Country Listing Factbook Home Page

Togo
Geography
People
Government
Economy
Communications
Transportation
Military
Transnational Issues

### Togo

Geography

Location: Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana

Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N, 1 10 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
total: 56,790 sq km
land: 54,390 sq km
water: 2,400 sq km

Area—comparative: slightly smaller than West Virginia

Land boundaries:
total: 1,647 km
border countries: Benin 644 km, Burkina Faso 126 km, Ghana 877 km

Coastline: 56 km

Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 30 nm

Climate: tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north

Terrain: gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pic Agou 986 m

Natural resources: phosphates, limestone, marble

Land use:
arable land: 38%
permanent crops: 7%
permanent pastures: 4%
forests and woodland: 17%
other: 34% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 70 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; periodic droughts

Environment—current issues: deforestation attributable to slash-and-burn agriculture and the use of wood for fuel; recent droughts affecting agriculture

Environment—international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

People

Population: 4,905,827 (July 1998 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 48% (male 1,190,812; female 1,180,739)
15-64 years: 49% (male 1,175,570; female 1,252,274)
65 years and over: 3% (male 48,483; female 57,949) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.52% (1998 est.)

Birth rate: 45.23 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate: 10 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 79.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 58.78 years
male: 56.52 years
female: 61.12 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.6 children born/woman (1998 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Togolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Togolese

Ethnic groups: native African (37 tribes; largest and most important are Ewe, Mina, and Kabre) 99%, European and Syrian-Lebanese less than 1%

Religions: indigenous beliefs 70%, Christian 20%, Muslim 10%

Languages: 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)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 51.7%
male: 67%
female: 37% (1995 est.)

Government

Country name:
conventional long form: Togolese Republic
conventional short form: Togo
local long form: Republique Togolaise
local short form: none
former: French Togo

Data code: TO

Government type: republic under transition to multiparty democratic rule

National capital: Lome

Administrative divisions: 21 circumscriptions (circonscriptions, singular—circonscription); Amlame, Aneho, Atakpame, Badou, Bafilo, Bassar, Dapaong, Kande, Kara, Kpalime, Lome, Niamtougou, Notse, Pagouda, Sansanne-Mango, Sokode, Sotouboua, Tabligbo, Tchamba, Tsevie, Vogan
note: the 21 units may have become second-order administrative divisions with the imposition of a new first-order level of five prefectures (singular - prefecture) named De La Kara, Des Plateaux, Des Savanes, Du Centre, and Maritime

Independence: 27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship)

National holiday: Independence Day, 27 April (1960)

Constitution: multiparty draft constitution approved by High Council of the Republic 1 July 1992; adopted by public referendum 27 September 1992

Legal system: French-based court system

Suffrage: NA years of age; universal adult

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA (since 14 April 1967)
head of government: Prime Minister Kwassi KLUTSE (since August 1996)
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 21 June 1998 (next to be held NA 2003); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Gnassingbe EYADEMA elected president; percent of vote—Gnassingbe EYADEMA 52.13%

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 6 and 20 February 1994 (next to be held NA 1999)
election results: percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—CAR 36, RPT 35, UTD 7, UJD 2, CFN 1
note: as a result of a byelection in August 1996, ordered by the Supreme Court for three seats of the Action Committee for Renewal and the Togolese Union for Democracy, representation in the National Assembly changed to RPT 38, CAR 34, UTD 6, UJD 2, and CFN 1; as a result of subsequent defections from the CAR to the RPT and the merging of the UJD with the RPT, representation in the National Assembly in August 1997 was RPT 42, CAR 32, UTD 5, CFN 1, independent 1

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme

Political parties and leaders: Rally of the Togolese People or RPT President Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA; Coordination des Forces Nouvelles or CFN Joseph KOFFIGOH; Togolese Union for Democracy or UTD Edem KODJO; Action Committee for Renewal or CAR Yao AGBOYIBOR; Union for Democracy and Solidarity or UDS Antoine FOLLY; Pan-African Sociodemocrats Group or GSP, an alliance of three radical parties: CDPA, PDR, and PSP; Democratic Convention of African Peoples or CDPA Leopold GNININVI; Party for Democracy and Renewal or PDR Zarifou AYEVA; Pan-African Social Party or PSP Francis AGBAGLI; Union of Forces for Change or UFC Gilchrist OLYMPIO (in exile); Jeane-Pierre FABRE, general secretary in Togo; Union of Justice and Democracy or UJD Lal TAXPANDJAN
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

