Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Benin is 63% bigger than Ireland
Benin: 114,760 km² (2024) · Ireland: 70,280 km² (2024)
How much coast is there?
Ireland’s coastline is 12 times as long as Benin’s
Benin: 121 km (2026 edition) · Ireland: 1,448 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Ireland’s highest peak towers 366 m above Benin’s
Benin: 675 m (2026 edition) · Ireland: 1,041 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Farmland covers 65% of Ireland, versus 43% of Benin
Benin: 43.1% (2024) · Ireland: 65.1% (2024)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Benin has 2.7 times as many people as Ireland
Benin: 14.8 million (2025) · Ireland: 5.48 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Benin is 65% more densely populated than Ireland
Benin: 131 per km² (2025) · Ireland: 80 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Ireland are 10.6 cm taller than in Benin
Benin: 168.4 cm (2019) · Ireland: 179 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Ireland are 6.1 cm taller than in Benin
Benin: 158.4 cm (2019) · Ireland: 164.5 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Ireland is 21 years older than in Benin
Benin: 17.8 years (2023) · Ireland: 38.4 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Benin have 3.0 more children on average than in Ireland
Benin: 4.48 children per woman (2024) · Ireland: 1.47 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
16% of people in Ireland are 65 or older, versus 3.2% in Benin
Benin: 3.2% (2025) · Ireland: 16.2% (2025)
How many refugees does it host?
Ireland hosts 22 times as many refugees per resident as Benin
Benin: 1.1 per 1,000 (2025) · Ireland: 25.1 per 1,000 (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Ireland has produced 9.1 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Benin none
Benin: 0 (2026) · Ireland: 9.1 (2026)
How many official languages?
Ireland has 2 official languages, Benin 1
Benin: 1 (2026) · Ireland: 2 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Ireland’s economy is 29 times the size of Benin’s
Benin: $24.6 billion (2025) · Ireland: $722 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Ireland produces 32 times as much per person as Benin
Benin: Int$4,817 (2025) · Ireland: Int$155,089 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Benin than in Ireland (Gini 5.4 points higher)
Benin: 34.4 (2021) · Ireland: 29 (2023)
How many live on less than $3 a day?
27% of people in Benin live on less than $3 a day, versus 0.1% in Ireland
Benin: 27.2% (2021) · Ireland: 0.1% (2023)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 4.6% in Ireland, versus 1.6% in Benin
Benin: 1.6% (2025) · Ireland: 4.6% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Benin spends 0.9% of its GDP on the military, Ireland 0.2%
Benin: 0.9% (2025) · Ireland: 0.2% (2025)
How much does the central government collect in tax?
Benin: no data · Ireland: 17.9% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Ireland’s price level (US = 100) is 2.5× Benin’s
Benin: 34% (2025) · Ireland: 85% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Ireland spends 159 times as much on health per person as Benin
Benin: $47 (2023) · Ireland: $7,395 (2024)
How long do people live?
People in Ireland live 22 years longer than in Benin
Benin: 61 years (2024) · Ireland: 83 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Benin is 13 times as likely to die before turning one as in Ireland
Benin: 45.2 per 1,000 (2024) · Ireland: 3.4 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Ireland has 18 times as many doctors per person as Benin
Benin: 0.2 per 1,000 (2023) · Ireland: 3.9 per 1,000 (2023)
How many hospital beds are there?
Ireland has 6.9 times as many hospital beds per person as Benin
Benin: 0.4 per 1,000 (2021) · Ireland: 3 per 1,000 (2023)
How common is suicide?
The suicide rate in Benin is 2.3 times that in Ireland
Benin: 16.2 per 100k (2023) · Ireland: 7.2 per 100k (2023)
How common is obesity?
31% of adults in Ireland are obese, versus 11% in Benin
Benin: 10.9% (2024) · Ireland: 30.6% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
18% of adults in Ireland smoke, versus 7.4% in Benin
Benin: 7.4% (2024) · Ireland: 18.2% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Ireland rate their lives 2.54 points higher than in Benin
Benin: 4.39 (2025) · Ireland: 6.93 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Ireland drink 2.5 times as much alcohol as in Benin
Benin: 4.1 litres (2023) · Ireland: 10.3 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Ireland has 5.7 times as much meat per person as Benin
Benin: 17.3 kg (2022) · Ireland: 98.4 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Ireland has 1,218 kcal more food per person per day than Benin
Benin: 2,703 kcal (2022) · Ireland: 3,921 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Benin: no data · Ireland: 1,654 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Ireland went to school 8.5 years longer than in Benin
Benin: 3.2 years (2023) · Ireland: 11.7 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Ireland welcomed 91 times as many tourists per resident as Benin (2019)
Benin: 0.02 (2019) · Ireland: 2.2 (2019)
How many World Heritage sites?
Benin has 1 more World Heritage site than Ireland (3 against 2)
Benin: 3 (2026) · Ireland: 2 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
Ireland has won 42 Olympic medals, Benin none
Benin: 0 (2026 edition) · Ireland: 42 (2026 edition)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
97% of people in Ireland are online, versus 34% in Benin
Benin: 34% (2024) · Ireland: 97% (2024)
How fast is home internet?
Home internet in Ireland is 5.1 times as fast as in Benin
Benin: 59 Mbps (2026) · Ireland: 300 Mbps (2026)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in Ireland have electricity, versus 59% in Benin
Benin: 59% (2024) · Ireland: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
65% of people in Ireland live in cities, versus 53% in Benin
Benin: 53% (2025) · Ireland: 65% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Benin has 126 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Ireland 113
Benin: 126 (2024) · Ireland: 113 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Ireland’s railway network is 3.8 times as long as Benin’s
Benin: 438 km (2014) · Ireland: 1,650 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Ireland fly 578,489 times as many passengers per resident as those from Benin
Benin: 0.000061 (2016) · Ireland: 35.11 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 28% of Benin, but only 12% of Ireland
Benin: 28.1% (2024) · Ireland: 12% (2024)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Ireland emits 15 times as much CO₂ as someone in Benin
Benin: 0.4 t (2024) · Ireland: 6.3 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
48% of Ireland’s electricity is renewable, versus 4.0% in Benin
Benin: 4% (2024) · Ireland: 48.1% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Benin carries 4.8 times as much fine dust as in Ireland
Benin: 35.3 µg/m³ (2024) · Ireland: 7.4 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
Benin: no data · Ireland: 0.7 per 100k (2023)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Benin are 7.3 times as deadly as in Ireland
Benin: 38.1 per 100k (2023) · Ireland: 5.2 per 100k (2023)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Benin is on average 17.8 °C warmer than Ireland
Benin: 28°C (2016–2025 avg) · Ireland: 10.3°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Ireland gets 12% more rain than Benin
Benin: 1,014 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Ireland: 1,139 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Between them
People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other
Quick answers
Is Benin bigger than Ireland?
Benin is larger. Benin is 63% bigger than Ireland.
Which has more people, Benin or Ireland?
Benin has 2.7 times as many people as Ireland (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Benin or Ireland?
People in Ireland live 22 years longer than in Benin. Life expectancy at birth is 61.0 years in Benin and 83.0 in Ireland.
Are people taller in Benin or Ireland?
Men in Ireland are 10.6 cm taller than in Benin (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
