country profile

Benin

Sub-Saharan AfricaLower middle income14.81M population

Last updated July 15, 2026

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Critically unprepared

Composite GEFRI Score

Systemwide critical constraints

Benin shows critically low readiness to meet the challenges and opportunities of education in a rapidly changing world (20th percentile worldwide). Core capabilities are weak across most dimensions, and essential systems face significant constraints.

29.31Composite score
Global percentile
20th
Global rank
#142
Regional rank
#17
Viewing data for
Severely underprepared
Infrastructure
32.70
15th percentileGlobal avg. 55.13
Critically unprepared
Human Capital
22.09
5th percentileGlobal avg. 47.36
Severely underprepared
Innovation
37.54
32nd percentileGlobal avg. 46.19
Severely underprepared
Governance
44.20
48th percentileGlobal avg. 47.46
Critically unprepared
Access & Parity
10.00
33rd percentileGlobal avg. 48.49

Country profile

Benin faces substantial readiness constraints across core dimensions. Its weakest results are in Infrastructure (33, 15th percentile), GEFRI Composite (29, 20th percentile) and Human Capital (22, 5th percentile). These gaps continue to weigh on overall readiness.

Uneven scores across dimensions show where readiness conditions are less aligned. Limited electricity or internet coverage still constrains classrooms, preventing large-scale digital instruction. Literacy or tertiary enrollment gaps thin the talent pipeline and limit the country’s capacity to develop future-ready skills.

Sparse R&D investment and a small research workforce slow experimentation and delay new ideas from reaching learners. Policy execution and regulatory capacity remain weak, leaving reforms fragmented and hard to sustain. Gender parity leans toward boys in secondary pathways, signalling persistent barriers for girls.

Governance presents a near-term leapfrog opportunity: performance is just below the global average, backed by enough observed data to support forward planning. Regionally, Benin leads most clearly in Governance, sitting well above the peer average.

Most indicators are observed rather than imputed, so estimation uncertainty is limited.

Key insights

Falls below many peers at the 20th percentile.

Places 142nd worldwide.

Holds a regional position of 17th within Sub-Saharan Africa.

Scores range from Governance (44.2) to Access & Parity (10.0), reflecting variation across dimensions.

Leads regional peers most clearly in Governance.

Regional peers: Sub-Saharan Africa

Composite GEFRI Score

Global rankRegional rankCountryScore
651South Africa57.44
742Mauritius55.85
SeychellesMicrostate55.06
803Botswana53.75
994Ghana48.08
1085Namibia44.23
1146Cabo Verde39.44
1207Eswatini36.39
1258Equatorial Guinea35.21
1269Senegal34.71
12710Gabon34.67
12811Rwanda34.54
13312Kenya32.83
13513Gambia, The32.46
13614Cote d'Ivoire32.04
13715Lesotho31.46
14016Tanzania29.45
14217Benin29.31
Sao Tome and PrincipeFCSMicrostate29.18
14318Togo28.93
14419Zimbabwe28.61
14520CameroonFCS28.42
14621Mauritania27.91
14822Zambia27.69
15023Angola27.20
15324Guinea25.53
15425MozambiqueFCS25.03
15526Madagascar24.90
15627Uganda24.77
15728Congo, Rep.FCS24.76
15829NigeriaFCS24.43
16030EthiopiaFCS24.27
16131Burkina FasoFCS24.20
16232ComorosFCS24.06
16333Sierra Leone23.91
16434MalawiFCS23.31
16535Liberia22.51
16636Guinea-BissauFCS22.30
16737MaliFCS21.77
16838Burundi20.39
16939SudanFCS19.96
17040NigerFCS19.49
17141EritreaFCS19.24
17242Congo, Dem. Rep.FCS19.13
17343ChadFCS17.06
17544SomaliaFCS16.33
17645South SudanFCS16.19
17746Central African RepublicFCS16.10