1996 Edition

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

Location

8 00 N, 1 10 E -- Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Benin and Ghana Flag ----

Area

comparative area

slightly smaller than West Virginia

land area

54,390 sq km

total area

56,790 sq km

Climate

tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north

Coastline

56 km

Environment

current issues

deforestation attributable to slash-and-burn agriculture and the use of wood for fuel; recent droughts affecting agriculture

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

natural hazards

hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; periodic droughts

Geographic coordinates

8 00 N, 1 10 E

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

70 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

border countries

Benin 644 km, Burkina Faso 126 km, Ghana 877 km

total

1,647 km

Land use

arable land

25%

forest and woodland

28%

meadows and pastures

4%

other

42%

permanent crops

1%

Location

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

Map references

Africa

Maritime claims

exclusive economic zone

200 nm

territorial sea

30 nm

Natural resources

phosphates, limestone, marble

Terrain

gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes

highest point

Pic Baumann 986 m

lowest point

Atlantic Ocean 0 m

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.)

Birth rate

46.23 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate

10.66 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Ethnic divisions

native African (37 tribes; largest and most important are Ewe, Mina, and Kabre) 99%, European and Syrian-Lebanese less than 1%

Infant mortality rate

84.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

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)

Life expectancy at birth

female

60.1 years (1996 est.)

male

55.7 years

total population

57.87 years

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)

female

37%

male

67%

total population

51.7%

Nationality

adjective

Togolese

noun

Togolese (singular and plural)

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Population

4,570,530 (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate

3.56% (1996 est.)

Religions

indigenous beliefs 70%, Christian 20%, Muslim 10%

Sex ratio

all ages

0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

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

Total fertility rate

6.75 children born/woman (1996 est.)

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

Capital

Lome

Constitution

multiparty draft constitution approved by High Council of the Republic 1 July 1992; adopted by public referendum 27 September 1992

Data code

TO

Diplomatic representation in US

chancery

2208 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

chief of mission

Ambassador Kossivi OSSEYI

telephone

[1] (202) 234-4212

Executive branch

cabinet

Council of Ministers appointed by the president and the prime minister

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

FAX

[1] (202) 232-3190

[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

Independence

27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship)

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

Judicial branch

Court of Appeal (Cour d'Appel); Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Legal system

French-based court system

Legislative branch

unicameral

Name of country

conventional long form

Republic of Togo

conventional short form

Togo

former

French Togo

local long form

Republique Togolaise

local short form

none

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

National holiday

Independence Day, 27 April (1960)

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

Suffrage

NA years of age; universal adult

Type of government

republic under transition to multiparty democratic rule

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

Agriculture

coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; meat; annual fish catch of 10,000-14,000 tons

Budget

expenditures

$274 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1995 est.)

revenues

$165 million

Currency

1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Economic aid

recipient

ODA, $NA

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.

Electricity

capacity

34,000 kW

consumption per capita

9 kWh (1990)

production

41.004 million kWh

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

Exports

$162.2 (f.o.b., 1994)

commodities

phosphates, cotton, cocoa, coffee

partners

EC 40%, Africa 16%, US 1% (1990)

External debt

$1.3 billion (1991)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $4.1 billion (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector

agriculture

49.2%

industry

17.7%

services

33.1% (1993 est.)

GDP per capita

$900 (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate

6% (1995 est.)

Illicit drugs

increasingly used as transit hub by heroin traffickers

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)

Industrial production growth rate

NA%

Industries

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

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%

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie

Defense expenditures

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

Manpower availability

males age 15-49

975,746

males fit for military service

512,196 (1996 est.)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios

795,000 (1992 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

Telephones

12,000 (1987 est.)

Television broadcast stations

3 (relays 2)

Televisions

24,000 (1992 est.) Defense

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.)

Highways

paved

1,833 km

total

7,545 km

unpaved

5,712 km (1993 est.)

Merchant marine

none

Ports

Kpeme, Lome

Railways

narrow gauge

525 km 1.000-m gauge

total

525 km (1995)

Waterways

50 km Mono river