OFFICIAL NAME: Republic of Togo
CAPITAL: Lome
SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT: Multiparty Republic with Interim Military
Regime
AREA: 56,785 Sq Km (21,925 Sq Mi)
ESTIMATED 2000 POPULATION: 4,617,800
LOCATION & GEOGRAPHY: Togo is located in West Africa.
It is bound by Ghana to the west, Burkina Faso to the north,
Benin to the east and the Gulf of Guinea to the south. The
country consists of two savannah plains separated by a range
of hills called the Chaine du Togo and the country is divided
into six topographical regions from south to north. (1.)
The sandy beaches, estuaries and lagoons of the coastal
belt. (2.) The Ouatchi Plains. (3.) The higher Mono Tablelands.
(4.) The Chaine du Togo. (5.) The northern sandstone Oti
Plateau and (6.) the northwestern granite regions. The principal
rivers are the Oti, Kara and Mo. Major Cities (pop. est.);
Lome 366,500, Sokode 49,000, Kpalime 28,000 (1983). Land
Use; forested 16%, pastures 4%, agricultural-cultivated
45%, other 35% (1993).
CLIMATE: Togo has a tropical climate with two wet seasons in
the south, one from March to July and the other from September to November,
while the north has one wet season from April to July. Most rainfall occurs
in the mountains while coastal regions are basically dry. Average annual
precipitation is 1,020 mm (40 inches) in the north and 1,780 mm (70 inches)
in the west, southwest and center. The northern regions have a savannah
climate with a longer dry season. The average annual temperature in Lome
is 27 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit) all year.
PEOPLE: The population is divided into two halves with those
of the Hamitic origin in the north and those of Ewe origin in the south.
Over 37 tribal groups constitute the total population with some 2,000 Europeans
and a few Lebanese the principal non-Africans.
DEMOGRAPHIC/VITAL STATISTICS: Density; 63.3 persons per sq km
(164.0 persons per sq mi) (1991). Urban-Rural; 25.7% urban, 74.3% rural
(1990). Sex Distribution; 49.5% male, 51.5% female (1990). Life Expectancy
at Birth; 51.3 years male, 54.8 years female (1990). Age Breakdown; 45%
under 15, 26% 15 to 29, 15% 30 to 44, 9% 45 to 59, 5% 60 and over (1990).
Birth Rate; 44.7 per 1,000 (1990). Death Rate; 14.1 per 1,000 (1990). Increase
Rate; 30.6 per 1,000 (1990). Infant Mortality Rate; 94.0 per 1,000 live
births (1990).
RELIGIONS: An estimated 58% of the population follow local native
tribal beliefs while 28% are Christians and 12% are Muslims.
LANGUAGES: The official language is French which is used for
media and commerce purposes. Over 44 African dialects are spoken with the
principal southern language Evegbe or Ewe with Hausa, Twi, Dagomba, Tim,
Cabrais and Fongbi spoken in the north.
EDUCATION: Aged 15 or over and having attained: no formal schooling
76.5%, primary 13.5%, secondary 8.7%, higher 1.3% (1981). Literacy; literate
population aged 15 or over 631,700 or 39.1% (1985).
MODERN HISTORY - WWII TO 1993: In 1956 British Togoland joined
the Gold Coast and gained independence as Ghana in 1957. In Oct. 1957 French
Togoland voted to become an autonomous republic within the French Community
and internal self-government was granted in 1958. On Apr. 27, 1960 French
Togoland became the independent Republic of Togo with Sylvanus Olympio
as President. In 1961 Pres. Olympio banned all opposition political parties.
In Jan. 1963 a group of northern army officers led by Sgt. Etienne Gnassingbe
Eyadema overthrew the government and assassinated Pres. Olympio, who was
a southerner. In 1963 Nicolas Grunitzky who was Olympio's brother-in-law
returned from exile and was appointed President. Pres. Grunitzky established
fresh multiparty elections and a new constitution. In Jan. 1967 Eyadema
ousted Pres. Grunitzky and appointed himself as President. Pres. Eyadema
abolished the constitution and all political parties. In 1969 Pres. Eyadema
established the Rassemblement du Peuple Togolais (RPT) party and in 1972
a referendum approved his rule. In 1977 there were demonstrations and strikes,
and in 1978 another referendum approved the establishment of a new constitution.
