Togo

Togolese RepublicRepublique Togolaise

republic under transition to multiparty democratic rule

Togo as the 2000 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 105 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalLome

Position8 00 N, 1 10 E

Area56,785 sq km

LocationWestern Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana

Populationas each edition published it

5.02 million July 2000 est. · 3.67m in 1990

Population growth% a year

2.7% 2000 est. · 3.61% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 17.3 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

54.69 years 2000 est. · 56.46 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

5.5 children per woman 2000 est. · 7.2 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

71.55 deaths per 1,000 live births 2000 est. · 112 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$1,700 1999 est. · $400 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

4% 1999 est. · 0% in 1993

Introduction

1 field

Background

French Togoland became Togo in 1960. Despite the facade of multiparty rule instituted in the early 1990s, the government continues to be dominated by the military, which has maintained its power almost continuously since 1967.

Geography

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

17 fields

Land useshare of 56,785 sq km

arable land 38%permanent crops 7%permanent pastures 4%forests and woodland 17%other 34% (1993 est.)irrigated 70 sq km (1993 est.)

Area

56,785sq km

land: 54,385 sq kmwater: 2,400 sq kmslightly smaller than West Virginia

Coastline

56km

exclusive economic zone: 200 nmterritorial sea: 30 nm

Highest point

986m

Mont Agoulowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

Land boundaries

1,647km

border countries: Benin 644 km, Burkina Faso 126 km, Ghana 877 km

Location

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

Geographic coordinates

8 00 N, 1 10 E

Map references

Africa

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

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; recent droughts affecting agriculture

Environment - international agreements

party to:: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, 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

15 fields

Population

5,018,502

growth rate: 2.7% (2000 est.)

Note

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 2000 est.)

Per 1,000 population(2000 est.)

Birth

38.02Death

11.18Net migration

0.16

Male · female

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years (2000 est.)54.69

52.75 · 56.7

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy (1995 est.)51.7%

67% · 37%

MaleFemaleLiteracy definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Religions

indigenous beliefs 70%Christian 20%Muslim 10%

Age structure

0-14 years:: 46% (male 1,161,610; female 1,153,877)
15-64 years:: 51% (male 1,254,437; female 1,327,306)
65 years and over:: 3% (male 53,101; female 68,171) (2000 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:: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population:: 0.97 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate

71.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate

5.5 children born/woman (2000 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%

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)

Government

Republic under transition to multiparty democratic rule; President Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA (since 14 April 1967); Prime Minister Eugene Koffi ADOBOLI (since NA May 1999)

18 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

52.13%

Gnassingbe EYADEMA 52.13%Gilchrist OLYMPIO 34.12%other 13.75%election last held 21 June 1998 (next to be held NA 2003)

National Assembly, 81 seats, elected 21 March 1999one dot, one seat

RPT 77independents 2vacant 2

Country name

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

Data code

Government type

republic under transition to multiparty democratic rule

Capital

Lome

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 Eugene Koffi ADOBOLI (since NA May 1999)
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 2004)
election results:: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPT 77, independents 2, vacant 2

note: Togo's main opposition parties boycotted the election because of EYADEMA's alleged manipulation of 1998 presidential polling; since March of 1999, opposition parties have entered into negotiations with the president over the establishment of an independent electoral commission and a new round of legislative elections for sometime in 2000

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

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, 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 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

This small sub-Saharan economy is heavily dependent on both commercial and subsistence agriculture, which provides employment for 65% of the labor force.

31 fields

Real growth rate

(1999 est.)industrial production growth: NA%

Inflation, consumer prices

(1999 est.)

Population below poverty line

32%

(1987-89 est.)

Labor force

1.538million

(1993 est.)

GDP - composition by sector(1997)

agriculture 42%industry 21%services 37% (1997)

Budget

Revenues

$232 millionExpenditures

$252 million (1997 est.)

expenditures including capital expenditures of $NA

Electricity

fossil fuel 93.33%hydro 6.67%nuclear 0% · other 0%

Electricity production

90 million (1998)Electricity consumption

434 million (1998)Electricity imports

350 million (1998)

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. 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, 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. Progress depends on following through on privatization, increased openness in government financial operations (to accommodate increased social service outlays), and possible downsizing of the military, on which the regime has depended to stay in place.

Lack of aid, along with depressed cocoa prices, generated a 1% fall in GDP in 1998, with growth resuming in 1999. Assuming no deterioration of the political atmosphere, growth should rise to 5% a year in 2000-01.

GDP

purchasing power parity - $8.6 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $1,700 (1999 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture 65%, industry 5%, services 30% (1998 est.)

Unemployment rate

NA%

Industries

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

Agriculture - products

coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum;
livestock;
fish

Exports

$400 million (f.o.b., 1999)

Exports - commodities

cotton, phosphates, coffee, cocoa

Exports - partners

Canada, Philippines, Ghana, France (1998)

Imports

$450 million (f.o.b., 1999)

Imports - commodities

machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products

Imports - partners

Ghana, France, Cote d'Ivoire, China (1998)

Debt - external

$1.3 billion (1997)

Economic aid - recipient

$201.1 million (1995)

Currency

1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 647.25 (January 2000), 615.70 (1999) 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996), 499.15 (1995) note: since 1 January 1999, the CFAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 CFA francs per euro

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

8 fields

Internet users

(1999)

Fixed lines

22,000

(1995)

Telephones - mobile cellular

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