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Background:
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 French
Togoland became Togo in 1960. Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA,
installed as military ruler in 1967, is Africa's
longest-serving head of state. Despite the facade of
multiparty elections instituted in the early 1990s, the
government continues to be dominated by President EYADEMA,
whose Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) party has maintained
power almost continually since 1967. In addition, Togo has
come under fire from international organizations for human
rights abuses and is plagued by political unrest. Most
bilateral and multilateral aid to Togo remains frozen. |
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Location:
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Western Africa,
bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana |
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Geographic coordinates:
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8 00 N, 1 10 E |
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Map references:
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Africa |
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Area:
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total:
56,785 sq km
water: 2,400 sq km
land: 54,385 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller
than West Virginia |
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Land boundaries:
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total:
1,647 km
border countries: Benin 644 km, Burkina Faso 126 km,
Ghana 877 km |
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Coastline:
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56 km |
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Climate:
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tropical; hot,
humid in south; semiarid in north |
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Terrain:
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gently rolling
savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal
plain with extensive lagoons and marshes |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Agou 986 m |
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Natural resources:
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phosphates,
limestone, marble, arable land |
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Land use:
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arable land:
41.37%
permanent crops: 1.84%
other: 56.79% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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70 sq km (1998
est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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hot, dry
harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter;
periodic droughts |
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Environment - current issues:
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deforestation
attributable to slash-and-burn agriculture and the use of wood
for fuel; water pollution presents health hazards and hinders
the fishing industry; air pollution increasing in urban areas |
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected
agreements |
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Geography - note:
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the country's
length allows it to stretch through six distinct geographic
regions; climate varies from tropical to savanna |
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Population:
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5,556,812
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into
account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can
result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and
death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in
the distribution of population by age and sex than would
otherwise be expected (July 2004 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years:
43.9% (male 1,222,622; female 1,214,443)
15-64 years: 53.6% (male 1,455,373; female 1,522,456)
65 years and over: 2.6% (male 59,165; female 82,753)
(2004 est.) |
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Median age:
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total:
17.6 years
male: 17.2 years
female: 17.9 years (2004 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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2.27% (2004 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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34.36
births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Death rate:
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11.64
deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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0 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
67.66 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 59.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 75.4 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 53.05 years
male: 51.07 years
female: 55.09 years (2004 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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6% (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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150,000 (2001
est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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12,000 (2001
est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun:
Togolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Togolese |
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Ethnic groups:
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native African
(37 tribes; largest and most important are Ewe, Mina, and
Kabre) 99%, European and Syrian-Lebanese less than 1% |
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Religions:
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indigenous
beliefs 51%, Christian 29%, Muslim 20% |
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Languages:
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French (official
and the language of commerce), Ewe and Mina (the two major
African languages in the south), Kabye (sometimes spelled
Kabiye) and Dagomba (the two major African languages in the
north) |
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Literacy:
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definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 60.9%
male: 75.4%
female: 46.9% (2003 est.) |
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Country name:
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conventional
long form: Togolese Republic
conventional short form: Togo
local short form: none
former: French Togoland
local long form: Republique Togolaise |
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Government type:
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republic under
transition to multiparty democratic rule |
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Capital:
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Lome |
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Administrative divisions:
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5 regions
(regions, singular - region); Kara, Plateaux, Savanes,
Centrale, Maritime |
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Independence:
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27 April 1960
(from French-administered UN trusteeship) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day,
27 April (1960) |
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Constitution:
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multiparty draft
constitution approved by High Council of the Republic 1 July
1992; adopted by public referendum 27 September 1992 |
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Legal system:
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French-based
court system |
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Executive branch:
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chief of
state: President Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA (since 14 April
1967)
head of government: Prime Minister Koffi SAMA (since 29
June 2002)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the
president and the prime minister
elections: president elected by popular vote for a
five-year term; election last held 1 June 2003 (next to be
held NA June 2008); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Gnassingbe EYADEMA reelected
president; percent of vote - Gnassingbe EYADEMA 57.2%,
Emmanuel Akitani BOB 34.1%, Yawovi AGBOYIBO 5.2%, Maurice
Dahuku PERE 2.3%, Edem KODJO 1.0% |
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Legislative branch:
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unicameral
National Assembly (81 seats; members are elected by popular
vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 27 October 2002 (next NA 2007)
note: two opposition parties boycotted the election,
the Union of the Forces for Change, and the Action Committee
for Renewal
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats
by party - RPT 72, RSDD 3, UDPS 2, Juvento 2, MOCEP 1,
independents 1 |
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Judicial branch:
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Court of Appeal
or Cour d'Appel; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Juvento [Monsilia
DJATO]; Movement of the Believers of Peace and Equality or
MOCEP [leader NA]; Rally for the Support for Development and
Democracy or RSDD [Harryy OLYMPIO]; Rally of the Togolese
