Benin is a unitary presidential republic of twelve departments. Romuald Wadagni, backed by the ruling coalition, won the April 2026 presidential election with about 94 percent, and observers noted that no credible opposition candidate was on the ballot.
In the 12 Axes register, Benin leans hardest on Democratic – Autocratic: Autocratic 83%; the register median is balanced 50%.
Take the test and this line shows how close your twelve scores are to Benin, and the axis where you differ most.
Where Benin sits on each of the twelve axes, in four categories. The label is our estimate; the line under it says why.
Unitary
Unitary state with twelve departments
Oligarchy
Wadagni won April 2026 with 94 percent
Statist
No credible opposition candidate allowed on 2026 ballot
Non-Interventionist
ECOWAS member, Sahel border cooperation
Neutral
Troops deployed against northern jihadists
Centrist
French official, many national languages
Economic Liberal
Private-led cotton and port economy
Markets
Cotton exports and Cotonou port trade
Free Trade
ECOWAS and WAEMU trade bloc member
Spiritual
Secular state, Vodun national holiday
Conservative
Same-sex acts legal, widespread social stigma
Neutral
No distinct state stance
Set against the median of all 195 countries in the register.
Democratic – Autocratic
On Democratic – Autocratic, Benin is at Autocratic 83%. The register median is balanced 50%.
Federal – Unitary
On Federal – Unitary, Benin is at Unitary 68%, almost the register median of Unitary 68%.
Closeness is 100 minus the root-mean-square distance on all twelve axes.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · freedomhouse.org
Map: Flappiefh, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped and resized.
Last updated: 2026-10-15
The tiers on this page are our estimates from public positions and policies. They are not an official statement by the person or the government concerned. Two independent passes scored every axis and a third settled the differences. How the register works. Found a mistake? Write to [email protected].
