Kandi, Benin
title: "Kandi, Benin" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["communes-of-benin", "populated-places-in-the-alibori-department", "communes-in-yorubaland"] topic_path: "general/communes-of-benin" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kandi,_Benin" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Kandi |
| native_name | |
| settlement_type | Commune, arrondissement and city |
| image_skyline | Vue de très loin de la Cathédrale Notre dame du mont carmel de Kandi (6) 08.jpg |
| image_caption | Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel |
| pushpin_map | Benin |
| pushpin_label_position | bottom |
| pushpin_mapsize | 240 |
| pushpin_map_caption | Location in Benin |
| subdivision_type | Country |
| subdivision_name | |
| subdivision_type1 | Department |
| subdivision_name1 | Alibori Department |
| leader_title1 | |
| established_title | |
| area_total_km2 | 3421 |
| population_as_of | 2013 |
| population_footnotes | |
| population_total | 177683 |
| population_density_km2 | auto |
| timezone | WAT |
| utc_offset | +1 |
| coordinates | |
| elevation_footnotes | |
| elevation_m | 288 |
| postal_code_type | Postal address |
| postal_code | BP: 30 |
| area_code | (+229) 23 |
| :: |
|name = Kandi
|other_name =
|native_name =
|nickname =
|settlement_type =Commune, arrondissement and city
|motto =
|image_skyline = Vue de très loin de la Cathédrale Notre dame du mont carmel de Kandi (6) 08.jpg
|imagesize =
|image_caption = Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
|image_flag =
|flag_size =
|image_seal =
|seal_size =
|image_shield =
|shield_size =
|image_map =
|mapsize =
|map_caption =
|pushpin_map = Benin
|pushpin_label_position =bottom
|pushpin_mapsize = 240
|pushpin_map_caption =Location in Benin
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name =
|subdivision_type1 = Department
|subdivision_name1 = Alibori Department
|subdivision_type2 =
|subdivision_name2 =
|subdivision_type3 =
|subdivision_name3 =
|
|government_footnotes =
|government_type =
|leader_title =
|leader_name =
|leader_title1 =
|leader_name1 =
|established_title =
|established_date =
|area_footnotes =
|area_total_km2 =3421
|population_as_of =2013
|population_footnotes =
|population_note =
|population_total =177683
|population_density_km2 =auto
|timezone =WAT
|utc_offset = +1
|timezone_DST =
|utc_offset_DST =
|coordinates =
|elevation_footnotes =
|elevation_m = 288
|postal_code_type = Postal address
|postal_code = BP: 30
|area_code = (+229) 23
|website =
|footnotes =
** Kandi ** is a town, arrondissement and commune in the Alibori Department of eastern Benin. Originally a market town, Kandi is now primarily a farming centre. It lies on the nation's main north-south highway, 650 km from Cotonou and 523 km north of Porto-Novo. The town is the capital of the department of Alibori. The commune covers an area of 3421 sqkm and as of 2013 had a population of 177,683 people. The town itself had a population of 27,227 in 2002.
History
Kandi is claimed by the royal family to have been founded by elephant hunters of the Sinaboko (King) from the Bariba Kingdom of Nikki, one of the major capitals of the Borgu Confederation. However, what is more historically accurate is that in the first half of the eighteenth century (1700s), a number of aristocrats belonging to the Wasangari group of Nikki migrated into the already existing Mokole villages of Kandi and Guénè to establish themselves as a ruling social class. This is corroborated by the accounts of certain locals interviewed in a 2014 report where they stated that both Kandi and Guene were founded by Mokole people, and that in the case of Guene, the Wasangari did not conquer the town by force but by 'charming' the locals and cajoling them into allowing the Bariba taking power/control.
The neighboring villages are of the Bariba people in south and west, and the Mokole-Yoruba in the north and east. The migratory origin of the Bariba starts off in Bussa, Nigeria, while that of the Mokole traces back to populations who migrated during the period of the foundation of the Oyo Empire around the sixteenth century.
Administrative divisions
Kandi is subdivided into 10 arrondissements: Kandi I, Kandi II, Kandi III, Angaradébou, Bensékou, Donwari, Kassakou, Saah, Sam and Sonsoro. They contain 39 villages and nine urban districts.
Economy
Most of the population are engaged in agricultural activities, followed by trade, transportation and handicrafts. There are notable iron deposits of high quality in the vicinity. The main crops grown are maize, cotton, kapok, millet and peanuts. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Bombax_costatum_around_Pendjari_National_Park.jpg" caption="''Bombax costatum'' around Pendjari National Park in Benin"] ::
Bombax costatum ('false kapok'; 'Kapokier à fleurs rouges') is locally important as an agriforest subsistence crop: its flowers and calices are used as food; its leaves provide fodder, while kapok fibre is obtained from its seed pods. For Benin as a whole, cotton (Gossypium spp.) is the most important crop for its international trade: In 2018, ninety-five percent of the country's cotton production was exported; cotton earned eighty percent of Benin's export income. As a cash crop, it makes a crucial contribution to the incomes of local farmers. Kandi is a major centre of the cotton-growing region and cotton-ginning factories in the commune provide local employment.Kapok sources:
- Cotton and cotton processing sources:
Transport
The town is situated on the RNIE 2 highway and is served by Kandi Airport, which is located north of the main town.
