Background: French Togoland became Togo in 1960. Despite the facade of multiparty rule instituted in the early 1990s the government continues to be dominated by the military which has maintained its power almost continuously since 1967.

Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N, 1 10 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 56,790 km²
Land: 54,390 km²
Water: 2,400 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than West Virginia

Land boundaries
Total: 1,647 km
Border countries: (3) Benin 644 km; , Burkina Faso 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

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Extremes highest point: Pic Baumann 986 m

Natural resources: phosphates, limestone, marble

Land use
Arable land: 38%
Permanent crops: 7%
Permanent pastures: 4%
Forests and woodland: 17%
Other: 34% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 70 km² (1993 est.)

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

Population: 4,735,610 (July 1997 est.)
Growth rate: 3.54% (1997 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Togolese (singular and plural)
Adjective: Togolese

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

Languages: 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)

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

Age structure
0-14 years: 49% (male 1,153,174; female 1,143,085)
15-64 years: 49% (male 1,129,720; female 1,206,926)
65 years and over: 2% (male 47,211; female 55,494) (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.54% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 45.71 births/1000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 10.32 deaths/1000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (1997 est.)

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

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 82.1 deaths/1000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 58.32 years
Male: 56.1 years
Female: 60.61 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.68 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 51.7%
Male: 67%
Female: 37% (1995 est.)

Country name
Conventional long form: Togolese Republic
Conventional short form: Togo
Local long form: Republique Togolaise
Local short form: none
Former: French Togo

Government type: republic under transition to multiparty democratic rule

Capital: Lome

Administrative divisions: 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

Independence: 27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship)

National holiday: Independence Day, 27 April (1960)

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

Legal system: French-based court system

Suffrage: NA years of age; universal adult

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA (since 14 April 1967)
Head of government: Prime Minister Kwassi KLUTSE (since September 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 25 August 1993 (next to be held NA 1998); prime minister appointed by the president
Election results: Gnassingbe EYADEMA elected president; percent of vote - Gnassingbe EYADEMA 96.5%; note - all major opposition parties boycotted the election

Legislative branch: 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, UDT 6, UJD 2, and CFN 1

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme

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, OIC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIH, UPU, WADB, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Kossivi OSSEYI
In the us chancery: 2,208 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 234-4,212
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 232-3,190
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Johnny YOUNG
From the us embassy: Rue Pelletier Caventou and Rue Vauban, Lome
From the us mailing address: B. P. 852, Lome
From the us telephone: [228] 21 77 17, 21 29 91 through 21 29 94
From the us FAX: [228] 21 79 52

Flag 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

Economy overview: 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. 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.

Real gdp growth rate: 6% (1996 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $970 (1996 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 35%
Industry: 23%
Services: 42% (1995 est.)

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

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

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force
Total: 1.538 million (1993 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 64%
By occupation industry: 9%
By occupation services: 21%
By occupation unemployed: 6% (1981est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget
Revenues: $242 million
Expenditures: $262 million, including capital expenditures of $N/A (1997 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Exports
Total value: $265 (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
Commodities: phosphates, cotton, coffee, cocoa
Partners: Canada 9.2%, US 8.1%, Taiwan 7.5%, Nigeria 6.7% (1995 est.)

Imports
Total value: $350 million (c.i.f., 1996 est.)
Commodities: machinery and equipment, consumer goods, food, chemical products
Partners: Ghana 17.1%, China 13.3%, France 12.5%, Cameroon 6.0% (1995 est.)

Debt external: $1.5 billion (1994)

Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 541.69 (January 1997), 511.55 (1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992)
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

Electricity
Capacity: NA kW
Production: NA kWh
Production note: imports electricity from Ghana
Consumption per capita: NA kWh

Telephones: 12,000 (1987 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

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $48 million (1993)
Percent of gdp: 2.9% (1993)

Airports: 8 (1996 est.)
With paved runways total: 4
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With paved runways under 914 m: 2 (1996 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 4
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4 (1996 est.)

Railways
Total: 525 km (1995)
Narrow gauge: 525 km 1.000-m gauge

Waterways: 50 km Mono river

Merchant marine: none

Disputes international: none

Illicit drugs: transit hub for Nigerian heroin and cocaine traffickers