town located in central Benin, western Africa. It is the terminus of the so-called Benin–Niger Railway, which was originally planned to extend to the Niger River. The railway runs northward from Cotonou, Benin's major port and commercial centre on the Gulf of Guinea, to Parakou, whence goods must be transported by road to the navigable Niger River and into landlocked Niger. Pop. (2004 est.) 227,900.