1990 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1990 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north
Coastline
56 km
Comparative area
slightly smaller than West Virginia
Environment
hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; recent droughts affecting agriculture; deforestation
Extended economic zone
200 nm;
Land boundaries
1,647 km total; Benin 644 km, Burkina 126 km, Ghana 877 km
Land use
25% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 4% meadows and pastures; 28% forest and woodland; 42% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Natural resources
phosphates, limestone, marble
Terrain
gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes
Territorial sea
30 nm
Total area
56,790 km2; land area: 54,390 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
50 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate
14 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Ethnic divisions
37 tribes; largest and most important are Ewe, Mina, and Kabye; under 1% European and Syrian-Lebanese
Infant mortality rate
112 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Labor force
NA; 78% agriculture, 22% industry; about 88,600 wage earners, evenly divided between public and private sectors; 50% of population of working age (1985)
Language
French, both official and language of commerce; major African languages are Ewe and Mina in the south and Dagomba and Kabye in the north
Life expectancy at birth
53 years male, 57 years female (1990)
Literacy
40.7%
Nationality
noun--Togolese (sing. and pl.); adjective--Togolese
Net migration rate
0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Organized labor
one national union, the National Federation of Togolese Workers
Population
3,674,355 (July 1990), growth rate 3.7% (1990)
Religion
about 70% indigenous beliefs, 20% Christian, 10% Muslim
Total fertility rate
7.2 children born/woman (1990)
Government
Administrative divisions
21 circumscriptions (circonscriptions, singular--circonscription); Amlame (Amou), Aneho (Lacs), Atakpame (Ogou), Badou (Wawa), Bafilo (Assoli), Bassar (Bassari), Dapaong (Tone), Kante (Keran), Klouto (Kloto), Kpagouda (Binah), Lama-Kara (Kozah), Lome (Golfe), Mango (Oti), Niamtougou (Doufelgou), Notse (Haho), Sotouboua, Tabligbo (Yoto), Tchamba, Tchaoudjo, Tsevie (Zio), Vogan (Vo); note--the 21 units may now be called prefectures (prefectures, singular--prefecture) and reported name changes for individual units are included in parenthesis
Capital
Lome
Communists
no Communist party
Constitution
30 December 1979, effective 13 January 1980
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador Ellom-Kodjo SCHUPPIUS; Chancery at 2208 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 234-4212 or 4213; US--Ambassador Rush W. TAYLOR, Jr.; Embassy at Rue Pelletier Caventou and Rue Vauban, Lome (mailing address is B. P. 852, Lome); telephone [228] 21-29-91 through 94 and 21-36-09
Elections
President--last held 21 December 1986 (next to be held December 1993); results--Gen. Eyadema was reelected without opposition; National Assembly--last held 4 March 1990 (next to be held March 1995); results--RPT is the only party; seats--(77 total) RPT 77
Executive branch
president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
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
Independence
27 April 1960 (from UN trusteeship under French administration, formerly French Togo)
Judicial branch
Court of Appeal (Cour d'Appel), Supreme Court
Leaders
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA (since 14 April 1967)
Legal system
French-based court system
Legislative branch
unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)
Long-form name
Republic of Togo
Member of
ACP, AfDB, CEAO (observer), EAMA, ECA, ECOWAS, ENTENTE, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAU, OCAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
Liberation Day (anniversary of coup), 13 January (1967)
Political parties and leaders
only party--Rally of the Togolese People (RPT), President Eyadema
Suffrage
universal adult at age NA
Type
republic; one-party presidential regime
Economy
Agriculture
cash crops--coffee, cocoa, cotton; food crops--yams, cassava, corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum, fish
Aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $121 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.6 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $35 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $46 million
Budget
revenues $354 million; expenditures $399 million, including capital expenditures of $102 million (1988 est.)
Currency
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural--francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Electricity
117,000 kW capacity; 155 million kWh produced, 45 kWh per capita (1989)
Exchange rates
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1--287.99 (January 1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)
Exports
$344 million (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--phosphates, cocoa, coffee, cotton, manufactures, palm kernels; partners--EC 70%, Africa 9%, US 2%, other 19% (1985)
External debt
$1.3 billion (December 1988)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
$1.35 billion, per capita $405; real growth rate 4.1% (1988 est.)
Imports
$369 million (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--food, fuels, durable consumer goods, other intermediate goods, capital goods; partners--EC 69%, Africa 10%, Japan 7%, US 4%, other 10% (1985)
Industrial production
growth rate 4.9% (1987 est.)
Industries
phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement, handicrafts, textiles, beverages
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
2.5% (1987 est.)
Overview
Togo is one of the least developed countries in the world with a per capita GDP of about $400. The economy is heavily dependent on subsistence agriculture, which accounts for about 35% of GDP and provides employment for 80% of the labor force. Primary agricultural exports are cocoa, coffee, and cotton, which together account for 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, with phosphate exports accounting for about 40% of total foreign exchange earnings.
Unemployment rate
2.0% (1987)
Communications
Airports
9 total, 9 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m none with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
3 major transport aircraft
Highways
6,462 km total; 1,762 km paved; 4,700 km unimproved roads
Inland waterways
none
Merchant marine
7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 41,809 GRT/72,289 DWT; includes 4 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 3 multifunction large-load carrier
Ports
Lome, Kpeme (phosphate port)
Railroads
515 km 1.000-meter gauge, single track
Telecommunications
fair system based on network of open-wire lines supplemented by radio relay routes; 12,000 telephones; stations--2 AM, no FM, 3 (2 relays) TV; satellite earth stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 SYMPHONIE
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Gendarmerie
Defense expenditures
3.3% of GDP (1987)
Military manpower
males 15-49, 767,949; 403,546 fit for military service; no conscription