Background: French Togo became the independent state of Togo in 1960. General Gnassingbe EYADEMA, a military ruler who came to power in 1967, is the longest-serving head of state in Africa. Despite the formally multi-party elections of 1993, which were won by EYADEMA, the government continues to be dominated by the military. In addition, Togo is criticized by international human rights organizations and the country is torn apart by political conflicts. Foreign aid to Togo has been largely suspended.
Geography
Location: West Africa, on the coast of the Bay of Benin, between Benin and Ghana.
Geographic coordinates: 8° 00′ N. sh., 1° 10′ in.
Reference map: Africa.
Area: total: 56,785 square kilometers; land surface area: 54,385 km2; water surface area: 2,400 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than the state of West Virginia.
Land borders: total length: 1,647 km; with neighboring states: with Benin 644 km, with Burkina Faso 126 km, with Ghana 877 km.
Coastline: 56 km.
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles; territorial waters: 30 nautical miles.
Climate: tropical; hot, humid in south; semi-arid in the north.
Terrain: savannah in the north; hills in the central regions; plateau in the south; coastal lowland with extensive lagoons and swamps.
Maximum and minimum heights: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m; highest point: Mont Agout 986 m.
Natural resources: phosphates, limestone, marble, arable land.
Land use: arable land: 38%; cultivated land: 7%; pastures: 4%; forests and plantations: 17%; others: 34% (1993 est.).
Irrigated land: 70 km2 (1993 est.).
Natural hazards: hot, dry harmattan winds, sometimes reducing visibility in the north in winter; periodic droughts.
Current environmental issues: deforestation as a result of slash-and-burn agriculture and meeting the need for wood fuel; water pollution poses a health hazard and also harms fisheries; air pollution is on the rise in cities.
International Environmental Treaties: Member: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 1983, Tropical Timber 1994, Wetlands; signed but not ratified: no.
Note to the section “Geography”:
Population
Population: 5,153,088; note: estimates for this country take into account rising AIDS deaths; due to the spread of AIDS, life expectancy, population size and population growth may actually be lower, and child mortality and overall mortality rates correspondingly higher; there may also be changes in age structure and sex ratios (July 2001 est.).
Age structure: under 14: 45.63% (male 1,179,650; female 1,171,748); 15 to 64 years old: 51.92% (male 1,302,197; female 1,373,247); over 65: 2.45% (male 54,651; female 71,595) (2001 est.).
Population growth: 2.6% (2001 est.).
Birth rate: 37.04 newborns / 1000 people. (2001 est.).
Mortality: 11.24 deaths/1000 people (2001 est.).
Migration: 0.15 people /1000 people (2001 est.).
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male/female; under 15: 1.01 male/female; 15 to 64 years old: 0.95 male/female; over 65: 0.76 male/female; for the general population: 0.97 male/female (2001 est.);
Child mortality: 70.43 deaths/1000 births (2001 est.).
Life expectancy: for the general population: 54.35 years; men: 52.38 years; women: 56.38 years (2001 est.).
Total fertility rate: 5.32 children/wives. (2001 est.).
Proportion of adults infected with HIV: 5.98% (1999 est.).
Number of people infected with HIV: 130,000 (1999 est.).
AIDS deaths: 14,000 (1999 est.).
Nationality: noun: Togolese; adjective: Togolese.
Ethnic groups: Africans (37 tribes; the largest and most important are the Ewe, Mina and Kabré) 99%, Europeans, Syrians and Lebanese less than 1%.
Believers: Indigenous 59%, Christian 29%, Muslim 12%.
Language(s): French (official; also the language of commerce), Ewe and Mina (two main African languages in the south of the country), Kabie and Dagomba (two main languages in the north of the country).
Literacy: definition: persons aged 15 and over who can read and write; for the general population: 51.7%; men: 67%; women: 37% (1995 est.).
Politics
conventional long form: Togolese Republic;
Common short form: Togo; local long form: Republique Togolaise; local short form: no; former: French Togo.
Government: A republic in the process of transitioning to a multi-party democratic government. See politicsezine.com to know more about Togo Political System.
Capital: Lome.
Administrative division: 5 regions: De la Cara, De Plateau, De Sawan, Du-Santre, Maritim.
Dependent Territories:
Independence: 27 April 1960 (until 1960 – UN tutelage under French administration).
National holiday: Independence Day, 27 April (since 1960).
Constitution: a constitution providing for multiparty government was approved by the Supreme Council of the Republic on 1 July 1992; adopted by popular referendum on September 27, 1992.
Legal system: based on the French legal system.
Suffrage: there is no data on the age limit; for adults – universal.
chief of state: President General Gnassing-be EYADEMA (since 14 April 1967);
head of government: Prime Minister Agbeyome KODJO (since 29 August 2000)
government: a council of ministers appointed by the president and prime minister; elections: the president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term; elections last held 21 June 1998 (next to be held in 2003); the prime minister is appointed by the president; election results: Gnassingbe EYADEMA re-elected president; percentage of votes – Gnassingbe EYADEMA 52.13%, Gilchrist OLYMPIO 34.12%, other candidates 13.75%.
Legislature: unicameral National Assembly (81 members elected by popular vote for a five-year term); elections: last held 21 March 1999 (next to be held in October 2001); election results: distribution of votes by parties – no data; distribution of seats by parties – RPT 79, independents 2; note: the main opposition parties in Togo boycotted the elections because they believed EYADEMA rigged the results of the 1998 presidential election; in March 1999, opposition parties entered into negotiations with the president to set up an independent electoral commission and hold new elections to the National Assembly by 2001.
Judiciary: Court of Appeal; Supreme Court.
Political parties and leaders: Action Committee for Renewal (CAR) (Yawovi AGBOYIBO); Coordinating New Forces (CFN) (Joseph KOFFIGOH); Democratic Convention of African Peoples (CDPA) (Leopold GNI-NINVI); Party for Democracy and Renewal (PDR) (Zarifu AYEVA); Patriotic Pan-African Association (PRA) (Edem KODJO [Edem KODJO]); Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) (Gnassingbé EYADEMA); Union Forces for Change (UFC) (Gilchrist OLYMPIO, in exile, Jean-Pierre FABRE, general secretary); Union of Independent Liberals (ULI) (Jacques AMOUZO); note: The Rally of the Togolese People, led by President EYADEMA, was the only party until the legalization of the multi-party system on April 12, 1991.
Political pressure groups and their leaders:
Participation in international organizations: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIPONUH, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO.
Diplomatic Representation in the USA: Head of Mission: Ambassador Akussoulelov BODJONA; office: 2208 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; phone: [1] (202) 234-4212; fax: [\] (202) 232-3190.
US Mission: Head of Mission: Ambassador Karl HOF-MANN; embassy: Rue Pelletier Caventou / Rue Vauban, Lome; mailing address: W. R. 852, Lome; phone: [228] from 21 29 91 to 21 29 94; fax: [228] 21 79 52.
Description of the flag: five equal horizontal bands of green (top, center and bottom) and yellow (between the greens); in the upper corner near the pole there is a red square with a white five-pointed star on it; The colors of the Ethiopian flag, which are popular throughout Africa, are used.
