Background: French Togoland became Togo in 1960. Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA installed as military ruler in 1967 continued to rule well into the 21st century. Despite the facade of multiparty elections instituted in the early 1990s the government continued to be dominated by President EYADEMA whose Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) party has maintained power almost continually since 1967. Togo has come under fire from international organizations for human rights abuses and is plagued by political unrest. While most bilateral and multilateral aid to Togo remains frozen the EU initiated a partial resumption of cooperation and development aid to Togo in late 2004 based upon commitments by Togo to expand opportunities for political opposition and liberalize portions of the economy. Upon his death in February 2005 President EYADEMA was succeeded by his son Faure GNASSINGBE. The succession supported by the military and in contravention of the nation's constitution was challenged by popular protest and a threat of sanctions from regional leaders. GNASSINGBE succumbed to pressure and in April 2005 held elections that legitimized his succession.

Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N 1 10 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 56,785 km²
Land: 54,385 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
Territorial sea: 30 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 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: Mont Agou 986 m

Natural resources: phosphates limestone marble arable land

Land use
Arable land: 44.2%
Permanent crops: 2.11%
Other: 53.69% (2005)

Irrigated land: 70 km² (2003)

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

Geography
Note: the country's length allows it to stretch through six distinct geographic regions; climate varies from tropical to savanna

Population
Note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.)
Growth rate: 2.72% (2006 est.)
Below poverty line: 32% (1989 est.)

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

Ethnic groups: 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 51% Christian 29% Muslim 20%

Age structure
0-14 years: 42.3% (male 1,177,141/female 1,169,321)
15-64 years: 55.1% (male 1,485,621/female 1,570,117)
65 years and over: 2.6% (male 59,870/female 86,632) (2006 est.)

Median age
Total: 18.3 years
Male: 17.8 years
Female: 18.7 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.72% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 37.01 births/1000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 9.83 deaths/1000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (2006 est.)

Environment
Current issues: deforestation attributable to slash-and-burn agriculture and the use of wood for fuel; water pollution presents health hazards and hinders the fishing industry; air pollution increasing in urban areas
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.01 male/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male/female
65 years and over: 0.69 male/female
Total population: 0.96 male/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 60.63 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 68.17 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 52.87 deaths/1000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 57.42 years
Male: 55.41 years
Female: 59.49 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.96 children born/woman (2006 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 4.1% (2003 est.)
People living with hivaids: 110,000 (2003 est.)
Deaths: 10,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: very high
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever are high risks in some locations
Water contact disease: schistosomiasis
Respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2005)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 60.9%
Male: 75.4%
Female: 46.9% (2003 est.)

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

Government type: republic under transition to multiparty democratic rule

Capital
Name: Lome
Geographic coordinates: 6 08 N, 1 13 E
Time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 5 regions (regions singular - region); Centrale Kara Maritime Plateaux Savanes

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; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Suffrage: NA years of age; universal adult

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Faure GNASSINGBE (since 6 February 2005); note - Gnassingbe EYADEMA died on 5 February 2005 and was succeeded by his son, Faure GNASSINGBE; popular elections in April 2005 validated the succession
Head of government: Prime Minister Yawovi AGBOYIBO (since 16 September 2006)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president and the prime minister
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (no term limits); election last held 24 April 2005 (next to be held NA); prime minister appointed by the president
Election results: Faure GNASSINGBE elected president; percent of vote - Faure GNASSINGBE 60.2%, Emmanuel Akitani BOB 38.3%, Nicolas LAWSON 1%, Harry OLYMPIO 0.5%

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 27 October 2002 (next to be held in 2007)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPT 72, RSDD 3, UDPS 2, Juvento 2, MOCEP 1, independents 1
Note: two opposition parties boycotted the election, the Union of the Forces for Change and the Action Committee for Renewal

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

Political parties and leaders: Juvento [Monsilia DJATO]; Movement of the Believers of Peace and Equality or MOCEP; Rally for the Support for Development and Democracy or RSDD [Harry OLYMPIO]; Rally of the Togolese People or RPT [Faure GNASSINGBE]; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Gagou KOKOU]