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MINURSO, MIPONUH, NAM, OAU, OIC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Pascal BODJONA
chancery: 2208 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: 1 (202) 234-4212
FAX: 1 (202) 232-3190

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Brenda Brown SCHOONOVER
embassy: Rue Pelletier Caventou and Rue Vauban, Lome
mailing address: B. P. 852, Lome
telephone: 228 21 77 17, 21 29 91 through 21 29 94
FAX: 228 21 79 52

Flag description: five equal horizontal bands of green (top and bottom) alternating with yellow; there is a white five-pointed star on a red square in the upper hoist-side corner; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia

Economy

Economy—overview: This small sub-Saharan economy is heavily dependent on both commercial and subsistence agriculture, which provides employment for more than 60% of the labor force. Cocoa, coffee, and cotton together generate about 30% of export earnings. Togo is self-sufficient in basic foodstuffs when harvests are normal, with occasional regional supply difficulties. In the industrial sector, phosphate mining is by far the most important activity, although it has suffered from the collapse of world phosphate prices and increased foreign competition. Togo serves as a regional commercial and trade center. 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 stalled. Political unrest, including private and public sector strikes throughout 1992 and 1993, has jeopardized the reform program, shrunk the tax base, and disrupted vital economic activity. The 12 January 1994 devaluation of the currency by 50% provided an important impetus to renewed structural adjustment; these efforts were facilitated by the end of strife in 1994 and a return to overt political calm. The 1998 presidential elections provide an important opportunity for Togo's evolving political system to demonstrate that the country can participate in a peaceful and effective manner with World Bank and IMF programs. Progress depends on continuing privatization, increased transparency in government accounting to accommodate increased social service outlays, and possible downsizing of the military, on which the regime has depended to stay in place.

GDP: purchasing power parity—$6.2 billion (1997 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: 4.8% (1997 est.)

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$1,300 (1997 est.)

GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 32%
industry: 23%
services: 45% (1995)

Inflation rate—consumer price index: 15.7% (1995)

Labor force:
total: 1.538 million (1993 est.)
by occupation: agriculture 65%, industry 5%, services 30% (1997 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
revenues: $232 million
expenditures: $252 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)

Industries: phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement; handicrafts, textiles, beverages

Industrial production growth rate: 13.6% (1995)

Electricity—capacity: 34,000 kW (1995)

Electricity—production: 90 million kWh (1995)
note: imports electricity from Ghana

Electricity—consumption per capita: 92 kWh (1995)

Agriculture—products: coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; meat; annual fish catch of 10,000-14,000 tons

Exports:
total value: $196 million (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: cotton, phosphates, coffee, cocoa
partners: Canada 9.2%, US 8.1%, Taiwan 7.5%, Nigeria 6.7% (1995 est.)

Imports:
total value: $404 million (c.i.f., 1996)
commodities: machinery and equipment, consumer goods, petroleum products
partners: Ghana 17.1%, China 13.3%, France 12.5%, Cameroon 6.0% (1995 est.)

Debt—external: $1.4 billion (1995)

Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1—608.36 (January 1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993)
note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications

Telephones: 47,000, not including those in the 10,000 telephone capacity cellular system (1998 est.)

Telephone system: fair system based on network of microwave radio relay routes supplemented by open-wire lines and cellular system
domestic: microwave radio relay and open-wire lines for conventional system; cellular system has capacity of 10,000 telephones
international: satellite earth stations—1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Symphonie

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 795,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 3 (relays 2)

Televisions: 24,000 (1992 est.)

Transportation

Railways:
total: 525 km (1995)
narrow gauge: 525 km 1.000-m gauge

Highways:
total: 7,520 km
paved: 2,376 km
unpaved: 5,144 km (1996 est.)

Waterways: 50 km Mono river

Ports and harbors: Kpeme, Lome

Merchant marine: none

Airports: 9 (1997 est.)

Airports—with paved runways:
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (1997 est.)

Airports—with unpaved runways:
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 2 (1997 est.)

Military

Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie

Military manpower—availability:
males age 15-49: 1,058,480 (1998 est.)

Military manpower—fit for military service:
males: 555,263 (1998 est.)

Military expenditures—dollar figure: $48 million (1993)

Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 2.9% (1993)

Transnational Issues

Disputes—international: none

Illicit drugs: transit hub for Nigerian heroin and cocaine traffickers

Country Listing Factbook Home Page