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.

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

slightly smaller than West Virginia

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

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

36.49 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)

8.95 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)

4.74 children born/woman (2010 est.)

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

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

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)

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

French-based court system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

18 years of age; universal (adult)

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

Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme

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; 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]

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, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, 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 is heavily dependent on both commercial and subsistence agriculture, which provides employment for 65% 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 the world's fourth-largest producer of phosphate. 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. Togo is working with donors to write a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) that could eventually lead to a debt reduction plan. Economic growth remains marginal due to declining cotton production, underinvestment in phosphate mining, and strained relations with donors.

$5.643 billion (2009 est.)

$5.473 billion (2008 est.)

$5.376 billion (2007 est.)

$2.865 billion (2009 est.)

2.595 million (2007)

18.2% of GDP (2009 est.)

4.75% (31 December 2008)

4.25% (31 December 2007)

$712.6 million (31 December 2008)

$624.9 million (31 December 2007)

$414.9 million (31 December 2008)

$383.9 million (31 December 2007)

$674,300 (31 December 2008)

$590.7 million (31 December 2007)

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

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

230 million kWh (2007 est.)

640 million kWh (2007 est.)

514 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by Ghana (2007 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

21,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

1,547 bbl/day (2005)

15,270 bbl/day (2007 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2009 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.)

-$142 million (2009 est.)

-$295 million (2008 est.)

$709 million (2009 est.)

$740 million (2008 est.)

reexports, cotton, phosphates, coffee, cocoa

Germany 17.57%, Ghana 12.74%, Burkina Faso 11.02%, India 10.22%, Belgium 7.1%, Benin 6.92%, Netherlands 5.94%, Mali 4.41% (2009)

$1.196 billion (2009 est.)

$1.291 billion (2008 est.)

machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products

China 36.58%, France 8.64%, Netherlands 6.76%, India 5.06%, US 4.4% (2009)

$670 million (31 December 2009 est.)

$581.8 million (31 December 2008 est.)

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 483.21 (2009), 447.81 (2008), 482.71 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005)

1.547 million (2008)

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 are obtainable (2007)

50 km (seasonally on Mono River depending on rainfall) (2008)

Togolese Armed Forces (Forces Armees Togolaise, FAT): Ground Forces, Togolese Navy (Marine du Togo), Togolese Air Force (Force Aerienne Togolaise, FAT), National Gendarmerie (2009)

18 years of age for selective compulsory and voluntary 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

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