Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/mac/TEXT/backgrd/TOGO.BKG

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US DEPARTMENT OF STATE
BACKGROUND  NOTES:  TOGO

OFFICIAL NAME: REPUBLIC  OF  TOGO

PROFILE

Geography

Area:  56,600 sq. km. (21,853 sq. mi.); slightly smaller than West
Virginia.  Cities:  Capital-Lome (pop. 1989 est. 600,000).  Terrain:
Savannah and hills and coastal plain.

Climate:  Tropical.


People
Nationality: Noun and adjective-Togolese (sing. and pl.).  Population
(1989 est.):  3.4 million.  Annual growth rate (1988 est.):  3.3%
Density:  61 sq. km.  Ethnic groups:  Ewe, Mina, Kabye, Cotocoli,
Moba.  Religions:  Animist 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20%.
Languages:  French (official), local (Ewe, Mina, Kabye).  Education:
Attendance (1987 est.)-70% of age group 5-19  enrolled.  Literacy
(1985 est.)-male 45%, female 20%.  Health:  Life expectancy (1986
est.)-male 51 yrs., female 54 yrs.  Work force (125,000):
Agriculture-75%-80%, Commerce-20%, Industry-less than 5%.


Government
Type:  Republic.  Independence:  April 27, 1960.  Constitution:
Adopted 1980.

Branches:  Executive-president (chief of state, head of sole political
party).  Legislative-National Assembly.  Judicial-Supreme Court.

Subdivisions: 21 prefectures.

Political party: Rassemblement du Peuple Togolais (RPT).  Suffrage:
Universal adult.

Central government budget (1989):  $289 million.

National holiday:  January 13, Fete Nationale.

Flag:  Alternating horizontal stripes, three green and two yellow, with
a white star in a red field in upper left corner.


Economy
GDP (1988 est.):  $1.36 billion.  Annual growth rate (1989 est.):  4%.
Per capita income (1987 est.):  $390.
Natural resources:  phosphates, limestone, marble.

Agriculture (34% of 1988 GDP):  Products-yams, cassava, corn,
millet, sorghum, cocoa, coffee, rice.

Industry (18% of 1988 GDP):  Types-mining, manufacturing,
construction, energy.

Trade (1988):  Exports-$297 million: phosphates, textiles, cocoa,
coffee, cotton.  Imports-$335 million: consumer goods, including
foodstuffs, fabrics, clothes, vehicles, equipment.  Partners-France,
U.K., F.R.G. [now Germany], Netherlands, Japan, Nigeria, Cote
d'Ivoire, People's Republic of China, U.S., Poland.

Official exchange rate (April 1989):  Communaute Financiere Africaine
(CFA) franc floats with French franc (50 CFA=1 FF).  Avg.
U.S.$1=320 CFA.

Fiscal year:  Calendar year.


Membership in International Organizations
UN, Organization of African Unity (OAU), Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS), Entente Council, West African
Monetary Union.


GEOGRAPHY

Togo is bounded by Ghana, Burkina Faso, Benin, and the Gulf of
Guinea.  It stretches 579 kilometers (360 mi.) north from the Gulf and
is only 160 kilometers (100 mi.) wide at the broadest point.  The
country consists primarily of two savannah plains regions separated
by a southwest-northwest range of hills (the Chaine du Togo).

Togo's climate varies from tropical to savannah.  The south is humid,
with temperatures ranging between 23 oC and 32 oC (75 oF-90 oF).
In the north, temperature fluctuations are greater-from 18 oC to more
than 38 oC (65 oF-100 oF).



PEOPLE

Togo's population of 3.4 million people (1989 estimate) is composed
of about 21 ethnic groups.  The two major ones are the Ewe in the
south and the Kabye in the north.

Population distribution is very uneven due to soil and terrain
variations.  The population is generally concentrated in the south and
along the major north-south highway connecting the coast to the
Sahel.  Age distribution is also uneven; more than one-half of the
Togolese are less than 15 years of age.  The ethnic groups of the
coastal region, particularly the Ewes (about 25% of the population),
constitute the bulk of the civil servants, professionals, and
merchants, due in part to the former colonial administrations which
provided greater infrastructure development in the south.  The Kabye
(15% of the population) live on submarginal land and traditionally
have emigrated south from their home area in the Kara region to
seek employment.  Their historical means of social advancement has
been through the military and law enforcement forces, and they
continue to dominate these services.

