Benin

West-African republic independent from France in 1960; a Muslim minority (Dendi, Fulani, Bariba) in the north, reached by trans-Saharan trade and the Sokoto sphere.

☾ The Coming of Islam

Islam from the Sahelian trade routes

Islam entered the territory of modern Benin from the north, carried along the trans-Saharan and Sahelian trade networks and by Muslim traders and scholars (notably the Dendi and Hausa). It took hold mainly among the northern peoples, while the southern kingdoms — Dahomey and Porto-Novo — retained their indigenous Vodun traditions.

☾ Religious Composition

A Muslim minority concentrated in the north

Benin is religiously diverse: adherents of Christianity and of indigenous Vodun traditions are numerous in the south, while Muslims — a substantial minority of the country — predominate in the north. Most Beninese Muslims are Sunni.

Demographic shares are approximate.

At a glance