWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 3.2463.883▲ Improved since 2015

    Benin: 3.883 · world median 3.246 · IDA Resource Allocation Index (1 = low to 6 = high). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 1.617 to 4.225; higher is better.

    Position 5th of 78 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Exclusive Breastfeeding Under Six MonthsUNICEF · 2024 · world median 40.7444.95No earlier reading

    Benin: 44.95 · world median 40.74 · Infants under 6 months exclusively breastfed (%). UNICEF, 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 3.497 to 83.3; higher is better.

    Position 56th of 136 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Statistical Performance IndicatorsWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 69.371.03▲ Improved since 2016

    Benin: 71.03 · world median 69.3 · SPI overall score (0–100). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 27.12 to 94.14; higher is better.

    Position 90th of 188 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

Behind the world median21

Statistics on which Benin does worse than the middle country measured.

  • Completeness of Birth RegistrationUNICEF · 2025 · world median 98.492.6No earlier reading

    Benin: 92.6 · world median 98.4 · Children under 5 whose birth is registered (%). UNICEF, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 2.7 to 100; higher is better.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Child MarriageUNICEF · 2025 · world median 17.127.5No earlier reading

    Benin: 27.5 · world median 17.1 · Women 20–24 married before 18 (%). UNICEF, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 76.3; lower is better.

    Position 41st of 143 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Account Ownership at a Financial InstitutionWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 72.8351.84▲ Improved since 2014

    Benin: 51.84 · world median 72.83 · Adults with an account (% of population aged 15+). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 14.83 to 99.85; higher is better.

    Position 107th of 139 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • GNI per Capita (PPP)World Bank Group · 2025 · world median 14,2734,028▲ Improved since 2015

    Benin: 4,028 · world median 14,273 · GNI per capita (constant 2021 international $, PPP). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 1,181 to 116,633; higher is better.

    Position 81st of 102 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • GDP per Capita (PPP)World Bank Group · 2025 · world median 17,2654,116▲ Improved since 2015

    Benin: 4,116 · world median 17,265 · GDP per capita (constant 2021 international $, PPP). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 1,067 to 139,593; higher is better.

    Position 155th of 185 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Human Capital IndexWorld Bank Group · 2020 · world median 0.5640.4▲ Improved since 2010

    Benin: 0.4 · world median 0.564 · HCI score (0–1). World Bank Group, 2020 edition, data for 2020.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.292 to 0.879; higher is better.

    Position 145th of 172 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2020 dataset

  • Global Multidimensional Poverty IndexOPHI · 2025 · world median 0.0390.29No real change since 2018

    Benin: 0.29 · world median 0.039 · MPI (0–1). Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 0.517; lower is better.

    Position 16th of 109 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Cereal YieldFAO · 2023 · world median 3,0721,127▼ Worsened since 2013

    Benin: 1,127 · world median 3,072 · Cereal yield (kg per hectare). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 23 to 29,147; higher is better.

    Position 155th of 179 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Violent Discipline of ChildrenUNICEF · 2025 · world median 75.888No earlier reading

    Benin: 88 · world median 75.8 · Children aged 1-14 experiencing violent discipline (%). UNICEF, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 37.6 to 94; lower is better.

    Position 13th of 90 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Stunting Prevalence in Children Under FiveUNICEF, WHO and World Bank Group (Joint Malnutrition Estimates) · 2024 · world median 13.834.13No earlier reading

    Benin: 34.13 · world median 13.8 · Children under 5 who are stunted (%). UNICEF, WHO and World Bank Group (Joint Malnutrition Estimates), 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.518 to 52.8; lower is better.

    Position 22nd of 162 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Planetary pressures-adjusted HDIUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.6780.504No real change since 2013

    Benin: 0.504 · world median 0.678 · PHDI (0–1). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.276 to 0.827; higher is better.

    Position 136th of 156 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Expected Years of SchoolingUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 13.3410.45▼ Worsened since 2013

    Benin: 10.45 · world median 13.34 · Expected years of schooling. UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 5.635 to 21.69; higher is better.

    Position 170th of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Access to ElectricityWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 10059No real change since 2014

    Benin: 59 · world median 100 · Population with electricity access (%). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 5.4 to 100; higher is better.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Gender Inequality IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.3510.573▲ Improved since 2013

    Benin: 0.573 · world median 0.351 · GII (0 = full equality, 1 = maximum inequality). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.003 to 0.838; lower is better.

    Ranked 153rd of 172 by UNDP Human Development Report Office.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Gender Development IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.9710.866▲ Improved since 2013

    Benin: 0.866 · world median 0.971 · Gender Development Index (1.000 = parity). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.407 to 1.038; higher is better.

    Position 166th of 184 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Infant Mortality RateUN IGME · 2024 · world median 12.2645.19No real change since 2014

    Benin: 45.19 · world median 12.26 · Deaths before age one (per 1,000 live births). UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 1.214 to 71.87; lower is better.

    Position 17th of 200 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Coefficient of Human InequalityUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 17.0538.47No real change since 2019

    Benin: 38.47 · world median 17.05 · Coefficient of Human Inequality (%). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 4.865 to 43.08; lower is better.

    Position 12th of 169 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Inequality-adjusted Human Development IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.6090.316No real change since 2019

    Benin: 0.316 · world median 0.609 · IHDI (0–1). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.226 to 0.923; higher is better.

