Togo

Geography

Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Benin and Ghana

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, Benin 644 km, Burkina 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

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: 4,410,370 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 49% (female 1,069,171; male 1,079,999)
15-64 years: 49% (female 1,121,685; male 1,043,000)
65 years and over: 2% (female 51,392; male 45,123) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.58% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 46.78 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 11.01 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 86.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 57.42 years
male: 55.29 years
female: 59.6 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.83 children born/woman (1995 est.)

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

Ethnic divisions: 37 tribes; largest and most important are Ewe, Mina, and Kabye, European and Syrian-Lebanese under 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 (the two major African languages in the north)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population: 43%
male: 56%
female: 31%

Labor force: NA
by occupation: agriculture 80%
note: about 88,600 wage earners, evenly divided between public and private sectors

Government

Names:
conventional long form: Republic of Togo
conventional short form: Togo
local long form: Republique Togolaise
local short form: none
former: French Togo

Digraph: TO

Type: 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); election last held 25 August 1993 (next election 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)
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 3 seats of the Action Committee for Renewal (CAR) and the Togolese Union for Democracy (UTD), lowering their total to 34 and 6 seats, respectively; the remaining 3 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; The Togolese Union for Democracy (UTD), Edem KODJO; The Action Committee for Renewal (CAR), Yao AGBOYIBOR; The Union for Democracy and Solidarity (UDS), Antoine FOLLY; The Pan-African Sociodemocrats Group (GSP), an alliance of three radical parties: The Democratic Convention of African Peoples (CDPA), Leopold GNININVI; The Party for Democracy and Renewal (PDR), Zarifou AYEVA; The Pan-African Social Party (PSP), Francis AGBAGLI; The 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

Member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEAO (observer), ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, MINURSO, NAM, OAU, UN, UNAMIR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Charge d'Affaires Edem Frederic HEGBE
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 (since September 1994)
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

Overview: The economy is heavily dependent on subsistence agriculture, which accounts for about half of GDP and provides employment for 80% of the labor force. Primary agricultural exports are cocoa, coffee, and cotton, which together generate about 30% of total 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 IMF and World Bank supported effort to implement economic reform measures to 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 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.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $3.3 billion (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate: NA%

National product per capita: $800 (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0.5% (1991 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
revenues: $284 million
expenditures: $407 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991 est.)

Exports: $221 million (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities: phosphates, cotton, cocoa, coffee
partners: EC 40%, Africa 16%, US 1% (1990)

Imports: $292 million (c.i.f., 1993)
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)

Industrial production: growth rate 9% (1991 est.); accounts for 20% of GDP

Electricity:
capacity: 30,000 kW
production: 60 million kWh
consumption per capita: 83 kWh (1993)

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

Agriculture: accounts for 49% of GDP; cash crops - coffee, cocoa, cotton; food crops - yams, cassava, corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; livestock production not significant; annual fish catch of 10,000-14,000 tons

Illicit drugs: increasingly used as transit hub by heroin traffickers

Economic aid:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-90), $142 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-90), $2 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $35 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $51 million

Currency: 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 529.43 (January 1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990)
note: the official rate is pegged to the French franc, and 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

Railroads:
total: 532 km
narrow gauge: 532 km 1.000-m gauge

Highways:
total: 6,462 km
paved: 1,762 km
unpaved: unimproved earth 4,700 km

Inland waterways: 50 km Mono River

Ports: Kpeme, Lome

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
total: 9
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: 5

Communications

Telephone system: NA telephones; fair system based on network of radio relay routes supplemented by open wire lines
local: NA
intercity: microwave radio relay and open wire lines
international: 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 SYMPHONIE earth station

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

Television:
broadcast stations: 3 (relays 2)
televisions: NA

Defense Forces

Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 936,270; males fit for military service 491,578 (1995 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $48 million, 2.9% of GDP (1993)