| Background: |
French Togoland
became Togo in 1960. General Gnassingbe EYADEMA, installed
as military ruler in 1967, is Africa's longest-serving head
of state. Despite the facade of multiparty elections that
resulted in EYADEMA's victory in 1993, the government
continues to be dominated by the military. 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. |
| Location: |
Western Africa,
bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
8 00 N, 1 10 E |
| Area: |
total:
56,785 sq km
land: 54,385 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 |
| 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: Mont Agou 986 m |
| Natural
resources: |
phosphates,
limestone, marble, arable land |
| 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; water pollution presents health hazards and
hinders the fishing industry; air pollution increasing in
urban areas |
| 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 |
| Population: |
5,153,088
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 2001
est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
45.63% (male 1,179,650; female 1,171,748)
15-64 years: 51.92% (male 1,302,197; female
1,373,247)
65 years and over: 2.45% (male 54,651; female
71,595) (2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
2.6% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
37.04
births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
11.24
deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
0.15 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001
est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
70.43
deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 54.35 years
male: 52.38 years
female: 56.38 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
5.32 children
born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
5.98% (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
130,000 (1999
est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- deaths: |
14,000 (1999
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 59%, Christian 29%, Muslim 12% |
| 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.) |
| Country
name: |
conventional
long form: Togolese Republic
conventional short form: Togo
local long form: Republique Togolaise
local short form: none
former: French Togoland |
| Government
type: |
republic under
transition to multiparty democratic rule |
| Administrative
divisions: |
5 regions
(regions, singular - region); De La Kara, Des Plateaux, Des
Savanes, Du Centre, 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 Agbeyome
KODJO (since 29 August 2000)
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 reelected
president; percent of vote - Gnassingbe EYADEMA 52.13%,
Gilchrist OLYMPIO 34.12%, other 13.75% |
| Legislative
branch: |
unicameral
National Assembly (81 seats; members are elected by popular
vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 21 March 1999 (next due to
be held NA October 2001)
election results: percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - RPT 79, independents 2
note: Togo's main opposition parties boycotted
the election because of EYADEMA's alleged manipulation of
1998 presidential polling; in March of 1999, opposition
parties entered into negotiations with the president over
the establishment of an independent electoral commission and
a new round of legislative elections, now scheduled for
October 2001 |
| Judicial
branch: |
Court of Appeal
or Cour d'Appel; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
Action Committee
for Renewal or CAR [Yawovi AGBOYIBO]; Coordination des
Forces Nouvelles or CFN [Joseph KOFFIGOH]; Democratic
Convention of African Peoples or CDPA [Leopold GNININVI];
Party for Democracy and Renewal or PDR [Zarifou AYEVA];
Patriotic Pan-African Convergence or CPP [Edem KODJO]; Rally
of the Togolese People or RPT [President Gen. Gnassingbe
EYADEMA]; Union of Forces for Change or UFC [Gilchrist
OLYMPIO (in exile), Jeane-Pierre FABRE, general secretary in
Togo]; Union of Independent Liberals or ULI [Jacques AMOUZO]
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 |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
NA |
| International
organization participation: |
ACCT, ACP, AfDB,
CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIPONUH, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of
mission: Ambassador Akoussoulelov 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 Karl HOFMANN
embassy: Angle Rue Kouenou and Rue 15 Beniglato,
Lome
mailing address: B. P. 852, Lome
telephone: [228] 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
- overview: |
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. Together, cocoa, coffee, and cotton generate some
40% of export earnings, with cotton being the most
significant cash crop despite falling prices on the world
market. In the industrial sector, phosphate mining is by far
the most important activity. Togo is the world's fourth
largest producer, and geological advantages keep production
costs low. The recently privatized mining operation, Office
Togolais des Phosphates (OTP), is slowly recovering from a
steep fall in prices in the early 1990's, but continues to
face the challenge of tough foreign competition, exacerbated
by weakening demand. Togo serves as a regional commercial
and trade center. It continues to expand its duty-free
export-processing zone (EPZ), launched in 1989, which has
attracted enterprises from France, Italy, Scandinavia, the
US, India, and China and created jobs for Togolese
nationals. 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. Progress depends on
following through on privatization, increased openness in
government financial operations, progress towards
legislative elections, and possible downsizing of the
military, on which the regime has depended to stay in place.
Lack of foreign aid, deterioration of the financial sector,
energy shortages, and depressed commodity prices continue to
constrain economic growth; however, Togo did realize a 3%
gain in GDP in 1999. The takeover of the national power
company by a Franco-Canadian consortium in 2000 should ease
the energy crisis and if successful legislative elections
pave the way for increased aid, growth should rise to 5% a
year in 2001-02. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power
parity - $7.3 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
3.4% (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power
parity - $1,500 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
42%
industry: 21%
services: 37% (1997) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
32% (1989 est.) |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
2.5% (2000 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
1.74 million
(1996) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture 65%,
industry 5%, services 30% (1998 est.) |
| 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: |
NA% |
| Electricity
- production: |
92 million kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
97.83%
hydro: 2.17%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
511.6 million kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
426 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by Ghana (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
coffee, cocoa,
cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet,
sorghum; livestock; fish |
| Exports: |
$336 million
(f.o.b., 2000) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
cotton,
phosphates, coffee, cocoa |
| Exports
- partners: |
Nigeria, Brazil,
Canada, Philippines (1999) |
| Imports: |
$452 million
(f.o.b., 2000) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
machinery and
equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products |
| Imports
- partners: |
Ghana, China,
France, Cote d'Ivoire (1999) |
| Debt
- external: |
$1.5 billion
(1999) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$201.1 million
(1995) |
| Currency: |
Communaute
Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible
authority is the Central Bank of the West African States |
| Exchange
rates: |
Communaute
Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21
(January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998),
583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999,
the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per
euro |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
25,000 (1997) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
2,995 (1997) |
| Telephone
system: |
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: satellite earth stations - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Symphonie |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 2, FM 9,
shortwave 4 (1998) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
3 (plus two
repeaters) (1997) |
| Televisions: |
73,000 (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.tg |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
3 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
10,000 (2000) |
| 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) |
| Waterways: |
50 km (Mono
river) |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Kpeme, Lome |
| Merchant
marine: |
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,603 GRT/2,800 DWT
ships by type: specialized tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total:
2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total:
7
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
Army, Navy, Air
Force, Gendarmerie |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age
15-49: 1,175,528 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age
15-49: 616,622 (2001 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$27 million
(FY96) |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
2% (FY96) |
| Disputes
- international: |
none |
| Illicit
drugs: |
transit hub for
Nigerian heroin and cocaine traffickers |
|
