Scientific publishing in Benin as seen from Scopus

2,215 publications covering the period going from 1959 to 2011, with at least one author affiliated to Benin, were searched from Scopus and analyzed. These publications were co-authored by 10,225 scientists that correspond to 5,122 single authors in several disciplines of which the most prolific are Agricultural and biological science, and Medicine. None of the Benin-based journals were indexed in Scopus; approximately 5 % of the publications appeared in African reviews covered by Scopus. Researchers’ home institutions are mainly the University of Abomey-Calavi, its laboratories and some international organizations or cooperation agencies. The private universities were not mentioned in the affiliations list. The yearly percentage of international collaboration is over 80 %; France, the former colonial power is the main research partner whereas the West African region is the main partner at the African continent level; others partners are from Europe and America continents. This study suggests the setting up of a national database to index the domestic scientific literature; it should contribute to the improvement of the national research output.