The University of Parakou (UP) is a university in Parakou, in the northern region of Benin. It is the second public university in the Republic of Benin, following the University of Abomey-Calavi.
In the 2010s Benin officially had seven public universities, including those in Kétou, Abomey, Lokossa, Porto-Novo, and Natitingou. The latter resulted from the University of Parakou losing its university centers in Djougou and Natitingou.
Founded on 18 September 2001 as an autonomous national institution (decree nð2001-365), the University of Parakou is a public, scientific, technical, and cultural university with legal personality and financial autonomy.
UP consists of 11 training entities distributed among faculties, institutes of professional training, and doctoral schools.
Since 2016 the University no longer has university centers. But within the university there are non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as the "Amour et Vie" Center and the Center for Well-being in the Fight Against AIDS (CBELS), which raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and also hepatitis.