Benin, formerly known as Dahomey, is one of Africa's most stable democracies.
It boasts a proliferation of political parties and a strong civil society.
On the economic side, however, the picture is less bright - Benin is severely underdeveloped, and corruption is rife.
Benin's shore includes what used to be known as the Slave Coast, from where captives were shipped across the Atlantic. Elements of the culture and religion brought by slaves from the area are still present in the Americas, including voodoo.
AT-A-GLANCE
Once banned in Benin, the religion is celebrated at the country's annual Voodoo Day, which draws thousands of celebrants.
Before being colonised by France towards the end of the 1800s, the area comprised several independent states, including the Kingdom of Dahomey, which had a well-trained standing army and was geared towards the export of slaves and later palm oil.
Instability marked the first years after full independence from France in 1960 and the early part of Mr Kerekou's rule featured Marxism-Leninism as the official ideology.
However, during the 1980s Mr Kerekou resigned from the army to become a civilian head of state and liberalised the economy.
While Benin has seen economic growth over the past few years and is one of Africa's largest cotton producers, it ranks among the world's poorest countries. The economy relies heavily on trade with its eastern neighbour, Nigeria.
To the north, there have been sporadic clashes along Benin's border with Burkina Faso. The trouble has been blamed on land disputes between rival communities on either side of the border.
Thousands of Togolese refugees fled to Benin in 2005 following political unrest in their homeland. Benin called for international aid to help it shelter and feed the exiles.
President: Thomas Boni Yayi
Political newcomer Thomas Boni Yayi won the second round of presidential elections in March 2006, gaining more than 74% of the vote.
Mr Yayi is a former head of the Togo-based West African Development Bank. He said he would concentrate on reviving the economy and stamping out corruption.
In the April 2007 elections, Mr Yayi's coalition won control of parliament and said this would enable him to push through anti-corruption reforms.
The constitutional court president said there had been irregularities in the polls, but not serious enough to damage their credibility.
Born in 1952 into a Muslim family in the north, Mr Yayi later became an evangelical Christian.
His predecessor, one-time army major Mathieu Kerekou, led Benin for all but five years after seizing power in 1972. He earned for the country the label "Africa's Cuba" before dropping Marxist-Leninist ideology. He was barred by a constitutional age limit from running in the 2006 poll.
Benin's president heads the government, the state and the military and appoints members of the cabinet.
The International Press Institute (IPI) says Benin has one of the region's "most vibrant media landscapes". Press freedom is said to be in "very good shape" by the media rights body Reporters Without Borders.
Harsh libel laws have been used against journalists, but the constitution guarantees media freedom. The authorities have suspended newspapers over material deemed to be offensive.
Benin has dozens of newspapers and periodicals, a state TV channel, a handful of commercial TV channels and scores of state, commercial and local radio stations.
Radio is the main source of information, particularly in rural areas. The medium is popular because of its use of local languages. Phone-in programmes are particularly popular.
Poverty, poor infrastructure and a small advertising market translate to patchy newsgathering and inadequate newspaper distribution, especially in the countryside.
The BBC World Service, Radio France Internationale and Gabon's Africa No1 are available on FM in Cotonou.
Benin was one of the first west African countries to gain an internet connection. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) estimated that were some 425,000 internet users by September 2006.
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