International organization participation: ABEDA ACCT ACP AfDB AU ECOWAS Entente FAO FZ G-77 IBRD ICAO ICC ICFTU ICRM IDA IDB IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO (correspondent) ITU MIGA MONUC NAM OIC OIF ONUB OPCW PCA UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNMIL UNOCI UPU WADB (regional) WAEMU WCL WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Akoussoulelou BODJONA
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 Gregory ENGLE
From the us embassy: Angle Rue Kouenou and Rue 15 Beniglato, Lome
From the us mailing address: B. P. 852, Lome
From the us telephone: [228] 221 29 91 through 221 29 94
From the us fax: [228] 221 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 65% of the labor force. Some basic foodstuffs must still be imported. Cocoa coffee and cotton generate about 40% of export earnings with cotton being the most important cash crop. Togo is the world's fourth-largest producer of phosphate. 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 moved slowly. Progress depends on follow-through on privatization increased openness in government financial operations progress toward legislative elections and continued support from foreign donors. Togo is working with donors to write a PRGF that could eventually lead to a debt reduction plan.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $8.802 billion (2005 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 1% (2005 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $1600 (2005 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 39.5%
Industry: 20.4%
Services: 40.1% (2003 est.)

Agriculture products: coffee cocoa cotton yams cassava (tapioca) corn beans rice millet sorghum; livestock; fish

Industries: phosphate mining agricultural processing cement handicrafts textiles beverages

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force: 1.302 million (1998)
By occupation agriculture: 65%
By occupation industry: 5%
By occupation services: 30% (1998 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Population below poverty line: 32% (1989 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Budget
Revenues: $251.3 million
Expenditures: $292.9 million; including capital expenditures of $N/A (2005 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 6% (2005 est.)

Current account balance: $-199 million (2005 est.)

Exports: $768 million f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Commodities: reexports cotton phosphates coffee cocoa
Partners: Ghana 21.1% Burkina Faso 18.2% Benin 11.5% Mali 7.3% India 5.8% Nigeria 4% (2005)

Imports: $1.047 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Commodities: machinery and equipment foodstuffs petroleum products
Partners: France 17.8% China 13.3% Cote d'Ivoire 6.5% Italy 4.5% Spain 4.3% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $318 million (2005 est.)

Debt external: $2 billion (2005)

Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 527.47 (2005) 528.29 (2004) 581.2 (2003) 696.99 (2002) 733.04 (2001)

Electricity
Production: 165.9 million kWh (2003)
Consumption: 654.3 million kWh (2003)
Exports: 0 kWh (2003)
Imports: 500 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by Ghana (2003)

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2003 est.)
Consumption: 0 m³ (2003 est.)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 58,600 (2005)
Mobile cellular: 443,600 (2005)

Telephone system
General assessment: fair system based on a network of microwave radio relay routes supplemented by open-wire lines and a mobile cellular system
Domestic: microwave radio relay and open-wire lines for conventional system
International: country code - 228; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Symphonie

Internet
Country code: .tg
Hosts: 520 (2006)
Users: 300,000 (2005)

Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: 1.6% (2005 est.)

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary and compulsory military service (2001)

Airports: 9 (2006)
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2 (2006)
With unpaved runways total: 7
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 5
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 2 (2006)

Railways
Total: 568 km
Narrow gauge: 568 km 1.000-m gauge (2005)

Roadways
Total: 7,520 km
Paved: 2,376 km
Unpaved: 5,144 km (1999)

Waterways: 50 km (seasonally on Mono River depending on rainfall) (2005)

Merchant marine
Total: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 3,918 GRT/3,852 DWT
By type: cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 1 (2006)

Ports and terminals: Kpeme Lome

Disputes international: in 2001 Benin claimed Togo moved boundary monuments - joint commission continues to resurvey the boundary

Illicit drugs: transit hub for Nigerian heroin and cocaine traffickers; money laundering not a significant problem