World Facts Index
 French
Togoland became Togo in 1960. Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA, installed as military
ruler in 1967, ruled Togo with a heavy hand for almost four decades. Despite the
facade of multiparty elections instituted in the early 1990s, the government was
largely dominated by President EYADEMA, whose Rally of the Togolese People (RPT)
party has maintained power almost continually since 1967 and maintains a
majority of seats in today's legislature. Upon EYADEMA's death in February 2005,
the military installed the president's son, Faure GNASSINGBE, and then
engineered his formal election two months later. Democratic gains since then
allowed Togo to hold its first relatively free and fair legislative elections in
October 2007. After years of political unrest and fire from international
organizations for human rights abuses, Togo is finally being re-welcomed into
the international community.
Geography of Togo
|
Location:
|
Western Africa, bordering
the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana |
|
Coordinates:
|
8 00 N, 1 10 E |
|
Area:
|
total: 56,785 sq km
water: 2,400 sq km
land: 54,385 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: Mont Agou 986 m |
|
Natural resources:
|
phosphates, limestone,
marble, arable land |
|
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 |
|
Geography - note:
|
the country's length allows
it to stretch through six distinct geographic regions; climate varies
from tropical to savanna
|
Population of Togo
|
Population:
|
5,858,673 (July 2008 est.) |
|
Age structure:
|
0-14 years: 42.3% (male 1,177,141/female 1,169,321)
15-64 years: 55.1% (male 1,485,621/female 1,570,117)
65 years and over: 2.6% (male 59,870/female 86,632) |
|
Median age:
|
18.3 years |
|
Growth rate:
|
2.72% |
|
Infant mortality:
|
60.63 deaths/1,000 live births |
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total population: 57.42 years
male: 55.41 years
female: 59.49 years |
|
Fertility rate:
|
4.96 children born/woman |
|
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 51%, Christian 29%,
Muslim 20% |
|
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: 60.9%
male: 75.4%
female: 46.9%
|
Government
|
Country name:
|
conventional long form: Togolese
Republic
conventional short form: Togo
former: French Togoland
local long form: Republique Togolaise |
|
Government type:
|
republic under transition to multiparty
democratic rule |
|
Capital:
|
Lome |
|
Administrative divisions:
|
5 regions (regions, singular - region);
Kara, Plateaux, Savanes, Centrale, 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:
|
universal adult |
|
Executive branch:
|
chief of state: President Faure GNASSINGBE
(since 4 May 2005); note - Gnassingbe EYADEMA died on 5 February 2005 and was
succeeded by his son, Faure GNASSINGBE, with the support of the military
following international condemnation for the unconstitutional move he then
stepped aside pending elections, and Abass BONFOH served as interim president;
Faure GNASSINGBE later won popular elections in April 2005
head of government: Prime Minister Gilbert HOUNGBO (since 7 September 2008)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president and the prime minister
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (no term
limits); prime minister appointed by the president. |
|
Legislative branch:
|
unicameral National Assembly (81 seats; members are
elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) |
|
Judicial branch:
|
Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Supreme
Court or Cour Supreme |
Economy
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. 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
follow through on privatization, increased openness in government financial
operations, progress toward legislative elections, and continued support from
foreign donors. Togo is working with donors to write a Poverty Reduction and
Growth Facility (PRGF) that could eventually lead to a debt reduction plan.
Economic growth remains marginal due to declining cotton production,
underinvestment in phosphate mining, and strained relations with donors.
|
GDP:
|
$5.042 billion (2007 est.) |
|
GDP growth rate:
|
1% |
|
GDP per capita:
|
$1,700 |
|
GDP composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 39.5%
industry: 20.4%
services: 40.1% |
|
Inflation rate:
|
6% |
|
Labor force - by occupation:
|
agriculture 65%, industry 5%, services 30% |
|
Budget:
|
revenues: $251.3 million
expenditures: $292.9 million |
|
Electricity production by source:
|
fossil fuel: 98.7%
hydro: 1.3% |
|
Industries:
|
phosphate mining, agricultural processing,
cement; handicrafts, textiles, beverages |
|
Agriculture:
|
coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava
(tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; livestock; fish |
|
Exports:
|
reexports, cotton, phosphates, coffee,
cocoa |
|
Export partners:
|
Burkina Faso 16.1%, Ghana 14.8%, Benin 9.2%, Mali 7.5%,
India 5.5%, Netherlands 5.1%, China 4.4% |
|
Imports:
|
machinery and equipment, foodstuffs,
petroleum products |
|
Import partners:
|
China 26.2%, India 12.1%, France 10.5%, UK 8.5% |
|
Currency:
|
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc
(XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States |
SOURCES: The CIA World Factbook, U.S. Department of State, Area Handbook of the US Library of Congress
Copyright 2004 - 2008 worldfacts.us |