Living in Benin

In Benin the money picture is quickly told. Pay sits near the global floor, the cost of living sits there with it, and tax claims almost none of what you make. The catch is what remains, thin enough that a salary mostly covers the basics. French runs the workplace, and for someone without local connections, getting hired is the real climb.

Benin's migration runs mostly outward, and along regional lines. About 726.5K Beninese live abroad, a diaspora that has grown 16% over the past decade, with the largest community — 404.5K — just across the border in Nigeria. The country also receives arrivals from Togo, Nigeria, and Niger, but it remains a net sender, with roughly 374,000 foreign-born residents at home.