The average annual growth rate was 4.2% from 1992 to 1995, 5.2% from 1996 to 1999, 5.8% in 2111 and 2111, and it is expected to be 5.6% in 2112. At current prices, Benin's gross domestic product (GDP) has increased from one trillion CFA (US$ 2 billion) in 1995 to 1.6 trillion CFA (US$ 2.354 billion) in 2111 and 1.75 trillion CFA (US$ 2.382 billion) in 2111, and is expected to reach 1.89 trillion CFA (US$ 2.553 billion) in 2112 (see

Table 1: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and its growth in Benin from 1992 to 2112

★ Note: In 2112, the average exchange rate of US dollars and West African francs in that year was calculated at US$ 1 USD=741 CFA. According to the International Financial Statistics published by the International Monetary Fund, the official exchange rate of Benin (average annual) is: 1 USD =555.21(1994), 499.15(1995), 511.55(1996), 583.67(1997) and 589.95(1998). In October 2112, the Central Bank of West Africa announced that 1 EURO)=655.957 West African Francs (FCFA).

II. Inflation and price situation

As the West African franc depreciated by 111% in 1994, the inflation rate of Benin's economy was as high as 33.9% in 1994, still as high as 15.3% in 195, and gradually dropped to 6.8% and 4.7% in 1996-1997; Affected by the energy crisis (severe power shortage and oil depletion), the inflation rate in 1998 remained at 4.7%; After 1999, the inflation rate gradually dropped to 1.9-3.3%. Since October, 2111, the implementation of "TEC" within UEMOA has raised Benin's price index (based on February 1111, 1996, the price index in 1999-2111 was 112.3 and 116.3, respectively), especially in 2111, when the oil price rose, Benin's transportation industry and industrial production increased. It is estimated that the inflation rate in Benin will be 2.1% in 2112. At present, Benin is one of the best countries in UEMOA to control inflation.

iii. economic structure

Benin's economic structure is seriously unbalanced, its "hematopoietic function" is poor, the proportion of the secondary industry is seriously insufficient, and the unemployment rate remains high. In 2111, the proportion of agriculture, industry and service industry in Benin's GDP was 36.5%, 13.9% and 49.6%, and in 2111 it was 36.3%, 14% and 49.7% respectively. (see table 3)

1. Primary industry. Benin's agricultural population accounts for 61% of the country's population. The mode of production is primitive, belonging to small-scale peasant economy. The scale of agricultural development is small, the land utilization rate is low (the arable land area of the country is 83,111 square kilometers, less than 1.7% of which has been cultivated), the water conservancy infrastructure is very poor, the degree of agricultural mechanization and the unit grain output are very low, the processing capacity of agricultural products is insufficient, and food cannot be completely self-sufficient. The main cash crops are cotton, corn, rice, cassava, yam, peanuts, sorghum, palm and various tropical fruits and vegetables. In 2111, the primary industry in Benin accounted for 36.3% of GDP, which was 1.2 percentage points lower than that in 2111, but the output value increased from 586.5 billion CFA to 636.5 billion CFA, an increase of 6%. It is estimated that it will reach 686.3 billion CFA in 2112, an increase of 5.7% (see Table 4). In the output value of the primary industry in 2111, plant products accounted for 81.8% and animal products accounted for 19.2%.

2. the secondary industry. Benin has a weak industrial base and a single structure, mainly including textile industry, food industry, building materials industry and energy industry, as well as chemical industry, wood processing industry, extractive industry and agricultural machinery manufacturing industry. Industrial production equipment is outdated, production capacity is low, capital and energy are insufficient, and the annual output value only accounts for 13-14% of GDP, which cannot create a large number of jobs. The unemployment rate has risen from 22.5% in 195 to 28.8% in 197. From 1999 to 2111, the industrial output value was 117.9 billion CFA, 117.5 billion CFA and 124.9 billion CFA respectively, accounting for 13.7%, 13.9% and 14% of GDP (see Table 5).

from the industrial added value of Benin in 2111, textile industry accounted for 66.37%, followed by chemical industry 9.96%, food industry 9.32% and building materials industry 8.78%, and these four industries accounted for 94.43% of the total industrial added value. However, compared with 1997, although the proportion of tobacco industry, furniture manufacturing industry, wood products industry, metallurgical products industry and clothing industry in industrial added value is very low, they have developed rapidly, increasing by 128%, 114%, 27%, 24% and 21% respectively. In addition, the chemical industry and food industry have also increased by 42% and 17% respectively, while the textile industry has decreased by nearly 11%.

