List of national routes in Benin
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The road network of Benin is a network that mainly consists of unpaved roads. Only the coastal road and the north-south road between Cotonou and the north of the country are paved. There are no motorways. Due to the elongated shape of the country, the road network consists of a few north-south axes with many branches towards the east and west.
Routes
A unique feature of the Beninese road numbering system is that the most important roads are not considered national, but international. There are eighteen numbered roads. This includes seven international roads and eleven national roads.
Interstate National Routes
The international roads always run to the border with a neighboring country and often between two borders. They form a network of roads of international importance. The prefix used is RNIE, an abbreviation of route nationale inter-états (French for 'interstate national road').
| Number | Course | Length |
|---|---|---|
| RNIE 1 | Nigeria – Ouidah – Cotonou - Porto-Novo – Sakété – Togo | 180 km (110 mi) |
| RNIE 2 | Cotonou – Savé – Parakou – Malanville – Niger | 750 km (470 mi) |
| RNIE 3 | Dassa-Zoumé – Djougou – Porga – Burkina Faso | 448 km (278 mi) |
| RNIE 4 | Togo – Abomey – Kétou – Nigeria | 160 km (99 mi) |
| RNIE 5 | Doume – Savalou - Glazoué - Savè – Nigeria | 150 km (93 mi) |
| RNIE 6 | Togo – Djougou – N'Dali – Nikki – Nigeria | 300 km (190 mi) |
| RNIE 7 | Nigeria – Segbana – Kandi – Burkina Faso | 22 km (14 mi) |
National Routes
The national roads form connections that are not of international importance. As a result, the roads rarely run to the border with a neighboring country. The prefix used is RN, an abbreviation of route nationale (French for 'national road').
| Number | Course | Length |
|---|---|---|
| RN 1 | Ouidah – Allada | 37 km (23 mi) |
| RN 2 | Comè – Aplahoué | 81 km (50 mi) |
| RN 3 | Sakété – Kétou | 100 km (62 mi) |
| RN 4 | Massé – Akpro-Missérété | 100 km (62 mi) |
| RN 5 | Tchaourou – Bétérou | 55 km (34 mi) |
| RN 6 | Djougou – Nikki | 180 km (110 mi) |
| RN 7 | Bembéréké – Kouandé - Korontière | 120 km (75 mi) |
| RN 8 | Djougou – Banikoara | 210 km (130 mi) |
| RN 9 | Tanguiéta – Bansalé – Togo | 65 km (40 mi) |
| RN 10 | Ségbana – Bessassi - Nikki | 88 km (55 mi) |
Road safety
Things like road lighting and road markings are largely absent in Benin. As a result, road safety is poor. The poor quality of many cars and the lack of petrol stations in the north, which often means that petrol is sold illegally and unreliably, do not contribute positively to road safety.
There is little signage in Benin. The signage consists of white signs with black letters based on the French model. Road numbers are usually not indicated.