page_title: Zou Department
section_title: Administrative divisions
hierarchical_section_title: Zou Department / Administrative divisions
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of the communes of the department of Zou, Benin. Created by Rarelibra for public domain use.
context_page_description: Zou is one of the twelve departments of Benin, named for the Zou River which travels through the department before emptying into the Atlantic in the south of the country. The department of Zou was split in two in 1999, with the northern territory transferred to the newly created Collines Department. The capital of Zou is Abomey. Zou is subdivided into nine communes, each centred at one of the principal towns: Abomey, Agbangnizoun, Bohicon, Cové, Djidja, Ouinhi, Za-Kpota, Zangnanado and Zogbodomey.
  As of 2013, the total population of the department was 851,580, with 407,030 males and 444,550 females. The proportion of women was 52.20%. The total rural population was 67.00%, while the urban population was 33.00%. The total labour force in the department was 275,249, of which 50.10% were women. The proportion of households with no level of education was 60.70% and the proportion of households with children attending school was 72.90%.
context_section_description: The department of Zou was split in 1999, with the northern territory moved to the newly created Collines Department. The capital of Zou is Abomey. It is subdivided into nine communes, each centered at one of the principal towns: Abomey, Agbangnizoun, Bohicon, Cové, Djidja, Ouinhi, Za-Kpota, Zangnanado and Zogbodomey. 
  Benin originally had six administrative regions (départements), which have now been bifurcated to make 12. Each of the deconcentrated administrative services (directions départementales) of the sectoral ministries takes care of two administrative regions. A law passed in 1999 transformed the sous-prefectures, the lowest level of territorial administration, into local governments. Municipalities and communal councils have elected representatives who manage the administration of the regions. The latest elections of the municipal and communal councils were held in June 2015.
caption: Communes of Zou
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