| National Anthem | Benin

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• published: 26 Jul 2016
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| National Anthem | Benin ► Download link: http://adf.ly/1cegZb Benin, officially the Republic of Benin and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. A majority of the population live on its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin, part of the Gulf of Guinea in the northernmost tropical portion of the Atlantic Ocean. The capital of Benin is Porto-Novo, but the seat of government is in Cotonou, the country's largest city and economic capital. Benin covers an area of 114,763 square kilometers and its population in 2015 was estimated to be approximately 10.88 million. Benin is a tropical, sub-Saharan nation, highly dependent on agriculture, with substantial employment and income arising from subsistence farming. The official language of Benin is French. However, indigenous languages such as Fon and Yoruba are commonly spoken. The largest religious group in Benin is Roman Catholicism, followed closely by Islam, Vodun and Protestantism. Benin is a member of the United Nations, the African Union, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, La Francophonie, the Community of Sahel-Saharan States, the African Petroleum Producers Association and the Niger Basin Authority. From the 17th to the 19th century, the main political entities in the area were the Kingdom of Dahomey along with the city-state of Porto-Novo and a large area with many different tribes to the north. This region was referred to as the Slave Coast from as early as the 17th century due to the large number of slaves shipped to the New World during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. After slavery was abolished, France took over the country and renamed it French Dahomey. In 1960, Dahomey gained full independence from France, and had a tumultuous period with many different democratic governments, many military coups and military governments. A Marxist–Leninist state called the People's Republic of Benin existed between 1975 and 1990. In 1991, it was replaced by the current multi-party Republic of Benin. National anthems rose to prominence in Europe during the 19th century, but some originated much earlier. The oldest national anthem belongs to the Netherlands and is called the Wilhelmus. It was written between 1568 and 1572 during the Dutch Revolt, but did not become the official anthem until 1932. The Japanese anthem, Kimigayo, has the oldest lyrics, which were taken from a Heian period (794–1185) poem, yet it was not set to music until 1880. In contrast, the music of Qaumi Taranah, Pakistan's national anthem was composed in 1949, preceding its lyrics, which were written in 1952. The Philippine anthem Lupang Hinirang was composed in 1898 as wordless incidental music for the ceremony declaring independence from the Spanish Empire. The Spanish poem Filipinas was written the following year to serve as the anthem's lyrics; the current Tagalog version dates to 1962. God Save the Queen, the national anthem of the United Kingdom and the royal anthem reserved for use in the presence of the Monarch in some Commonwealth Realms, was first performed in 1745 under the title God Save the King. Spain's national anthem, the Marcha Real (The Royal March), written in 1761, was among the first to be adopted as such, in 1770. Denmark adopted the older of its two national anthems, Kong Christian stod ved højen mast, in 1780; and La Marseillaise, the French anthem, was written in 1792 and adopted in 1795. Serbia became the first Eastern European nation to have a national anthem – Rise up, Serbia! – in 1804. Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu, the national anthem of Kenya, is one of the first national anthems to be specifically commissioned. It was written by the Kenyan Anthem Commission in 1963 to serve as the anthem after independence from the United Kingdom. National Anthem National Anthem download All National Anthems of the World