Benin’s 2013 census recorded a diverse religious composition, with Islam, Christianity, Vodoun, other traditional religions, and people reporting no religion all represented in the national data. The census recorded 989,528 valid individual religion responses and 11,934 invalid or missing responses. The figures below describe the 2013 census unless another year, population group, or geography is stated.
Contents
- National religion statistics
- Religion among household heads
- How the national picture changed from 2002 to 2013
- Where Vodoun adherents were concentrated
- Where Muslim adherents were concentrated
- Religious composition within departments
National religion statistics
The national individual-level results provide the broadest snapshot of religion in Benin. The percentages are shares of people with valid religion data, rather than shares calculated from the entire population including invalid or missing responses. INStaD RGPH4 V231 recorded 277,227 Muslims, representing 28.0% of valid individual religion responses. Catholics numbered 255,351, or 25.8%.
Vodoun was reported by 115,192 people, equal to 11.6% of valid responses. The census also identified 94,960 people as other Christians, or 9.6%. Celestial Christians numbered 67,683, or 6.8%, while 58,393 people reported no religion, or 5.9%.
The remaining named categories were smaller but still important for understanding the country’s religious diversity. Protestant Methodists numbered 34,565, representing 3.5% of valid responses. Other Protestants numbered 34,183, also 3.5%. Other traditional religions accounted for 26,096 people, or 2.6%, and other religions accounted for 25,878 people, also 2.6%.
| Religious category | People | Share of valid responses |
|---|---|---|
| Islam | 277,227 | 28.0% |
| Catholicism | 255,351 | 25.8% |
| Vodoun | 115,192 | 11.6% |
| Other Christians | 94,960 | 9.6% |
| Celestial Christians | 67,683 | 6.8% |
| No religion | 58,393 | 5.9% |
| Protestant Methodists | 34,565 | 3.5% |
| Other Protestants | 34,183 | 3.5% |
| Other traditional religions | 26,096 | 2.6% |
| Other religions | 25,878 | 2.6% |
Source: INStaD RGPH4 V231. The source reports 989,528 valid individual religion responses and 11,934 invalid or missing responses. The categories above should therefore be read as the distribution of valid answers, not as a claim that every census record had a usable religion response.
The national figures show why a single label does not capture Benin’s religious landscape. Islam was the largest listed category in these individual responses, followed closely by Catholicism. Vodoun formed a substantial third category, while the Christian results were distributed across Catholic, Celestial, Methodist, other Protestant, and other Christian classifications. Traditional and other religious categories, as well as no religion, were also recorded separately.
Religion among household heads
The 2013 census also published religion statistics for household heads. This is a different population group from the individual results above, so the two sets of percentages should not be substituted for one another. INStaD RGPH4 P10CM recorded 179,587 valid religion responses among household heads and 918 invalid responses.
Catholics were the largest household-head category: 50,449 household heads, or 28.1% of valid household-head religion responses. Muslims numbered 39,012, or 21.7%. Vodoun was reported by 26,739 household heads, equal to 14.9%.
Other Christians accounted for 17,401 household heads, or 9.7%. Celestial Christians numbered 12,227, or 6.8%, and 11,564 household heads reported no religion, or 6.4%.
The smaller household-head categories were Protestant Methodist, with 6,451 people and a 3.6% share; other Protestants, with 6,262 and 3.5%; other religions, with 4,990 and 2.8%; and other traditional religions, with 4,492 and 2.5%.
| Household-head category | People | Share of valid household-head responses |
|---|---|---|
| Catholicism | 50,449 | 28.1% |
| Islam | 39,012 | 21.7% |
| Vodoun | 26,739 | 14.9% |
| Other Christians | 17,401 | 9.7% |
| Celestial Christians | 12,227 | 6.8% |
| No religion | 11,564 | 6.4% |
| Protestant Methodist | 6,451 | 3.6% |
| Other Protestants | 6,262 | 3.5% |
| Other religions | 4,990 | 2.8% |
| Other traditional religions | 4,492 | 2.5% |
Source: INStaD RGPH4 P10CM. The contrast with the individual table is descriptive, not a direct measure of religious change. It reflects two different census populations: all individuals with valid data in one table and household heads with valid data in the other.
How the national picture changed from 2002 to 2013
A BCEAO/INSAE note based on RGPH4 gives national religious percentages for 2002 and 2013. These figures provide a historical comparison, but they are not a forecast and do not establish conditions after 2013. They also use the classifications and tabulation presented in that note.
