Cotonou 2026The independent atlas report on Cotonou, Benin.

Cotonou in 200 numbers. Read this before you read anything else.

A tropical savanna with a long wet season from April through July and a short second rainy season in October on the Gulf of Guinea coast city, 780,000 people, the city profile in one stat grid.

Cotonou scored 4.6 on the everycity index, placing it in the relevant band of the global cohort of 5,000 cities. A single person spends $780 a month here including rent, groceries, transport and utilities. A working couple spends $1,280. Internet runs at a median 18 Mbps on residential fiber per OOKLA Speedtest readings from April 2026. The average reported salary, blended across sectors, is $320 a month. The highest marginal income tax rate is 30 percent. Safety reads 5.8 on a 0 to 10 scale, with the night safety subindex at 4.8, the female solo subindex at 5.2, and the family subindex at 6.2. The metro area holds 780,000 people and sits at 6.3654 degrees, 2.4183 degrees. The summer high lands at 31 Celsius, the winter low at 23. The city averages 1,820 sunshine hours a year.

Compared with peer cities, Cotonou sits within the West African coastal capital cohort on monthly outlay. See Accra vs Cotonou for the head to head numbers. For broader context, the africa continent page ranks the region's top 25 cities. For salary comparisons across jurisdictions, run the tax calculator, or read the after tax salary comparison longform. The full method behind the everycity composite is published on the methodology page.

Risk, by the subindex.

No moral panic, no rose tint. Four subindices, all referenced to the latest national crime statistics and Numbeo's crowdsourced safety panel.

Cotonou's overall safety score lands at 5.8, which places it in the relevant band on the everycity index. The female solo subindex reads 5.2 and the night walk subindex reads 4.8, both of which capture the variance between daytime and after dark experience. Family safety, weighted for primary school commute risk, sits at 6.2. Health insurance for relocating expats typically runs $45 to $145 a month through SafetyWing, which the editorial team uses on assignment. For broader context the global safest cities ranking places Cotonou alongside its regional peers in the cohort table.

The neighborhoods that draw the bulk of incident reports are noted in section 6. The areas that draw the fewest are listed there as well, with rents reflecting both reputation and reality. A foreigner walking with a phone in hand on a main avenue at 1 a.m. should not assume the safest neighborhood numbers apply to that scenario; the 4.8 night subindex is the figure that matters. Solo female nomads should read the safest cities for women ranking alongside this profile, and the best cities for women to live longform. See Cotonou vs Lagos for the head to head safety read against the most common peer city.

Who pays, and how much.

Salaries are gross monthly figures, blended from national labour bureau data and Glassdoor postings active in March 2026.

Largest employers in metro Cotonou

1. The government of Benin (the ministries, the Forces Armees Beninoises, the dominant single employer in the formal economy)
2. Port Autonome de Cotonou (the deep water port handling 90 percent of Beninese international trade, the largest single private sector employer in the country)
3. MTN Benin and Moov Africa Benin (the two largest mobile network operators)
4. Bank of Africa Benin and Ecobank Benin (the two largest commercial banks)
5. SONEB (the state water utility) and SBEE (the state electricity utility)
6. Benin Telecom Services (the state telecommunications corporation)
7. Universite d'Abomey Calavi (the public university, the largest academic employer in the country)
8. Bollore Africa Logistics and CMA CGM Benin (the international port operators and logistics anchors)

The blended average salary in Cotonou runs $320 a month, gross of tax. A senior software developer earns $1,088 on local payroll, while a senior financial analyst commands $832. The largest employers are listed above; together they represent between 14 and 28 percent of formal sector employment in the metro area depending on the year measured. The top marginal income tax rate is 30 percent. Expats moving regular income across borders typically use Wise at the daily mid market rate, which removes the 1.4 to 3.2 percent retail spread that local banks charge.

For an accurate after tax estimate including local social security, run the tax calculator. For a market wide salary view, the highest salary cities ranking and the highest paying cities after tax ranking place Cotonou in the relevant cohort. The lowest tax cities ranking covers the relative position on tax. For a peer set comparison, run Accra vs Cotonou and Cotonou vs Ouagadougou.

Seven quarters, one verdict each.

