It was formerly known as Dahomey. The majority of its population lives on the southern coastline of the Bight of Benin , part of the Gulf of Guinea in the northernmost tropical portion of the Atlantic Ocean.
From the 17th to the 19th century, political entities in the area included the Kingdom of Dahomey , the city-state of Porto Novo , and other states to the north. This region was referred to as the Slave Coast of West Africa from the early 17th century due to the high number of people who were sold and trafficked during the Atlantic slave trade to the New World.
In , Dahomey gained full independence from France. As a sovereign state , Benin has had democratic governments , military coups , and military governments. A self-described MarxistβLeninist state called the People's Republic of Benin existed between and In , it was replaced by the multi-party Republic of Benin. The official language of Benin is French, with indigenous languages such as Fon , Bariba , Yoruba and Dendi also spoken.
The largest religious group in Benin is Christianity During French colonial rule and after independence on 1 August , the country was named Dahomey, after the Kingdom of Dahomey. On 30 November , following a MarxistβLeninist military coup , the country was renamed Benin, after the Bight of Benin , which borders the country, due to Dahomey only being associated with the Fon who inhabited the southern half of the country.
Prior to , present-day Benin comprised a variety of areas with different political systems and ethnicities. These included city-states along the coast primarily of the Aja ethnic group and also including Yoruba and Gbe peoples and tribal regions inland composed of Bariba , Mahi, Gedevi, and Kabye peoples.
