Economy
Agricultural products (Agriculture-products) [time series]
coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; meat; annual fish catch of 10,000-14,000 tons
Budget [time series]
revenues: $232 million expenditures: $252 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)
Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]
1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Debt - external (Debt-external) [time series]
$1.4 billion (1995)
Economic aid [time series]
recipient: ODA, $NA
Economic overview (Economy-overview) [time series]
This small sub-Saharan economy is heavily dependent on both commercial and 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, 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, has 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. The 1998 presidential elections provide an important opportunity for Togo's evolving political system to demonstrate that the country can participate in a peaceful and effective manner with World Bank and IMF programs. Progress depends on continuing privatization, increased transparency in government accounting to accommodate increased social service outlays, and possible downsizing of the military, on which the regime has depended to stay in place.
Electricity - capacity (Electricity-capacity) [time series]
34,000 kW (1995)
Electricity - consumption per capita (Electricity-consumption per capita) [time series]
92 kWh (1995)
Electricity - production (Electricity-production) [time series]
90 million kWh (1995) note: imports electricity from Ghana
Exchange rates [time series]
CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1-608.36 (January 1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993) 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
Exports [time series]
total value: $196 million (f.o.b., 1996) commodities: cotton, phosphates, coffee, cocoa partners: Canada 9.2%, US 8.1%, Taiwan 7.5%, Nigeria 6.7% (1995 est.)
Fiscal year [time series]
calendar year Communications
Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]
purchasing power parity-$6.2 billion (1997 est.)
GDP - composition, by sector of origin (GDP-composition by sector) [time series]
agriculture: 32% industry: 23% services: 45% (1995)
Real GDP per capita (GDP-per capita) [time series]
purchasing power parity-$1,300 (1997 est.)
Real GDP growth rate (GDP-real growth rate) [time series]
4.8% (1997 est.)
Imports [time series]
total value: $404 million (c.i.f., 1996) commodities: machinery and equipment, consumer goods, petroleum products partners: Ghana 17.1%, China 13.3%, France 12.5%, Cameroon 6.0% (1995 est.)
Industrial production growth rate [time series]
13.6% (1995)
Industries [time series]
phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement; handicrafts, textiles, beverages
Inflation rate (consumer prices) (Inflation rate-consumer price index) [time series]
15.7% (1995)
Labor force [time series]
total: 1.538 million (1993 est.) by occupation: agriculture 65%, industry 5%, services 30% (1997 est.)
Broadcast media (Radio broadcast stations) [time series]
AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0
Radios [time series]
795,000 (1992 est.)
Telecommunication systems (Telephone system) [time series]
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
Telephones - fixed lines (Telephones) [time series]
47,000, not including those in the 10,000 telephone capacity cellular system (1998 est.)
Broadcast media (Television broadcast stations) [time series]
3 (relays 2)
Televisions [time series]
24,000 (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate [time series]
NA%
Geography
total: 56,790 sq km land: 54,390 sq km water: 2,400 sq km
Area - comparative (Area-comparative) [time series]
slightly smaller than West Virginia
Climate [time series]
tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north
Coastline [time series]
56 km
Elevation (Elevation extremes) [time series]
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pic Agou 986 m
Environment - current issues (Environment-current issues) [time series]
deforestation attributable to slash-and-burn agriculture and the use of wood for fuel; recent droughts affecting agriculture
International environmental agreements (Environment-international agreements) [time series]
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
Geographic coordinates [time series]
8 00 N, 1 10 E
Irrigated land [time series]
70 sq km (1993 est.)
Land boundaries [time series]
total: 1,647 km border countries: Benin 644 km, Burkina Faso 126 km, Ghana 877 km
Land use [time series]
arable land: 38% permanent crops: 7% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 17% other: 34% (1993 est.)