Most of the southern peoples use the Ewe or Mina languages, which
are closely related and spoken in commercial sectors throughout
Togo.  French, the official language, is used in administration and
documentation.  The public primary schools combine French with
Ewe or Kabye as languages of instruction, depending on the region.
English is spoken in neighboring Ghana and is taught in Togolese
secondary schools.  As a result, many Togolese, especially in the
south and along the Ghana border, speak some English.



HISTORY

The Ewes moved into the area which is now Togo from the Niger
River Valley between the 12th and 14th centuries.  During the 15th
and 16th centuries, Portuguese explorers and traders visited the
coast.  For the next 200 years, the coastal region was a major
raiding center for Europeans in search of slaves, earning Togo and
the surrounding region the name "the Slave Coast."
In a 1884 treaty signed at Togoville, Germany declared a
protectorate over a stretch of territory along the coast and gradually
extended its control inland.  Because it became Germany's only
self-supporting colony, Togoland was known as its model
possession.  In 1914, Togoland was invaded by French and British
forces and fell after a brief resistance.  Following the war, Togoland
became a League of Nations mandate divided for administrative
purposes between France and the United Kingdom.

After World War II, the mandate became a UN trust territory
administered by the United Kingdom and France.  During the
mandate and trusteeship periods, western Togo was administered as
part of the British Gold Coast.  In 1957, the residents of British
Togoland voted to join the Gold Coast as part of the new
independent nation of Ghana.

By statute in 1955, French Togo became an autonomous republic
within the French Union, although it retained its UN trusteeship
status.  A legislative assembly elected by universal adult suffrage had
considerable power over internal affairs, with an elected executive
body headed by a prime minister responsible to the legislature.
These changes were embodied in a constitution approved in an 1956
referendum.  On September 10, 1956, Nicholas Grunitzky became
prime minister of the Republic of Togo.  However, due to
irregularities in the plebiscite, a UN-supervised general election was
held in 1958 and won by Sylvanus Olympio.  On April 27, 1960, in a
smooth transition, Togo severed its juridical ties with France, shed its
UN trusteeship status, and became fully independent under a
provisional constitution with Olympio as president.

A new constitution in 1961 established an executive president,
elected for 7 years by universal suffrage, and a weak national
assembly.  The president was empowered to appoint ministers and
dissolve the assembly, holding a monopoly of executive power.  In
elections that year, from which Grunitzky's party was disqualified,
Olympio's party won 90% of the vote and all 51 National Assembly
seats, and he became Togo's first elected president.

Four principal political parties existed in Togo:  the leftist Juvento
(Togolese Youth Movement); the Union Democratique des
Populations Togolaises (UDPT); the Parti Togolais du Progres (PTP),
founded by Grunitzky but having limited support; and the Unite
Togolaise (UT), the party of President Olympio.  Rivalries between
elements of these parties had begun as early as the 1940s, and they
came to a head with Olympio dissolving the opposition parties in
January 1962 ostensibly because of plots against the majority party
government.  Many opposition members, including Grunitzky, fled to
avoid arrest.

On January 13, 1963, President Olympio was assassinated in an
uprising of army noncommissioned officers dissatisfied with
conditions following their discharge from the French army.  Grunitzky
returned from exile 2 days later to head a provisional government
with the title of prime minister.  On May 5, 1963, the Togolese
adopted a new constitution which reinstated a multiparty system,
chose deputies from all political parties for the National Assembly,
and elected Grunitzky as president and Antonine Meatchi as vice
president.  Nine days later, President Grunitzky formed a government
in which all parties were represented.

