Togo
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See regional map VII
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:
- Extended 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: 25% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 4% meadows and pastures; 28% forest and woodland; 42% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; recent droughts affecting agriculture; deforestation
People
Population: 3,674,355 (July 1990), growth
rate 3.7% (1990)
Birth rate: 50 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 14 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 112 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 53 years male, 57 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 7.2 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Togolese (sing. and pl.); adjective—Togolese
Ethnic divisions: 37 tribes; largest and most important are Ewe, Mina, and Kabyè; under 1% European and Syrian-Lebanese
Religion:about 70% indigenous beliefs, 20% Christian, 10% Muslim
Language: French, both official and language of commerce; major African languages are Ewe and Mina in the south and Dagomba and Kabyè in the north
Literacy: 40.7%
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)
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: Lomé
Administrative divisions: 21 circumscriptions (circonscriptions, singular—circonscription); Amlamé (Amou), Aného (Lacs), Atakpamé (Ogou), Badou (Wawa), Bafilo (Assoli), Bassar (Bassari), Dapaong (Tôné), Kanté (Kéran), Klouto (Kloto), Kpagouda (Binah), Lama-Kara (Kozah), Lomé (Golfe), Mango (Oti), Niamtougou (Doufelgou), Notsé (Haho), Sotouboua, Tabligbo (Yoto), Tchamba, Tchaoudjo, Tsévié (Zio), Vogan (Vo); note—the 21 units may now be called prefectures (préfectures, singular—préfecture) and reported name changes for individual units are included in parenthesis
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 (Assemblée Nationale)
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal (Cour d'Appel), Supreme Court (Cour Suprême)
Leaders: Chief of State and Head of Government—President Gen. Gnassingbé EYADÉMA (since 14 April 1967)
Political parties and leaders: only party—Rally of the Togolese People (RPT), President Eyadéma
Suffrage: universal adult at age NA
Elections: President—last held 21 December 1986 (next to be held December 1993); results Gen. Eyadéma 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
Communists: no Communist party
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
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, Lomé (mailing address is B. P. 852, Lomé); telephone [228] 21-29-91 through 94 and 21-36-09
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: 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.
GDP: $1.35 billion, per capita $405; real growth rate 4.1% (1988 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (1987 est.)
Unemployment rate: 2.0% (1987)
Budget: revenues $354 million; expenditures $399 million, including capital expenditures of $102 million (1988 est.)
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)
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)
External debt: $1.3 billion (December 1988)
Industrial production: growth rate 4.9% (1987 est.)
Electricity: 117,000 kW capacity; 155 million kWh produced, 45 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement, handicrafts, textiles, beverages
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
Currency: Communauté Financière Africaine franc (plural—francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Communauté Financière 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)
Fiscal year: calendar year
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: Lomé, Kpeme (phosphate port)
Merchant marine: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 41,809 GRT/72,289 DWT; includes 4 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 3 multi-function 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; satellite earth stations—1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 SYMPHONIE
Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force,
paramilitary Gendarmerie
Military manpower: males 15-49, 767,949; 403,546 fit for military service; no conscription
Defense expenditures: 3.3% of GDP (1987)