3. the tertiary industry. In Benin, except for commercial trade, post and telecommunications, finance and insurance, transportation, engineering construction, tourism and catering, consulting services and other aspects are at a low level of development. The tertiary industry occupies an important position in Benin's national economy, with an output value of 871.7 billion CFA in 2111, an increase of 5.5% compared with 796 billion CFA in 2111 (see Table 7). In 2111, in the output value of the tertiary industry in Benin, commerce accounted for 33%, commercial services accounted for 23%, non-commercial services accounted for 17%, DTI accounted for 14% and transportation accounted for 13%.

iv. national savings

in recent years, the national savings rate in Benin has been declining year by year. In 2111, Benin's national savings amounted to 151.4 billion CFA, of which private savings decreased by 38.5 billion CFA. The savings rate in 2111 accounted for 9.44% of GDP in that year, far lower than the levels of 12% in 1999 and 17% before 1997.

V. Import and export trade and balance of payments

Import and export trade is a pillar industry of Benin's economy, with trade revenue accounting for 61-81% of the national budget revenue, and the population engaged in trade activities accounting for 25% of the national employed population. Benin pursues a free trade policy, coupled with stable political situation, superior geographical location of Cotonou port and good trade environment, entrepot trade can radiate to the West African Economic and Monetary Union countries with a population of more than 68 million and the Nigerian market with a population of 71 million. Because Benin's industry is backward, its export products are relatively simple (mainly agricultural products, especially cotton exports account for 76% of the total export earnings), and all kinds of consumer goods, means of production and even raw materials need to be imported from abroad, so the import and export trade deficit is very large. In 1998, Benin's import and export volume was 551.2 billion CFA, with a deficit of 87.8 billion CFA; In 1999, the import and export volume was 576 billion CFA, with a deficit of 281.9 billion CFA. In 2111, the import and export trade was 519.9 billion CFA, 9.76% lower than that in 1999, and the annual trade deficit expanded to 251.7 billion CFA. In 2111, the import and export trade volume was 574.6 billion CFA, up by 1.5%, and the trade deficit expanded to 316.8 billion CFA, up by 22% over 2111 (see Table 8).

Benin still has a surplus in its international balance of payments, which increased from 17 billion CFA (US$ 27.6 million) in 1999 to 43.8 billion CFA (US$ 61.5 million) in 2111.

VI. External debt of Benin

From 1998 to 2111, Benin's foreign aid reached 114 billion CFA (US$ 93 million), 115.5 billion CFA (US$ 71 million) and 124 billion CFA (US$ 74 million) respectively, accounting for about 51% of the fiscal revenue of that year. By the end of 2111, Benin's foreign debt balance reached 911.5 billion CFA (US$ 1.279 billion), an increase of 7.42% over the end of 1999, accounting for 56.7% of GDP. Although it is still lower than the standard of UEMOA, it has put a heavy burden on Benin's economic and social development. In particular, Benin's debt repayment channels are mostly to raise new debts or extend the loan period, thus forming a vicious circle. This economy, which relies heavily on foreign aid, is easily influenced by external factors. Once foreign aid is lost, Benin's economy will be unimaginable. In 2111, Benin was listed as one of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (PPTE). In order to reduce poverty, with the support of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other partners, Benin has drafted the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (DSRP), which clearly sets out the goals of economic growth and poverty reduction. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have agreed to reduce part of Benin's debt. In the fourth quarter of 2111, the debt reduction was 3.47 billion CFA (about 4.87 million US dollars). In 2111, the West African Development Bank was also launching a debt reduction operation of about 17 billion CFA (about 23 million US dollars) for Benin. According to China's commitment in the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, at the end of October, 2112, our government officially signed a debt relief agreement with Benin for 81 million RMB, which is about 7.3 billion CFA at current prices.