Geography
The commune of Kandi is located 650 km from Cotonou, in the Sudanian savanna zone. Communally it is bounded to the north by Malanville, south by Gogounou, west by Banikoara and to the east by Ségbana.
Climate
Kandi has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw).
|width = auto |metric first = yes |single line = yes |location = Kandi (1961–1990, extremes 1921–present) |Jan record high C=41.2 |Feb record high C=43.0 |Mar record high C=43.3 |Apr record high C=43.9 |May record high C=43.3 |Jun record high C=40.9 |Jul record high C=38.9 |Aug record high C=39.9 |Sep record high C=39.8 |Oct record high C=41.5 |Nov record high C=39.5 |Dec record high C=39.5 |year record high C=43.9 |Jan high C=33.6 |Feb high C=36.4 |Mar high C=38.4 |Apr high C=38.6 |May high C=36.2 |Jun high C=33.3 |Jul high C=30.9 |Aug high C=30.2 |Sep high C=31.1 |Oct high C=34.2 |Nov high C=35.3 |Dec high C=33.8 |year high C=34.3 |Jan mean C=24.9 |Feb mean C=27.8 |Mar mean C=30.9 |Apr mean C=32.1 |May mean C=30.4 |Jun mean C=28.1 |Jul mean C=26.4 |Aug mean C=26.0 |Sep mean C=26.2 |Oct mean C=27.8 |Nov mean C=26.5 |Dec mean C=24.8 |year mean C=27.7 |Jan low C=16.1 |Feb low C=19.2 |Mar low C=23.4 |Apr low C=25.6 |May low C=24.6 |Jun low C=22.9 |Jul low C=21.9 |Aug low C=21.8 |Sep low C=21.4 |Oct low C=21.4 |Nov low C=17.7 |Dec low C=15.8 |year low C=21.0 |Jan record low C=10.0 |Feb record low C=12.6 |Mar record low C=15.2 |Apr record low C=17.0 |May record low C=16.5 |Jun record low C=14.9 |Jul record low C=18.6 |Aug record low C=19.0 |Sep record low C=15.0 |Oct record low C=14.0 |Nov record low C=10.8 |Dec record low C=5.0 |year record low C=5.0 |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm=0.3 |Feb precipitation mm=1.3 |Mar precipitation mm=6.9 |Apr precipitation mm=35.5 |May precipitation mm=122.6 |Jun precipitation mm=148.2 |Jul precipitation mm=213.2 |Aug precipitation mm=263.2 |Sep precipitation mm=197.5 |Oct precipitation mm=52.5 |Nov precipitation mm=0.1 |Dec precipitation mm=0.0 |year precipitation mm=1041.3 |Jan humidity=33 |Feb humidity=28 |Mar humidity=36 |Apr humidity=52 |May humidity=65 |Jun humidity=75 |Jul humidity=82 |Aug humidity=85 |Sep humidity=85 |Oct humidity=76 |Nov humidity=54 |Dec humidity=40 |year humidity=59 |unit precipitation days= 1.0 mm |Jan precipitation days=0 |Feb precipitation days=0 |Mar precipitation days=1 |Apr precipitation days=4 |May precipitation days=9 |Jun precipitation days=11 |Jul precipitation days=16 |Aug precipitation days=19 |Sep precipitation days=16 |Oct precipitation days=6 |Nov precipitation days=0 |Dec precipitation days=0 |year precipitation days= |Jan sun=271.0 |Feb sun=239.3 |Mar sun=240.7 |Apr sun=238.6 |May sun=247.0 |Jun sun=233.1 |Jul sun=202.7 |Aug sun=174.6 |Sep sun=195.3 |Oct sun=261.0 |Nov sun=281.5 |Dec sun=285.1 |year sun=2869.0 |source 1= NOAA (precipitation, sunshine hours 1991-2020){{cite web |url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/oceans/archive/arc0216/0253808/4.4/data/0-data/Region-1-WMO-Normals-9120/Benin/CSV/Kandi_65306.csv |title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 |publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date = January 4, 2024}} |source 2 = Deutscher Wetterdienst (humidity, 1951–1967), | url = http://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_653060_kt.pdf | title = Klimatafel von Kandi, Prov. Borgou (Nordost) / Benin | work = Baseline climate means (1961-1990) from stations all over the world | publisher = Deutscher Wetterdienst | language = de | access-date = 11 June 2016}} Meteo Climat (record highs and lows) | url = http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/index.php?page=stati&id=1566 | title = Station Kansi | publisher = Meteo Climat |language = fr | access-date = 11 June 2016}}
References
References
- [http://www.geohive.com/cntry/benin.aspx Benin at Geohive] {{webarchive. link. (2016-08-28)
- "Kandi (Benin)". [[Encyclopædia Britannica]].
- "Kandi". Atlas Monographique des Communes du Bénin.
- "Communes of Benin". Statoids.
- (2003). "The Baatombu and Their Culture". Haytee Press & Publishing Company Nig..
- (2014). "Mission dans le Dendi: Rapport d'activités mars 2014".
- (16 October 2018). "Two Thousand Years in Dendi, Northern Benin: Archaeology, History and Memory". BRILL.
- "KANDI Climate Normals 1961-1990". [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]].
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