Formerly known as French West Africa and before that Dahomey, Benin was one of the main areas involved in the slave trade.

Although Benin is one of the more politically stable countries in the area it is still blighted by poverty. It is ranked by most surveys as in the bottom 20 countries of the world for health, education, poverty and development. The average GDP  is $2.50 per day per person  - approximately 100 times less than in the UK

Benin sits very slightly East of the UK so it's time is just one hour ahead. Well, at least jet lag won't be a problem.