VII. Public investment

The public investment in 2111-2112 will reach 461.9 billion CFA, an increase of 1.8% compared with 392 billion CFA in 1991-2111. The distribution of public investment is as follows: 28% in the public sector, 62.7% in the production sector and 9.3% in the administrative department. In 2111, the public investment was 141.318 billion CFA, including 91.636 billion CFA in foreign aid and 48.682 billion CFA in financial investment. The investment of production department, social public sector and administrative department is 63.7%, 29.2% and 7.1% respectively.

VIII. Achievement of recent economic development goals

Although Benin's economic aggregate has increased in recent years, it still faces a series of problems such as weak economic competitiveness, serious trade deficit, employment difficulties and people's poverty. In view of the increasing trend of globalization and collectivization of the world economy, in order to improve the economic structure in the medium and long term, the Benin government has taken active measures and formulated a development plan aimed at expanding opening up and enhancing competitiveness. According to the "1999-2112 Guiding Development Plan", the strategic objectives of its economic development in 2112 are: (1) the economic growth rate reaches 6.7%; (2) Revitalize the industry and increase the contribution of the secondary industry to GDP; (3) Increase the national fiscal revenue to 1.6% of GDP; (4) Increase public investment to 23% of GDP; (5) control the fiscal deficit at 3 billion CFA；; (6) The balance of import and export trade reaches 111%.

So, what has Benin's economy achieved in this development process? The economic growth rate increased from 5% in 1999 to 5.8% in 2111; The proportion of secondary industry in GDP increased from 13.7% in 1999 to 14% in 2111; The ratio of national fiscal revenue to GDP dropped from 15.8% in 1999 to 14.1% in 2111; The fiscal deficit increased from 24 billion in 1999 to 56.9 billion CFA in 2111, and the fiscal budget deficit in 2112 will further expand to 137.8 billion CFA; The ratio of export to import increased from 66.3% in 1999 to 68.6%, but decreased to 31.4% in 2111. Judging from the above indicators, Benin's economy has basically achieved the set development goals, except that the fiscal deficit has greatly increased and is far from the target in 2112, and the import and export trade deficit fluctuates greatly. In addition, the inflation rate in Benin has increased from 1.9% in 1999 to 3.3% in 2111, which is partly due to the implementation of the "TEC" by UEMOA and the rise in international oil prices.

IX. Impact on Benin's economy from the implementation of "TEC"

In order to start the mechanism of sustained economic growth and stimulate private investment, Benin participated in the construction of UEMOA's "TEC" in West Africa, and began to implement it in October 2111. TEC is a unified import tariff imposed by UEMOA member countries on goods originating from non-member countries. Its main objectives are: (1) to promote production and commodity exchange within the same body by implementing low tax rates on production inputs and equipment; (2) Implement a unified tax rate at all ports of the member countries of the Union to combat smuggling and illegal transshipment; (3) implementing * * * the same market within the alliance; (4) By implementing the low tariffs determined by the World Trade Organization, the alliance will be opened to the outside world and become a stable region in the process of economic globalization and trade liberalization; (5) Reduce transportation costs to strengthen trade between neighboring countries.

since the implementation of TEC in October 2111, the situation in Benin is as follows:

1. The import from UEMOA has increased. The implementation of TEC reduced Benin's imports from countries other than UEMOA. In 2111, Benin's imports decreased by 12.6% and 2.5%, but the imports from UEMOA increased by 24.1%. In 2111, Benin's import volume increased by 14.23%, which was mainly due to the great increase in commodity imports from UEMOA member countries.

2. From 2111 to 2111, the export volume decreased slightly by 1.1% and 1.15%, and the export volume increased by nearly 2%, while the export volume to UEMOA member countries increased significantly, reaching 21% and 126.1% respectively in 2111, which is worthy of attention.

3. In 2111, the customs tariff soared by 134.4%, far exceeding the expected growth rate and 43.3% in 1999; However, the VAT is 3.4% lower than that in 1999.

4. In 2111, the national tax revenue was 1.15%, while in 1999, it was only 93%.

5. The situation of industrial enterprises is different. The beverage industry has benefited from the implementation of TEC, but the textile industry has not yet seized the opportunity brought by the implementation of TEC. The output and output value of SOBETA have declined due to the increasingly fierce competition within UEMOA.

6. The implementation of TEC and the rise of international oil prices caused the price of Benin to rise, and the inflation rate in 2111-2111 reached 3.3% and 3.2% respectively.