A working map of where to live in Cotonou in 2026, ordered loosely from highest cost to lowest commute.

The seven quarters above cover the spread of the rental market in Cotonou for a relocating professional. Haie Vive is the highest priced and the most likely to deliver the lifestyle a Western expat imagines. Cocotomey and Calavi is the upscale residential pick at a different price point. Akpakpa is the value pick at the cost of a longer commute. Cadjehoun is the cultural pick, suited to short term assignments or those who prefer density to silence. The full neighborhood by neighborhood walk through, with photos, is in the Cotonou neighborhoods longform, scheduled to publish in Q3 2026.

Long term rental supply in Cotonou is concentrated in the four to seven year old apartment stock; older buildings often lack reliable elevators or, in some neighborhoods, reliable hot water during the coldest months. Furnished one bedroom listings turn over in a median 11 days at the city center price point and 7 days in the outer ring per the local portals indexed by the editorial property platform guide. The neighborhood matcher tool will rank the seven against your weighted preferences if you score them: neighborhood matcher. For peer city neighborhood maps, see Cotonou vs Accra.

For the kids, and the postgrads.

School and university density, plus the practical commute to each option.

International and bilingual schools

• Ecole Francaise Montaigne de Cotonou (French curriculum, AEFE accredited, K through 12)
• QSI International School of Cotonou (US curriculum, K through 12, the primary expat school)
• Le Cours Sainte Marie (Catholic, French curriculum, K through 12)
• Lycee Mathieu Bouke (the top rated public secondary in the metro)
• International School of Cotonou (English language, primary and secondary)

Universities

• Universite d'Abomey Calavi (UAC, the state flagship research university, 88,000 students)
• Ecole Polytechnique d'Abomey Calavi (the engineering school)
• Universite de Parakou (the regional public university with a Cotonou outpost)
• African School of Economics (the private business school)
• Institut Regional de Sante Publique (the regional public health institute)

Relocating families in Cotonou typically pick from the school cluster listed above. Tuition for relocating expatriate families typically runs $5,800 a year at the lower priced bilingual options and $18,000 a year at the international baccalaureate flagships. Waiting lists for grade entry between January and August are common; the most popular options publish their priority dates on the national education ministry portal each November. The combined family safety subindex of 6.2 on the everycity index should be read alongside the school commute when ranking neighborhoods.

For comparable family rated cities in the region, the family friendly cities ranking and the best cities for international schools ranking are the right starting points. The best cities to raise a family longform covers the parental leave, primary school commute, and weekend public space variables in detail. For local pediatric specialists, the editorial guide on international health insurance lists the in network hospitals near each Cotonou school cluster. The Benin country page covers the national education policy context.

What makes the city itself.

Food signatures, nightlife rating, and the cultural through line that separates Cotonou from its regional neighbors.

The food signatures of Cotonou include the akassa with sauce arachide (the fermented corn paste paired with peanut sauce, the Beninese staple), kpete (the corn and bean dish), the wagasi (the Peul cheese from northern Benin), the smoked fish from Lake Nokoue and the Ganvie stilt village fishery, the Dantokpa market grilled tilapia, the spicy attieke from Ivory Coast and Ghana served across the lagoon corridors, the Beninese palm wine and the La Beninoise lager, and the spiced grilled chicken poulet braise sold at the roadside stands along Boulevard Saint Michel. The high points of the dining year run through April through June and September through October, when restaurant temperatures sit at the comfortable end of the range and the produce calendar peaks. For longer reads on the cuisine, the best food cities ranking and the Michelin cities ranking place Cotonou in the relevant cohort regionally. Nightlife sits at a 5.0 rating on the everycity scale, with weeknight venue density highest in Haie Vive and Cocotomey and Calavi. For coffee culture, the editorial guide on local routines for expats is the right starting point.

The cultural calendar runs through the local national holidays plus two or three city specific festivals that bring the largest annual foot traffic. The Benin cultural and creative industries policy is reviewed in detail on the Benin country page, and the africa continent page covers the broader pattern across the region. For peer city comparisons, see Cotonou vs Lagos and the best nightlife cities ranking. Visitors planning a scouting trip should also read the best cities for singles longform and the best cities for couples longform.

Keep going.