People or RPT [President Gnassingbe EYADEMA]; Union for
Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Gagou KOKOU]
note: Rally of the Togolese People or RPT, led by
President EYADEMA, was the only party until the formation of
multiple parties was legalized 12 April 1991 |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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NA |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador Akoussoulelou BODJONA
FAX: [1] (202) 232-3190
telephone: [1] (202) 234-4212
chancery: 2208 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20008 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador Gregory ENGLE
embassy: Angle Rue Kouenou and Rue 15 Beniglato, Lome
mailing address: B. P. 852, Lome
telephone: [228] 221 29 91 through 221 29 94
FAX: [228] 221 79 52 |
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Economy - overview:
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This small
sub-Saharan economy is heavily dependent on both commercial
and subsistence agriculture, which provides employment for 65%
of the labor force. Some basic foodstuffs must still be
imported. Cocoa, coffee, and cotton generate about 40% of
export earnings, with cotton being the most important cash
crop. Togo is the world's fourth-largest producer of
phosphate, but production fell an estimated 22% in 2002 due to
power shortages and the cost of developing new deposits. The
government's decade-long effort, supported by the World Bank
and the IMF, to implement economic reform measures, encourage
foreign investment, and bring revenues in line with
expenditures has moved slowly. Progress depends on following
through on privatization, increased openness in government
financial operations, progress toward legislative elections,
and continued support from foreign donors. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power
parity - $8.232 billion (2003 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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3.2% (2003 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power
parity - $1,500 (2003 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture:
42%
industry: 21%
services: 37% (2001 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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32% (1989 est.) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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4% (2002 est.) |
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Labor force:
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1.74 million
(1996) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture 65%,
industry 5%, services 30% (1998 est.) |
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Unemployment rate:
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NA% (2003 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues:
$232 million
expenditures: $252 million, including capital
expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
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Industries:
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phosphate mining,
agricultural processing, cement; handicrafts, textiles,
beverages |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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NA% (2003 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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101.6 million kWh
(2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel:
98.7%
hydro: 1.3%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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614.5 million kWh
(2001) |
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day (2001
est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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10,000 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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coffee, cocoa,
cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet,
sorghum; livestock; fish |
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Exports:
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$398.1 million
f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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reexports,
cotton, phosphates, coffee, cocoa |
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Exports - partners:
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Ghana 17.7%,
Benin 13.1%, Burkina Faso 8.2% (2002) |
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Imports:
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$501.3 million
f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery and
equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products |
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Imports - partners:
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France 20.3%,
China 16.2%, Netherlands 6.2%, Hong Kong 5.3%, Germany 4.9%,
UK 4.6%, Italy 4.3% (2002) |
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Debt - external:
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$1.4 billion
(2000) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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ODA $80 million
(2000 est.) |
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Currency:
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Communaute
Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority
is the Central Bank of the West African States |
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Currency code:
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XOF |
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Exchange rates:
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Communaute
Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 581.2
(2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7
(1999) |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year |
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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51,200 (2002) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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170,000 (2002) |
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Telephone system:
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general
assessment: fair system based on a network of microwave
radio relay routes supplemented by open-wire lines and a
mobile cellular system
domestic: microwave radio relay and open-wire lines for
conventional system; cellular system has capacity of 10,000
telephones
international: country code - 228; satellite earth
stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Symphonie |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 2, FM 9,
shortwave 4 (1998) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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3 (plus two
repeaters) (1997) |
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Internet country code:
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.tg |
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Internet hosts:
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80 (2002) |
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Internet users:
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200,000 (2002) |
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Railways:
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total: 525
km
narrow gauge: 525 km 1.000-m gauge (2002) |
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Highways:
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total:
7,520 km
paved: 2,376 km
unpaved: 5,144 km (1999 est.) |
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Waterways:
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50 km (Mono
river) |
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Ports and harbors:
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Kpeme, Lome |
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Merchant marine:
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total: 2
ships (1,000 GRT or over) 3,918 GRT/3,852 DWT
by type: cargo 1, specialized tanker 1
registered in other countries: 1 (2003 est.) |
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Airports:
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9 (2003 est.) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2003 est.) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 2 (2003 est.) |
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Military branches:
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Army, Navy, Air
Force, Gendarmerie |
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Military manpower - availability:
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males age
15-49: 1,316,455 (2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service:
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males age
15-49: 690,331 (2004 est.) |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure:
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$32.6 million
(2003) |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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1.9% (2003) |
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Disputes - international:
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in 2001 Benin
claimed Togo moved boundary monuments - joint commission
continues to resurvey the boundary |
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Illicit drugs:
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transit hub for
Nigerian heroin and cocaine traffickers; money laundering not
a significant problem |
This page was last updated on 11 May, 2004
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