French Togoland became Togo in 1960. Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA, installed as military ruler in 1967, ruled Togo with a heavy hand for almost four decades. Despite the facade of multiparty elections instituted in the early 1990s, the government was largely dominated by President EYADEMA, whose Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) party has maintained power almost continually since 1967 and maintains a majority of seats in today's legislature. Upon EYADEMA's death in February 2005, the military installed the president's son, Faure GNASSINGBE, and then engineered his formal election two months later. Democratic gains since then allowed Togo to hold its first relatively free and fair legislative elections in October 2007. After years of political unrest and condemnation from international organizations for human rights abuses, Togo is finally being re-welcomed into the international community. In January 2012, Togo assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2012-13 term.

Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana

8 00 N, 1 10 E

Africa

slightly smaller than West Virginia

56 km

tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north

gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes

phosphates, limestone, marble, arable land

70 sq km (2003)

14.7 cu km (2001)

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

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

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

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

French (official, 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)

Christian 29%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs 51%

6,961,049 (July 2012 est.)

2.748% (2012 est.)

35.26 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

7.78 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

LOME (capital) 1.593 million (2009)

300 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)

4.64 children born/woman (2012 est.)

5.9% of GDP (2009)

0.053 physicians/1,000 population (2008)

0.85 beds/1,000 population (2005)

3.2% (2009 est.)

120,000 (2009 est.)

7,700 (2009 est.)

20.5% (2008)

4.6% of GDP (2009)

republic under transition to multiparty democratic rule

5 regions (regions, singular - region); Centrale, Kara, Maritime, Plateaux, Savanes

27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship)

Independence Day, 27 April (1960)

adopted by public referendum 27 September 1992

customary law system

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age; universal

unicameral National Assembly (81 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

Constitutional Court; High Court of Justice; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel; Court of Audits

Action Committee for Renewal or CAR [Yawovi AGBOYIBO]; Democratic Convention of African Peoples or CDPA; Democratic Party for Renewal or PDR; Juvento [Monsilia DJATO]; Movement of the Believers of Peace and Equality or MOCEP; National Alliance for Change or ANC [Jean-Pierre FABRE]; Pan-African Patriotic Convergence or CPP; Rally for the Support for Development and Democracy or RSDD [Harry OLYMPIO]; Rally of the Togolese People or RPT [Faure GNASSINGBE]; Socialist Pact for Renewal or PSR; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Gagou KOKOU]; Union of Forces for Change or UFC [Gilchrist OLYMPIO]

NA

ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNSC (temporary), UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

five equal horizontal bands of green (top and bottom) alternating with yellow; a white five-pointed star on a red square is in the upper hoist-side corner; the five horizontal stripes stand for the five different regions of the country; the red square is meant to express the loyalty and patriotism of the people; green symbolizes hope, fertility, and agriculture; yellow represents mineral wealth and faith that hard work and strength will bring prosperity; the star symbolizes life, purity, peace, dignity, and Togo's independence

This small, sub-Saharan economy suffers from anemic economic growth and depends heavily on both commercial and subsistence agriculture, which provides employment for a significant share 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 among the world's largest producers of phosphate and Togo seeks to develop its carbonate phosphate reserves. 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. Foreign direct investment inflows have slowed over recent years. Togo completed its IMF Extended Credit Facility in 2011 and reached a HIPC debt relief completion point in 2010 at which 95% of the country's debt was forgiven. Togo continues to work with the IMF on structural reforms.

$6.497 billion (2011 est.)

$6.24 billion (2010 est.)

$5.998 billion (2009 est.)

$3.611 billion (2011 est.)

4.1% (2011 est.)

4% (2010 est.)

3.4% (2009 est.)

$900 (2011 est.)

$900 (2010 est.)

$900 (2009 est.)

2.595 million (2007)

NA%

32% (1989 est.)

17.7% of GDP (2011 est.)

22% of GDP (2011 est.)

-4% of GDP (2011 est.)

3.6% (2011 est.)

1.8% (2010 est.)

2.5% (31 December 2010 est.)

4.25% (31 December 2009 est.)

NA%

$982 million (31 December 2011 est.)

$854.3 million (31 December 2010 est.)

$1.635 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$1.461 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$1.078 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$1.013 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$NA

coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (manioc), corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; livestock; fish

phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement, handicrafts, textiles, beverages

2.5% (2010 est.)

-$293.5 million (2011 est.)

-$236.1 million (2010 est.)

$910.8 million (2011 est.)

$879 million (2010 est.)

reexports, cotton, phosphates, coffee, cocoa

China 11.3%, Burkina Faso 8.7%, Benin 8.6%, Niger 6.6%, Germany 6%, India 5.5%, Ghana 5%, Indonesia 4.9% (2011)

$1.467 billion (2011 est.)

$1.371 billion (2010 est.)

machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products

China 35.5%, France 9.4%, Belgium 8.6%, US 5.6%, UK 5.1% (2011)

$786.2 million (31 December 2011 est.)

$714.9 million (31 December 2010 est.)

$NA (31 December 2010)

$1.64 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar -

471.87 (2011 est.)

495.28 (2010 est.)

472.19 (2009)

447.81 (2008)

482.71 (2007)

calendar year

123 million kWh (2009 est.)

651 million kWh (2009 est.)

0 kWh (2010 est.)

683 million kWh (2009 est.)

85,000 kW (2009 est.)

21.2% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

78.8% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2010 est.)

0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

28,670 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

6,829 bbl/day (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2010 est.)

0 cu m (2010 est.)

0 cu m (2010 est.)

0 cu m (2010 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2012 est.)

3.166 million Mt (2010 est.)

240,000 (2011)

3.105 million (2011)

2 state-owned TV stations with multiple transmission sites; 5 private TV stations broadcast locally; cable TV service is available; state-owned radio network with multiple stations; several dozen private radio stations and a few community radio stations; transmissions of multiple international broadcasters available (2007)

.tg

1,165 (2010)

356,300 (2009)

8 (2012)

50 km (seasonally navigable by small craft on the Mono River depending on rainfall) (2011)

Kpeme, Lome

Togolese Armed Forces (Forces Armees Togolaise, FAT): Ground Forces, Togolese Navy (Marine du Togo), Togolese Air Force (Force Aerienne Togolaise, TAF), National Gendarmerie (2011)

18 years of age for selective compulsory military service; 2-year service obligation (2006)

1.6% of GDP (2005 est.)

in 2001, Benin claimed Togo moved boundary monuments - joint commission continues to resurvey the boundary; in 2006, 14,000 Togolese refugees remain in Benin and Ghana out of the 40,000 who fled there in 2005; talks continue between Benin and Togo on funding the Adjrala hydroelectric dam on the Mona River

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