Oueme Department

Ouémé Department hosts Porto-Novo, Benin's official capital, creating an unusual administrative geography where political power resides in one city while economic power concentrates in another. Named for the Ouémé River, the department's nine communes include both the historic capital and surrounding agricultural hinterland. Porto-Novo's 300,000 residents (2023) give it administrative significance, yet Cotonou's gravitational pull draws government offices, embassies, and economic activity westward.

The capital's economy mixes public administration, services, and agriculture. Palm oil, cashew nuts, and maize production sustain the rural 37% of the department's population, while the urban 63% work in government, commerce, and informal services. Porto-Novo's lagoon-based fishing adds distinctive economic character, though the sector remains artisanal. The Ouando Market represents the primary commercial node, facilitating trade that connects producers with consumers.

Petroleum discovery offshore in 1968 created export potential that materialized in the 1990s, adding extractive revenues to the regional economy. The department's proximity to Nigeria creates both opportunity (access to 200 million consumers) and challenge (smuggling and informal trade that escapes taxation). Whether Porto-Novo can develop economic identity beyond administrative functions—competing with Cotonou for investment and talent—remains uncertain. The capital's historic architecture and cultural heritage offer tourism potential not yet systematically developed.