Togo
Map
Location: 8 00 N, 1 10 E -- Western Africa, bordering the North
Atlantic Ocean, between Benin and Ghana.
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
Geography
Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between
Benin and Ghana
Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N, 1 10 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total area: 56,790 sq km
land area: 54,390 sq km
comparative area: 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
International disputes: none
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
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pic Baumann 986 m
Natural resources: phosphates, limestone, marble
Land use:
arable land: 25%
permanent crops: 1%
meadows and pastures: 4%
forest and woodland: 28%
other: 42%
Irrigated land: 70 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: deforestation attributable to slash-and-burn
agriculture and the use of wood for fuel; recent droughts affecting agriculture
natural hazards: hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility
in north during winter; periodic droughts
international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Law
of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical
Timber 83; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Tropical Timber 94
People
Population: 4,570,530 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 49% (male 1,116,030; female 1,105,957)
15-64 years: 49% (male 1,085,774; female 1,163,374)
65 years and over: 2% (male 46,089; female 53,306) (July 1996
est.)
Population growth rate: 3.56% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 46.23 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 10.66 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 84.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 57.87 years
male: 55.7 years
female: 60.1 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.75 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Togolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Togolese
Ethnic divisions: 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), Dagomba and Kabye
(sometimes spelled Kabiye; the two major African languages in the north)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
total population: 51.7%
male: 67%
female: 37%
Government
Name of country:
conventional long form: Republic of Togo
conventional short form: Togo
local long form: Republique Togolaise
local short form: none
former: French Togo
Data code: TO
Type of government: republic under transition to multiparty
democratic rule
Capital: Lome
Administrative divisions: 23 circumscriptions (circonscriptions,
singular - circonscription); Amlame (Amou), Aneho (Lacs), Atakpame (Ogou),
Badou (Wawa), Bafilo (Assoli), Bassar (Bassari), Dapango (Tone), Kande
(Keran), Klouto (Kloto), Pagouda (Binah), Lama-Kara (Kozah), Lome (Golfe),
Mango (Oti), Niamtougou (Doufelgou), Notse (Haho), Pagouda, Sotouboua,
Tabligbo (Yoto), Tchamba, Nyala, Tchaoudjo, Tsevie (Zio), Vogan (Vo)
note: the 23 units may now be called prefectures (singular -
prefecture) and reported name changes for individual units are included
in parentheses
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) reelected for a five-year term by universal suffrage; election
last held 25 August 1993 (next to be held NA 1998); all major opposition
parties boycotted the election; Gen. EYADEMA won 96.5% of the vote
head of government: Prime Minister Edem KODJO (since April 1994)
appointed by the president
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president and
the prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral
National Assembly: elections last held 6 and 20 February 1994
(next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (81
total) CAR 36, RPT 35, UTD 7, UJD 2, CFN 1
note: the Supreme Court ordered new elections for three seats
of the Action Committee for Renewal (CAR) and the Togolese Union for Democracy
(UTD), lowering their total to 34 and six seats, respectively; the remaining
three seats have not been filled
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal (Cour d'Appel); Supreme Court
(Cour Supreme)
Political parties and leaders: Rally of the Togolese People
(RPT), President Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA; Coordination des Forces Nouvelles
(CFN), Joseph KOFFIGOH; Togolese Union for Democracy (UTD), Edem KODJO;
Action Committee for Renewal (CAR), Yao AGBOYIBOR; Union for Democracy
and Solidarity (UDS), Antoine FOLLY; Pan-African Sociodemocrats Group (GSP),
an alliance of three radical parties: CDPA, PDR, and PSP; Democratic Convention
of African Peoples (CDPA), Leopold GNININVI; Party for Democracy and Renewal
(PDR), Zarifou AYEVA; Pan-African Social Party (PSP), Francis AGBAGLI;
Union of Forces for Change (UFC), Gilchrist OLYMPIO (in exile); Union of
Justice and Democracy (UJD), Lal TAXPANDJAN
note: Rally of the Togolese People (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,
NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIH, UPU, WADB, WCL, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Kossivi OSSEYI
chancery: 2208 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 234-4212
FAX: [1] (202) 232-3190
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Johnny YOUNG
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: 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
Economic overview: This small sub-Saharan economy is heavily dependent
on 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. 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. Although strikes had ended in 1994,
political unrest and lack of funds prevented the government from taking
advantage of the 50% currency devaluation of 12 January 1994. Resumption
of World Bank and IMF flows will depend on implementation of several controversial
moves toward privatization and on downsizing the military, on which the
regime depends to stay in power.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $4.1 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 6% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $900 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 49.2%
industry: 17.7%
services: 33.1% (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.8% (1995 est.)
Labor force: 1.538 million (1993 est.)
by occupation: agriculture 64%, industry 9%, services 21%. unemployed
6% (1981 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget:
revenues: $165 million
expenditures: $274 million, including capital expenditures of
$NA (1995 est.)
Industries: phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement;
handicrafts, textiles, beverages
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity:
capacity: 34,000 kW
production: 41.004 million kWh
consumption per capita: 9 kWh (1990)
Agriculture: coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca),
corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; meat; annual fish catch of 10,000-14,000
tons
Illicit drugs: increasingly used as transit hub by heroin traffickers
Exports: $162.2 (f.o.b., 1994)
commodities: phosphates, cotton, cocoa, coffee
partners: EC 40%, Africa 16%, US 1% (1990)
Imports: $212 million (c.i.f., 1994)
commodities: machinery and equipment, consumer goods, food,
chemical products
partners: EC 57%, Africa 17%, US 5%, Japan 4% (1990)
External debt: $1.3 billion (1991)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $NA
Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100
centimes
Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 500.56 (January
1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11
(1991)
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
Transportation
Railways:
total: 525 km (1995)
narrow gauge: 525 km 1.000-m gauge
Highways:
total: 7,545 km
paved: 1,833 km
unpaved: 5,712 km (1993 est.)
Waterways: 50 km Mono river
Ports: Kpeme, Lome
Merchant marine: none
Airports:
total: 8
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
with paved runways under 914 m: 2
with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 4 (1995 est.)
Communications
Telephones: 12,000 (1987 est.)
Telephone system: fair system based on network of microwave
radio relay routes supplemented by open-wire lines
domestic: microwave radio relay and open-wire lines
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.)
Defense
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49: 975,746
males fit for military service: 512,196 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $48 million,
2.9% of GDP (1993)