| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: Togolese Republic
conventional short form: Togo
local long form: Republique Togolaise
local short form: none
former: French Togoland |
| Capital: |
Lome |
| Location: |
Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
8 00 N, 1 10 E |
| Area: |
total: 56,785 sq km
land: 54,385 sq km
water: 2,400 sq km |
| Area
Comparative: |
slightly smaller than West Virginia |
| Land
Boundaries: |
total: 1,647 km
border countries: 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 |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Agou 986 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
phosphates, limestone, marble, arable land |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
republic under transition to multiparty democratic rule |
| Administratives
Divisions: |
5 regions (regions, singular - region); Kara, Plateaux, Savanes, Centrale, 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 Faure GNASSINGBE (since 6 February 2005); note - Gnassingbe EYADEMA died on 5 February 2005 and was succeeded by his son, Faure GNASSINGBE
head of government: Prime Minister Koffi SAMA (since 29 June 2002)
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 1 June 2003 (next to be held 24 April 2005); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Gnassingbe EYADEMA reelected president; percent of vote - Gnassingbe EYADEMA 57.2%, Emmanuel Akitani BOB 34.1%, Yawovi AGBOYIBO 5.2%, Maurice Dahuku PERE 2.3%, Edem KODJO 1.0% |
| Legislative
Branch: |
unicameral National Assembly (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 27 October 2002 (next to be held NA 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 [leader NA]; 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]
note: Rally of the Togolese People or RPT, led by President GNASSINGBE, was the only party until the formation of multiple parties was legalized 12 April 1991 |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
5,681,519
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 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 43.2% (male 1,232,759/female 1,224,060)
15-64 years: 54.2% (male 1,505,737/female 1,571,201)
65 years and over: 2.6% (male 60,799/female 86,963) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 17.78 years
male: 17.42 years
female: 18.14 years (2005 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% |
| Religions: |
indigenous beliefs 51%, Christian 29%, Muslim 20% |
| 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) |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
60,600 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
220,000 (2003) |
| 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; cellular system has capacity of 10,000 telephones
international: country code - 228; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Symphonie |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
3 (plus two repeaters) (1997) |
| Internet country
code: |
.tg |
| Internet hosts: |
82 (2003) |
| Internet users: |
210,000 (2003) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
total: 568 km
narrow gauge: 568 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
| Highways: |
total: 7,520 km
paved: 2,376 km
unpaved: 5,144 km (1999 est.) |
| Waterways: |
50 km (seasonally on Mono River depending on rainfall) (2003) |
| Pipelines: |
|
| Ports and harbors: |
Kpeme, Lome |
| Merchant marine: |
total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 3,918 GRT/3,852 DWT
by type: cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 1 (2005) |
| Airports: |
9 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
|