    Position 158th of 169 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Under-Five Mortality RateUN IGME · 2024 · world median 14.5474.75No real change since 2014

    Benin: 74.75 · world median 14.54 · Deaths before age five (per 1,000 live births). UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 1.26 to 115.65; lower is better.

    Position 12th of 200 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Mean Years of SchoolingUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 9.9333.194No real change since 2013

    Benin: 3.194 · world median 9.933 · Mean years of schooling (adults 25+). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 1.412 to 14.3; higher is better.

    Position 184th of 193 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Life Expectancy at BirthUN DESA Population Division · 2023 · world median 74.6360.77▼ Worsened since 2013

    Benin: 60.77 · world median 74.63 · Years a newborn would live at current death rates. UN DESA Population Division, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from 54.46 to 86.37; higher is better.

    Position 214th of 222 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

No better end3

These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.

  • Net Official Development Assistance ReceivedOECD Development Assistance Committee · 2023 · world median 2.5795.309No real change since 2013

    Benin: 5.309 · world median 2.579 · Net ODA received (% of GNI). OECD Development Assistance Committee, 2023 edition, data for 2023.

    Published values in that edition run from -0.001 to 101.78.

    Position 43rd of 130 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2023 dataset

  • Children with Functional DifficultiesUNICEF · 2024 · world median 1313.8No earlier reading

    Benin: 13.8 · world median 13 · Children aged 5-17 with a functional difficulty (%). UNICEF, 2024 edition, data for 2024.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.9 to 35.2.

    Chart and every countryThe 2024 dataset

  • Manufacturing Value Added (% of GDP)World Bank Group · 2025 · world median 11.2610.15No real change since 2015

    Benin: 10.15 · world median 11.26 · Manufacturing value added (% of GDP). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.481 to 43.97.

    Position 72nd of 132 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

No current reading for Benin

Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day (last 2021), Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.00 a Day (last 2021), Poverty Headcount Ratio at $8.30 a Day (last 2021) and Prosperity Gap (last 2021). Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.

06The top of the list

Who leads on development & human capital

The three countries placed highest of 196, and the leaders Benin can most readily be measured against.

All 196 countries
  1. 1

    Cook Islands

    Polynesia

    1st of 196 · 2 of 3 keys

    Photo: Benedict Adam · CC BY 2.0, greyscale

  2. 2

    Norway

    Northern Europe

    2nd of 196 · 3 of 3 keys

    Photo: Ximonic , Simo Räsänen · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale

  3. 3

    Denmark

    Northern Europe

    3rd of 196 · 3 of 3 keys

    Photo: User:Aconcagua · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale

Placed highest nearby

  1. Highest in Africa

    Seychelles74th3/3 keys
  2. Highest in Western Africa

    Cabo Verde109th3/3 keys
  3. This page

    Benin186th3/3 keys

Positions out of 196 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.

08Questions

Benin on development & human capital: questions answered

Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.

How does Benin rank on development & human capital?

Benin is placed 186th of 196 countries on Development & Human Capital in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 3 key statistics (Social Protection Coverage, Maternal Mortality Ratio and Human Development Index). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.

What is the latest Social Protection Coverage figure for Benin?

8.4 in 2025 (population covered by at least one social protection benefit (%)), according to International Labour Organization (ILO). The world median in the same edition was 52.1.

What is the latest Maternal Mortality Ratio figure for Benin?

518.23 in 2023 (maternal deaths per 100,000 live births), according to UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG). The world median in the same edition was 46.65.

How does Benin compare with Nigeria on development & human capital?

Nigeria is placed 179th of 196, and Benin 186th. Social Protection Coverage: Nigeria 14.8, Benin 8.4; Maternal Mortality Ratio: Nigeria 992.83, Benin 518.23; Human Development Index: Nigeria 0.56, Benin 0.515.

How have Benin’s development & human capital figures changed?

Maternal Mortality Ratio fell from 529.47 in 2000 to 518.23 in 2023; Human Development Index rose from 0.415 in 2000 to 0.515 in 2023.

Which development & human capital statistics are missing for Benin?

No current reading is published for Benin on Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $8.30 a Day and Prosperity Gap. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.

10Method

Method, sources and how to cite

What this topic does not measure

Poverty lines, inequality and aid received are published here as context rather than as keys, often because they cover fewer countries or are measured too rarely. Development is also not the same as economic size or growth, which belong to Economy & Innovation.

About development & human capital, in full

How the Development & Human Capital standing is decided, step by step

A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.

  1. A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 3 indicators on this topic are keys and 31 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
  2. Each key is read at one edition. ⚠ The keys behind this standing do not all describe the same year — they run from 2023 to 2025, because publishers release on their own schedules. Read the standing as “how this country places now”, not as a snapshot of one year.
  3. Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
  4. Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
  5. The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
  6. A country needs 2 of this topic’s 3 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 196 countries clear the bar here.
  7. A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 3.
  8. A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.

The key statistics and their licences

The other 27 statistics on this page come from 9 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.

The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Photographs

Benin’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.

Cite this page

Nations Inquiry (2026). Benin: Development & Human Capital — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/benin/development

Feedback

Feedback

How are we doing?

Two answers are required — a rating and your email. The rest is up to you.