During the next several years, the Grunitzky government's power
became insecure.  On November 21, 1966, an attempt to overthrow
Grunitzky-inspired principally by civilian political opponents in the UT
party-was unsuccessful.  Grunitzky then tried to lessen his reliance
on the army, but on January 13, 1967, Lt. Col. Etienne Eyadema
(later Gen. Gnassingbe Eyadema) ousted President Grunitzky in a
bloodless military coup.  Political parties were banned, and all
constitutional processes were suspended.  The Committee of
National Reconciliation ruled the country until April 14, when
Eyadema assumed the presidency.  In late 1969, a single national
political party, the Assembly of the Togolese People (RPT), was
created, and President Eyadema was elected party president on
November 29, 1969.  In 1972, a national referendum, in which
Eyadema ran unopposed, confirmed his role as the country's
president.

In late 1979, Eyadema declared a Third Republic and a transition to
a more civilian rule with a mixed civilian and military cabinet.  He
garnered 99.97% of the vote in uncontested presidential elections
held in late 1979 and early 1980.  A new constitution also provided
for a national assembly to serve primarily as a consultative body.
Eyadema was reelected to a third consecutive 7-year term in
December 1986 with 99.5% of the vote in an uncontested election.

On September 23, 1986, a group of some 70 armed Togolese
dissidents crossed into Lome from Ghana in an attempt to overthrow
the Eyadema government.  With all Togolese armed forces units
remaining loyal to the president, the incursion was halted after 2
days of sporadic fighting.  The attempted overthrow resulted in
several hundred casualties, with official figures listing 13 dissidents
and 23 Togolese soldiers and civilians killed.  As a result of bilateral
tensions caused by the incursion, the Togo-Ghana border closed for
several months.



GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS

The present Togolese Government is a highly centralized, one-party
system that rules by decree.  Since its creation in 1969, the ruling
RPT has taken control of women's, youth, and labor groups by
creating party organs to replace or supervise existing organizations.
Party committees in almost every village in the country often sponsor
self-help development activities or promote political education.  In the
official protocol of Togo, members of the political bureau of the RPT
take precedence over members of the
cabinet.  All cabinet ministers are ex officio members of the party's
central committee and are appointed by the president.  The role of
the National Assembly is still evolving.  Presently, proposed
legislation is submitted by the Council of Ministers to the assembly
and becomes law after its pro forma approval.

Recently the Togo Government has sought to improve its image.  In
October 1987, Togo established a National Human Rights
Commission for the investigation of complaints of human rights
abuses.  It is authorized to receive complaints from Togolese and
foreign residents and has access to government and police files.  Its
primary functions include promoting the rights of individuals-through
education programs regarding human rights issues-and curtailing
official abuses.  Also, following longstanding complaints of
corruption, President Eyadema in late 1988 began a highly visible
anticorruption campaign leading to the ouster of several senior
government officials.

The Togolese judiciary is modeled on the French system.  The
highest review court is the Supreme Court, headed by a presidential
appointee.  For administrative purposes, Togo is divided into 21
prefectures, each having a prefect (governor) appointed by the
president.


Principal Government Officials

President, Minister of National Defense-General Gnassingbe
Eyadema
Minister of Planning and Mines-Barry  Moussa Barque
Minister Delegate at the Presidency-Gbegnon Amegboh
Minister of Interior and Security-General Yao Amegi
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation-Yaovi Adodo
Minister of Industry and State Enterprises-Koffi Djondo
Minister of Finance and Economy-Komla Alipui
Ambassador to the United States-Ellom-Kodjo Schuppius
Permanent Representative to the United Nations-Koffi Adjoyi

Togo maintains an embassy in the United States at 2208
Massachusetts Ave., NW., Washington, D.C. 20008 (Tel.
202-234-4212).



ECONOMY

Subsistence agriculture and commerce are the main economic
activities in Togo; the majority of the population depends on
subsistence agriculture.  Food and cash crop production employ the
majority of the labor force and contribute about 34% to the gross
domestic product (GDP).  Coffee and cocoa traditionally have been
the major cash crops for export, but cotton production has increased
to 31,000 metric tons in 1987 from 20,000 in 1985.  Despite
insufficient rainfall in some areas, the Togolese Government largely
has achieved its goal of self-sufficiency in food crops-corn, cassava,
yams, sorghum, millet, and groundnuts.  Food crop production is
controlled by small- and medium-sized farms; average farm size is
1-3 hectares.