Location [time series]
Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana
Map references [time series]
Africa
Maritime claims [time series]
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 30 nm
Natural hazards [time series]
hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; periodic droughts
Natural resources [time series]
phosphates, limestone, marble
Terrain [time series]
gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes
Government
Administrative divisions [time series]
21 circumscriptions (circonscriptions, singular-circonscription); Amlame, Aneho, Atakpame, Badou, Bafilo, Bassar, Dapaong, Kande, Kara, Kpalime, Lome, Niamtougou, Notse, Pagouda, Sansanne-Mango, Sokode, Sotouboua, Tabligbo, Tchamba, Tsevie, Vogan note: the 21 units may have become second-order administrative divisions with the imposition of a new first-order level of five prefectures (singular - prefecture) named De La Kara, Des Plateaux, Des Savanes, Du Centre, and Maritime
Constitution [time series]
multiparty draft constitution approved by High Council of the Republic 1 July 1992; adopted by public referendum 27 September 1992
Country name [time series]
conventional long form: Togolese Republic conventional short form: Togo local long form: Republique Togolaise local short form: none former: French Togo
Data code [time series]
TO
Diplomatic representation from the US [time series]
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
Diplomatic representation in the US [time series]
chief of mission: Ambassador Pascal BODJONA chancery: 2208 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4212
Executive branch [time series]
chief of state: President Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA (since 14 April 1967) head of government: Prime Minister Kwassi KLUTSE (since August 1996) 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 elected president; percent of vote-Gnassingbe EYADEMA 52.13%
Diplomatic representation in the US (FAX) [time series]
[1] (202) 232-3190
Diplomatic representation in the US (FAX) [time series]
[228] 21 79 52
Flag (Flag description) [time series]
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
Government type [time series]
republic under transition to multiparty democratic rule
Independence [time series]
27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship)
International organization participation [time series]
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 (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Judicial branch [time series]
Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme
Legal system [time series]
French-based court system
Legislative branch [time series]
unicameral National Assembly (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 6 and 20 February 1994 (next to be held NA 1999) election results: percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party-CAR 36, RPT 35, UTD 7, UJD 2, CFN 1 note: as a result of a byelection in August 1996, ordered by the Supreme Court for three seats of the Action Committee for Renewal and the Togolese Union for Democracy, representation in the National Assembly changed to RPT 38, CAR 34, UTD 6, UJD 2, and CFN 1; as a result of subsequent defections from the CAR to the RPT and the merging of the UJD with the RPT, representation in the National Assembly in August 1997 was RPT 42, CAR 32, UTD 5, CFN 1, independent 1
Capital (National capital) [time series]
Lome
National holiday [time series]
Independence Day, 27 April (1960)
Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]
Rally of the Togolese People or RPT [President Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA]; Coordination des Forces Nouvelles or CFN [Joseph KOFFIGOH]; Togolese Union for Democracy or UTD [Edem KODJO]; Action Committee for Renewal or CAR [Yao AGBOYIBOR]; Union for Democracy and Solidarity or UDS [Antoine FOLLY]; Pan-African
Sociodemocrats Group or GSP, an alliance of three radical parties [time series]
CDPA, PDR, and PSP; Democratic Convention of African Peoples or CDPA [Leopold GNININVI]; Party for Democracy and Renewal or PDR [Zarifou AYEVA]; Pan-African Social Party or PSP [Francis AGBAGLI]; Union of Forces for Change or UFC [Gilchrist OLYMPIO (in exile); Jeane-Pierre FABRE, general secretary in Togo]; Union of Justice and Democracy or UJD [Lal TAXPANDJAN] 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
Suffrage [time series]
NA years of age; universal adult
Military
Military and security forces (Military branches) [time series]
Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie
Military expenditures - dollar figure (Military expenditures-dollar figure) [time series]
$48 million (1993)
Military expenditures (Military expenditures-percent of GDP) [time series]
2.9% (1993)
Military manpower - availability (Military manpower-availability) [time series]
males age 15-49: 1,058,480 (1998 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service (Military manpower-fit for military service) [time series]
males: 555,263 (1998 est.)
People
Age structure [time series]
0-14 years: 48% (male 1,190,812; female 1,180,739) 15-64 years: 49% (male 1,175,570; female 1,252,274) 65 years and over: 3% (male 48,483; female 57,949) (July 1998 est.)
Birth rate [time series]
45.23 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate [time series]
10 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Ethnic groups [time series]
native African (37 tribes; largest and most important are Ewe, Mina, and Kabre) 99%, European and Syrian-Lebanese less than 1%
Infant mortality rate [time series]
79.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Languages [time series]
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)
Life expectancy at birth [time series]
total population: 58.78 years male: 56.52 years female: 61.12 years (1998 est.)
Literacy [time series]
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 51.7% male: 67% female: 37% (1995 est.)
Nationality [time series]
noun: Togolese (singular and plural) adjective: Togolese
Net migration rate [time series]
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Population [time series]
4,905,827 (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate [time series]
3.52% (1998 est.)
Religions [time series]
indigenous beliefs 70%, Christian 20%, Muslim 10%
Sex ratio [time series]
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate [time series]
6.6 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international (Disputes-international) [time series]
none
Illicit drugs [time series]
transit hub for Nigerian heroin and cocaine traffickers TOKELAU (territory of New Zealand)
Transportation
Airports [time series]
9 (1997 est.)
Airports - with paved runways (Airports-with paved runways) [time series]
total: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (1997 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways (Airports-with unpaved runways) [time series]
total: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (1997 est.)
Roadways (Highways) [time series]
total: 7,520 km paved: 2,376 km unpaved: 5,144 km (1996 est.)
Merchant marine [time series]
none
Ports (Ports and harbors) [time series]
Kpeme, Lome
Railways [time series]
total: 525 km (1995) narrow gauge: 525 km 1.000-m gauge
Waterways [time series]
50 km Mono river