Insurance and financial services in Benin
Benin: Insurance and financial services was 11.4% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Insurance and financial services in Benin, 1974–2023
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service exports.
Analysis
In 2023, insurance and financial services in Benin stood at 11.4%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 138.7% on the previous year and up 460.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, insurance and financial services in Benin peaked at 25.7% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 2003.
That places Benin 28th out of 190 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Insurance and financial services in Benin, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 4.1% | — |
| 1975 | 4.6% | +13.0% |
| 1976 | 2.5% | -45.9% |
| 1977 | 3.3% | +31.0% |
| 1978 | 2.6% | -19.8% |
| 1979 | 3.2% | +21.4% |
| 1980 | 2.7% | -14.6% |
| 1981 | 2.6% | -3.8% |
| 1982 | 2.7% | +3.1% |
| 1983 | 2.7% | +0.1% |
| 1984 | 2.2% | -18.8% |
| 1988 | 6.3% | +189.8% |
| 1989 | 5.6% | -11.6% |
| 1990 | 6.9% | +22.4% |
| 1991 | 5.9% | -14.3% |
| 1992 | 8.9% | +50.7% |
| 1993 | 7.9% | -11.4% |
| 1994 | 6.3% | -20.0% |
| 1995 | 6.9% | +10.5% |
| 1996 | 2.7% | -61.3% |
| 1997 | 3.7% | +37.1% |
| 1998 | 5.2% | +42.5% |
| 1999 | 4.1% | -22.3% |
| 2000 | 2.3% | -42.4% |
| 2001 | 2.3% | -0.7% |
| 2002 | 2.8% | +17.9% |
| 2003 | 0.5% | -81.4% |
| 2004 | 1.5% | +192.7% |
| 2005 | 2.3% | +52.4% |
| 2006 | 2.5% | +8.5% |
| 2007 | 2.2% | -11.1% |
| 2008 | 2.2% | +2.3% |
| 2009 | 2.5% | +11.1% |
| 2010 | 2.2% | -10.1% |
| 2011 | 0.9% | -61.3% |
| 2012 | 11.2% | +1195.5% |
| 2013 | 2.0% | -81.8% |
| 2014 | 3.9% | +92.1% |
| 2015 | 4.9% | +25.9% |
| 2016 | 4.2% | -15.3% |
| 2017 | 4.0% | -3.5% |
| 2018 | 25.7% | +539.0% |
| 2019 | 11.8% | -54.2% |
| 2020 | 11.9% | +1.3% |
| 2021 | 6.1% | -49.2% |
| 2022 | 4.8% | -21.0% |
| 2023 | 11.4% | +138.7% |
Benin compared with similar countries
- Benin's 11.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.8%, 6.5× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Benin's 11.4% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.3%, 3.4× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Insurance and financial services in Benin changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | +1195.5% | 0.9% | 11.2% |
| 2018 | +539.0% | 4.0% | 25.7% |
| 2004 | +192.7% | 0.5% | 1.5% |
| 1988 | +189.8% | 2.2% | 6.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3.4% | 2.5% | 4.6% | 6 |
| 1980s | 3.6% | 2.2% | 6.3% | 7 |
| 1990s | 5.8% | 2.7% | 8.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.1% | 0.5% | 2.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.1% | 0.9% | 25.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.6% | 4.8% | 11.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Benin
More private sector data for Benin
- Merchandise trade 36.4% (2025)
- Food imports 33.3% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 50.1% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 4.95 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 39.7% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 7.4% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 3.99 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 269.2 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1623 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate -0.8946 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is insurance and financial services in Benin?
- Insurance and financial services in Benin was 11.4% in 2023, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest insurance and financial services recorded in Benin?
- The highest recorded value was 25.7% in 2018.
- What is the lowest insurance and financial services recorded in Benin?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 2003.
- How does Benin rank for insurance and financial services?
- Benin ranks 28th out of 190 countries with data for 2023.
- Is insurance and financial services rising or falling in Benin?
- Over the last ten years it is up 460.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Benin data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 47 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Financial services covers services related to financial intermediation, financial risk management, liquidity transformation or auxiliary financial activities. It also includes insurance and pension scheme services which are services related to providing life insurance and annuities, non-life insurance, reinsurance, pensions, standardised guarantees and auxiliary services to insurance, pension schemes, and standardised guarantee schemes. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service exports which are commercial services provided by residents to non-residents.