TOGO
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 56,790 km2; land area: 54,390 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than West Virginia
Land boundaries: 1,647 km total; Benin 644 km, Burkina 126 km,
Ghana 877 km
Coastline: 56 km
Maritime claims:
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 30 nm
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%; includes irrigated NEGL%
Environment: hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north
during winter; recent droughts affecting agriculture; deforestation
PEOPLE
Population: 3,810,616 (July 1991), growth rate 3.6% (1991)
Birth rate: 49 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 110 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 54 years male, 58 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 7.1 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Togolese (sing. and pl.); adjective--Togolese
Ethnic divisions: 37 tribes; largest and most important are Ewe,
Mina, and Kabye; under 1% European and Syrian-Lebanese
Religion: indigenous beliefs about 70%, Christian 20%,
Muslim 10%
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
Literacy: 43% (male 56%, female 31%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force: NA; agriculture 78%, industry 22%; about 88,600 wage
earners, evenly divided between public and private sectors; 50% of
population of working age (1985)
Organized labor: one national union, the National Federation of
Togolese Workers
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Republic of Togo
Type: republic; one-party presidential regime
Capital: Lome
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 parentheses
Independence: 27 April 1960 (from UN trusteeship under French
administration, formerly French Togo)
Constitution: 30 December 1979, effective 13 January 1980
Legal system: French-based court system
National holiday: Liberation Day (anniversary of coup), 13 January
(1967)
Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee
Nationale)
Chief of State--President Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA (since 14
April 1967);
Head of Government--interim Prime Minister Kokou KOFFIGOH (since 28
August 1991)
Political parties and leaders: 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; more than
10 parties formed as of mid-May, though none yet legally registered;
a national conference to determine transition regime took place
10-20 June 1991
Suffrage: universal adult at age NA
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 14
June 1992);
results--RPT was the only party;
seats--(77 total) RPT 77
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Ellom-Kodjo SCHUPPIUS;
Chancery at 2208 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 234-4212 or 4213;
US--Ambassador Harmon E. KIRBY; Embassy at Rue Pelletier
Caventou and Rue Vauban, Lome (mailing address is B. P. 852, Lome);
telephone 228 21-29-91 through 94 and 21-77-17
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 35% of GDP and provides
employment for 78% 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. Togo serves as a regional
commercial and trade center. The government actively encourages foreign
investment.
GDP: $1.4 billion, per capita $395; real growth rate 3.6% (1989
est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): - 1.2% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 2.0% (1987)
Budget: revenues $330 million; expenditures $363 million,
including capital expenditures of $101 million (1990 est.)
Agriculture: cash crops--coffee, cocoa, cotton; food crops--yams,
cassava, corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; livestock production
not significant; annual fish catch, 10,000-14,000 tons
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $132
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $1.8 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $35 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $51 million
Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc
(plural--francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: 515 km 1.000-meter gauge, single track
Highways: 6,462 km total; 1,762 km paved; 4,700 km unimproved roads
Inland waterways: none
Ports: Lome, Kpeme (phosphate port)
Merchant marine: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 38,906
GRT/70,483 DWT; includes 4 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 3 multifunction
large-load carrier
Civil air: 3 major transport aircraft
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
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; earth stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1
SYMPHONIE
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Gendarmerie
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 799,597; 420,092 fit for
military service; no conscription
Defense expenditures: $44 million, 3.7% of GDP (1987)