Commerce is the most important economic activity in Togo after
agriculture, and Lome is an important regional trading center.  Its
port operates 24 hours a day, mainly transporting goods to the
inland countries of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.  Lome's "Grand
Marche" is known for its entrepreneurial market women, who have
a stronghold over many areas of trade, particularly in African cloth.
In addition to textiles, Togo is an important center for re-export of
alcohol, cigarettes, perfume, and used clothing to neighboring
countries.

In the industrial sector, phosphates are Togo's most important
commodity, and the country has an estimated 130 tons of phosphate
reserves.  The 3.2 million tons exported in 1988 accounted for 34%
of exports as compared to 27% for agricultural products, with the
remaining 39% representing all other exports and re-exports.  Togo
also has substantial limestone and marble deposits.

Encouraged by the commodity boom of the mid-1970s, which
resulted in a four-fold increase in phosphate prices and sharply
increased government revenues, Togo embarked on an overly
ambitious program of large investments in infrastructure while
pursuing industrialization and development of state enterprises in
manufacturing, textiles, and beverages.  However, following declines
in world prices for commodities, its economy became burdened with
fiscal imbalances, heavy borrowing, and unprofitable state
enterprises.

Togo turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for assistance
in 1979, while simultaneously implementing a stringent adjustment
effort with the help of a series of IMF standby programs, World Bank
loans, and Paris Club debt rescheduling.  Under these programs, the
Togolese Government introduced a series of austerity measures and
major restructuring goals for the state enterprise and rural
development sectors.  These reforms were aimed at eliminating most
state monopolies, simplifying taxes and customs duties, curtailing
public employment, and privatizing major state enterprises.  Having
satisfied donors with its progress in fiscal discipline and reform, in
1988 Togo was granted a fifth IMF standby agreement of $9.4 million
and a third World Bank Structural Adjustment Facility of $17.7 million
for a 3-year period.

Togo also returned to the Paris and London Clubs in 1988 and
succeeded in rescheduling a total of $150 million in outstanding debt
over the next 16 years.  Despite many economic successes, the
external debt service obligations of the government were 30.5% of
GDP in 1989.   External budgetary and development assistance will
be required in the short- to medium-term to finance expected budget
shortfalls and required public investment.

To overcome the restrictions of a limited market and sparse
resources, Togo supported wholeheartedly the formation of the
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).  The
ECOWAS Development Fund is located in Lome.  The trade and
service sectors account for most foreign investment, and there is an
infusion of funds from neighboring countries into Togolese banks.
Togo actively seeks more capital investment, particularly in the
continued privatization of former state enterprises.  Historically,
France has been Togo's principal trading partner, although other
European Community countries are important to Togo's economy
and Japan is presently trying to penetrate the West African market.
Total U.S. trade with Togo amounts to about $45 million annually.

President Eyadema's government has improved the country's
highways, port, airport, utilities, and telecommunications network.
New high rises and hotels are being built each year in Lome.  Peace
Corps volunteers, in cooperation with the government, have
constructed many rural schools, wells, and clinics and have assisted
agricultural and road improvement projects.  Togo's principal
sources of development assistance have been France, the European
Development Fund, the Federal Republic of Germany, the United
States, Japan, and the World Bank.  The volume of foreign
assistance available to Togo in 1988 was an estimated $163 million
($104 million bilateral and $59 million multilateral).



FOREIGN  RELATIONS

Although Togo's foreign policy is nonaligned, it has strong historical
and cultural ties with Western Europe, especially France and West
Germany.  Togo recognizes the People's Republic of China and
North Korea.  It reestablished relations with Israel in 1987.

Togo pursues an active foreign policy and participates in many
international organizations.  It is particularly active in West African
regional affairs and in the Organization of African Unity.  In 1980,
President Eyadema served as president of the Economic Community
of West African States.  Relations between Togo and neighboring
states, with one exception, are generally very good.  Ties to Ghana
have been strained due to border disagreements and the 1986
armed incursion by Togolese dissidents residing in Ghana.