Christianity rose from 42.8% in 2002 to 48.5% in 2013. Within the Christian categories, Catholicism fell from 27.1% to 25.5%, while Celestial Christianity rose from 5.0% to 6.7%. Protestant Methodism increased from 3.2% to 3.4%.
The category described as other Protestants and Christians rose from 7.5% in 2002 to 12.9% in 2013. Because the note presents this as a combined category, it should not be treated as identical to any one of the more detailed 2013 individual categories listed earlier.
Islam rose from 24.4% in 2002 to 27.7% in 2013. Vodoun fell from 17.3% to 11.6%. No religion fell from 6.5% to 5.8%, while other religions fell from 9.0% to 6.4%.
| Category in the BCEAO/INSAE comparison | 2002 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|
| Christianity | 42.8% | 48.5% |
| Catholicism | 27.1% | 25.5% |
| Celestial Christianity | 5.0% | 6.7% |
| Protestant Methodism | 3.2% | 3.4% |
| Other Protestants/Christians | 7.5% | 12.9% |
| Islam | 24.4% | 27.7% |
| Vodoun | 17.3% | 11.6% |
| No religion | 6.5% | 5.8% |
| Other religions | 9.0% | 6.4% |
Source: BCEAO/INSAE note based on RGPH4. The comparison describes reported percentages in 2002 and 2013; it should not be read as a prediction of future religious composition.
Where Vodoun adherents were concentrated
The 2013 departmental table in RGPH4 Tome 3 distributes Benin’s Vodoun adherents across departments. Couffo accounted for the largest share, at 28.2% of the country’s Vodoun adherents. Zou accounted for 20.7%, Atlantique for 18.8%, and Mono for 12.4%.
Oueme accounted for 6.8% of Vodoun adherents, while Collines accounted for 6.5%. Plateau represented 4.0%, Littoral 1.3%, and Borgou 0.9%. Alibori and Atacora each accounted for 0.1%. Donga accounted for 0.0% in the table.
These are shares of Benin’s Vodoun adherents by department. They are not the percentage of each department’s own residents who followed Vodoun. That distinction matters because a department can contribute a large share of the national group without having the highest within-department percentage.
Where Muslim adherents were concentrated
RGPH4 Tome 3 also reports the departmental distribution of Muslim adherents. Borgou accounted for the largest share, at 29.1% of Benin’s Muslim adherents. Alibori accounted for 24.3%, and Donga for 15.4%.
Atacora represented 7.9% of Muslim adherents, followed by Littoral at 5.7%, Oueme at 5.4%, Collines at 4.6%, and Plateau at 4.4%. Atlantique accounted for 1.7%, Zou for 1.0%, Mono for 0.3%, and Couffo for 0.2%, the lowest share reported in this departmental distribution.
As with the Vodoun figures, these percentages describe each department’s share of the national Muslim-adherent total. They do not indicate the religious composition within each department. The next section uses the separate within-department values.
Religious composition within departments
The religious-composition-by-department table in RGPH4 Tome 3 gives a different perspective: the percentage of residents within selected departments assigned to particular categories. The strongest Muslim shares listed were Donga at 72.9%, Alibori at 77.0%, and Borgou at 66.3%. Atacora was 23.9% Muslim.
The same table shows particularly high within-department Vodoun shares in Couffo, at 63.1%, followed by Mono at 40.5%, Zou at 40.4%, and Atlantique at 27.5%.
Catholic shares were highest among the listed values in Littoral, at 57.8%. Atlantique and Oueme were each 37.1% Catholic, while Collines was 39.3%. Mono was 20.4% Catholic, Atacora 19.6%, and Zou 25.5%.
Other traditional religions were 35.1% of Alibori’s internal composition, the highest departmental value for that category in the cited table. Atacora was also 35.1% in that category. The table additionally reports that Atacora contained 47.6% of Benin’s other-traditional-religion adherents by department, which is a national-distribution measure and therefore differs from Atacora’s 35.1% within-department composition.
Other traditional religions represented 12.3% within Mono, 9.0% within Couffo, 6.3% within Plateau, and 6.0% within Donga. Celestial Christianity represented 26.7% within Oueme, 21.4% within Atlantique, 14.9% within Zou, and 0.3% within Alibori.
Together, these departmental measures show why national percentages alone do not describe the geography of religion in Benin. The distribution of a group across the country and the composition of a department answer different questions. RGPH4 Tome 3 reports both kinds of measure for the 2013 census, making it possible to distinguish where adherents were located nationally from how each department was composed.