{\I}current issues:{\N} deforestation attributable to slash-and-burn agriculture and the use of wood for fuel; recent droughts affecting agriculture
{\I}natural hazards:{\N} hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; periodic droughts
{\I}international agreements:{\N} party to - Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Tropical Timber 94
{\I}0-14 years:{\N} 49% (female 1,069,171; male 1,079,999)
{\I}15-64 years:{\N} 49% (female 1,121,685; male 1,043,000)
{\I}65 years and over:{\N} 2% (female 51,392; male 45,123) (July 1995 est.)
{\B}Population growth rate:{\N} 3.58% (1995 est.)
{\B}Birth rate:{\N} 46.78 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
{\B}Death rate:{\N} 11.01 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
{\B}Net migration rate:{\N} 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
{\B}Infant mortality rate:{\N} 86.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
{\B}Life expectancy at birth:{\N}
{\I}total population:{\N} 57.42 years
{\I}male:{\N} 55.29 years
{\I}female:{\N} 59.6 years (1995 est.)
{\B}Total fertility rate:{\N} 6.83 children born/woman (1995 est.)
{\B}Nationality:{\N}
{\I}noun:{\N} Togolese (singular and plural)
{\I}adjective:{\N} Togolese
{\B}Ethnic divisions:{\N} 37 tribes; largest and most important are Ewe, Mina, and Kabye, European and Syrian-Lebanese under 1%
{\B}Religions:{\N} indigenous beliefs 70%, Christian 20%, Muslim 10%
{\B}Languages:{\N} French (official and the language of commerce), Ewe and Mina (the two major African languages in the south), Dagomba and Kabye (the two major African languages in the north)
{\B}Literacy:{\N} age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
{\I}total population:{\N} 43%
{\I}male:{\N} 56%
{\I}female:{\N} 31%
{\B}Labour force:{\N} NA
{\I}by occupation:{\N} agriculture 80%
{\I}note:{\N} about 88,600 wage earners, evenly divided between public and private sectors
{\I}note:{\N} the 23 units may now be called prefectures (singular - prefecture) and reported name changes for individual units are included in parentheses
{\B}Independence:{\N} 27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship)
{\B}National holiday:{\N} Independence Day, 27 April (1960)
{\B}Constitution:{\N} multiparty draft constitution approved by High Council of the Republic 1 July 1992; adopted by public referendum 27 September 1992
{\B}Legal system:{\N} French-based court system
{\B}Suffrage:{\N} NA years of age; universal adult
{\B}Overview:{\N} The economy is heavily dependent on subsistence agriculture, which accounts for about half of GDP and provides employment for 80% of the labour force. Primary agricultural exports are cocoa, coffee, and cotton, which together generate about 30% of total export earnings. Togo is self-sufficient in basic foodstuffs when harvests are normal. In the industrial sector phosphatemining is by far the most important activity, although it suffered from the collapse of world phosphate prices and increased foreign competition. Togo serves as a regional commercial and trade centre. The government's decade-long IMF and World Bank supported effort to implement economic reform measures to encourage foreign investment and bring revenues in line with expenditures has stalled. Political unrest, including private and public sector strikes throughout 1992 and 1993, jeopardized the reform program, shrunk the tax base, and disrupted vital economic activity. Although the number of strikes fell in 1994, political unrest and lack of funds prevented the government from taking advantage of currency devaluation.
{\B}National product:{\N} GDP - purchasing power parity - $3.3 billion (1993 est.)
{\B}National product real growth rate:{\N} NA%
{\B}National product per capita:{\N} $800 (1993 est.)
{\B}Agriculture:{\N} accounts for 49% of GDP; cash crops - coffee, cocoa, cotton; food crops - yams, cassava, corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; livestock production not significant; annual fish catch of 10,000-14,000 tons
{\B}Economic aid:{\N}
{\I}recipient:{\N} US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-90), $142 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-90), $2 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $35 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $51 million
{\B}Currency:{\N} 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