DEFENSE

The small, professionally competent Togolese military is one of the
most important institutions in the country.  It serves as the ultimate
power base for the president (who also acts as minister of defense
and chief of staff of the armed forces).  The Togolese Armed Forces
total about 10,000, with most personnel in the land forces, including
armored, paratroop, and rapid intervention divisions, as well as the
Presidential Guard.  Togo also has a small navy with two coastal
patrol craft, and a small air force with fighter and transport aircraft.
Historically, the Togolese Armed Forces have obtained equipment
from Eastern and Western sources and recently have sought to
standardize on major items, e.g., tanks from England and vehicles
from France and West Germany.  A number of French military
officers serve in advisory and technical capacities.  Many Togolese
officers are trained in France; some also are trained in other foreign
countries in schools attended by a mix of African nationals.  The U.S.
Government brings about six Togolese officers to the United States
each year under the International Military Education and Training
program.



U.S.-TOGOLESE RELATIONS

Togo is a pro-Western, market-oriented country and the United
States and Togo have had very good relations since its
independence.  Although the United States has never been one of
Togo's major trade partners, the fall in the dollar/CFA exchange rate
in recent years has helped make U.S. goods a little more
competitive.  The largest U.S. exports to Togo generally have been
used clothing and scrap textiles.  Other important U.S. exports
include rice, wheat, shoes, tobacco products, and frozen poultry
parts, and U.S. personal computers and other office electronics are
becoming more widely used.  U.S. imports from Togo rose
dramatically in 1986, climbing to $27.1 million from only $12.3 million
in 1985.  The main reason for this increase was U.S. purchases of
Togolese phosphates in 1986 valued at $23.6 million.

The Government of Togo, with the support of the Overseas Private
Investment Corporation (OPIC) and Agency for International
Development (AID), is investigating the possibility of establishing an
export processing zone (EPZ) near the port of Lome.  The zone
would attract private investors interested in manufacturing, assembly,
and food processing, primarily for the export market.
U.S. economic aid to Togo includes about 100 Peace Corps
volunteers, a $4-million PL 480 (Food for Peace) program, and a
development assistance program totaling $4 million for 1989.  In
addition to Togolese officers' participation in U.S. military training,
there is an active cultural exchange program, and several private
American institutions assist Togo's university.

Travel Notes

Climate and clothing:  Bring warm weather clothing.  A light wrap is
useful in July and August.


Customs:  U.S. citizens do not need a visa to enter the country for
stays of under 3 months.  If remaining in Togo for more than 10
days, an exit visa is required.  Innoculation against yellow fever is
required unless the traveler is arriving from a noninfected area and
is staying in Togo less than 2 weeks.  Malaria is a risk.  As health
requirements change, please check latest information.

Currency:  The CFA (Communaute Financiere Africaine-African
Financial Community) franc is legal tender, and no ceiling is imposed
on the number of CFA francs which may be brought into the country.
The CFA franc is freely convertible into French francs.  However, for
conversion into U.S. dollars, obtain permission from the government
agency handling foreign exchange.  Dollars and travelers checks can
be exchanged in Lome.


Health:  Avoid tap water and unwashed fruits and vegetables.  Local
medical services are limited.


Telecommunications:  Telecommunications improved dramatically
when a new satellite ground station came into service in 1981.  It is
possible to directly dial many countries (including the United States)
from Togo, and telecommunications services continue to be
upgraded.


Transportation:  Air travel is the best way to get to Lome, which has
daily international flights to and from Europe and major West African
cities.  Uncertain road conditions or frontier difficulties can complicate
automobile travel to Benin other than via the direct road from Lome
to Cotonou.  Accra is an easy 3-hour drive from Lome, but the
border has been closed occasionally.  Lagos is about 5 hours by
road, depending on border crossing formalities.  Taxis are available
in Lome and other urban areas.


Gross Domestic Product, 1988

Commerce, tourism, transportation and communication, and services
- 48%
Agriculture - 34%
Phosphate mining - 10%
Other mining, construction, manufacturing, and energy  - 8%

Source:  US Department of Commerce, Foreign Economic Trends
and Their Implications for the United States, May 1988

Published by the United States Department of State --  Bureau of
Public Affairs  -- Office of  Public Communication --  Washington,
D.C.

February 1990 -- Editor:  Marilyn J. Bremner. Department of State
Publication 8325 - Background Notes Series  -- This material is in the
public domain and may be reprinted without permission; citation of
this source is appreciated. For sale by the Superintendent of
Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
20402.