In Dec. 1979 Pres. Eyadema was re-elected and again in Dec. 1986. During
1986 there were various terrorist attacks and bombings. In 1987 Pres. Eyadema
agreed to hold talks with the banned political parties and in late 1987
and early 1988 released around 500 political prisoners. In Mar. 1990 several
independent candidates were elected to the National Assembly. In Oct. 1990
dozens of demonstrators were arrested after attacking government offices
and vehicles in protest to the imprisonment of two opposition party leaders.
In April 1991 the corpses of 27 people discovered in one of the capital's
lagoons, allegedly killed by security forces, led to mass strikes and antigovernment
protests throughout the country. On April 12, 1991 Pres. Eyadema legalized
opposition parties in an attempt to quell the growing unrest. In June 1991
a mass general strike led Pres. Eyadema to convene a national conference
which on July 16, 1991 suspended the constitution and declared itself in
control. Following which government and military representatives alleged
a civilian coup and on Aug 26, 1991 troops attempted to storm the convention
center, although thousands of civilians that had formed a human barricade
forced them to withdraw. On Aug. 28, 1991 the national conference elected
Kokou Koffigoh as Prime Minister of a transitional government (Supreme
Republican Council) which announced it would remove most of the presidential
powers. On Oct. and Nov. 1991 rebel troops unsuccessfully attempted countercoups.
On Dec. 3, 1991 the rebel troops loyal to Pres. Eyadema stormed the Prime
Minister's residence seizing Koffigoh, following which Pres. Eyadema announced
that he and Koffigoh had agreed to form a provision government. In 1992
the military attempted to restore the Presidential powers that the Supreme
Republican Council had stripped from Pres. Eyadema. In May 1992 the death
of10 people led to mass demonstrations with protesters calling for the
resignation of both Eyadema and Koffigoh. On July 13, 1992 opposition leader,
Tavio Amorin was ambushed and later died which led to a mass strike that
severely affected the capital. On Sept. 14, 1992 Prime Minister Koffigoh
formed a new Cabinet following news of troops loyal to Pres. Eyadema seizing
a radio station. On Sept. 25, 1992 the National Assembly ratified the country's
new multiparty constitution and in Oct. 1992 pro-Eyadema soldiers occupied
the Assembly building holding the chairman and 38 other members hostage
until the chairman agreed to release the frozen assets of Pres. Eyadema's
Rally of the Togolese People party which was dissolved in 1991. On Jan.
25, 1993 police opened fire killing some 20 demonstrators awaiting the
arrival of foreign dignitaries who were to assist in re-kindling the stalled
political reform process, following which the EU suspended all aid. On
Jan. 30, 1993 pro-Eyadema troops attacked the homes of opposition leaders.
In April and May 1993 the offices of three opposition newspapers were destroyed
which led to further unrest. On Aug. 25, 1993 Presidential elections resulted
in the reelection of Eyadema after five opposition candidates withdrew.
CURRENCY: The official currency is the CFA Franc (Communaute
Financiere Africaine-CFAF) divided into 100 Centimes.
ECONOMY: Gross National Product; USD $1,329,000,000 (1993). Public
Debt; USD $1,128,000,000 (1993). Imports; CFAF 134,500,000,000 (1994).
Exports; CFAF 144,600,000,000 (1994). Tourism Receipts; USD $18,000,000
(1993). Balance of Trade; CFAF 10,100,000,000 (1994). Economically Active
Population; 1,501,000 or 39.9% of total population (1992). Unemployed;
17% (1994).
MAIN TRADING PARTNERS: Its main trading partners are France,
the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Japan.
MAIN PRIMARY PRODUCTS: Cassava, Cocoa, Coffee, Cotton, Ground Nuts,
Maize, Millet, Oil Palms, Phosphates.
MAJOR INDUSTRIES: Agriculture, Cement, Food Processing, Mining,
Textiles.
MAIN EXPORTS: Cocoa, Coffee, Phosphates.
TRANSPORT: Railroads; route length 537 km (334 mi) (1990), passenger-km
109,000,000 (67,729,000 passenger-mi) (1986), cargo ton-km 11,000,000 (7,534,000
short ton-mi) (1986). Roads; length 7,545 km (4,688 mi) (1989). Vehicles;
cars 47,083 (1988), trucks and buses 22,230 (1988). Merchant Marine; vessels
12 (1990), deadweight tonnage 77,595 (1990). Air Transport; passenger-km
32,344,000 (20,098,000 passenger-mi) (1989), cargo ton-km 5,753,000 (3,940,000
short ton-mi) (1989).
COMMUNICATIONS: Daily Newspapers; total of 2 with a total circulation
of 12,000 (1992). Radio; receivers 720,000 (1994). Television; receivers
150,000 (1994). Telephones; units 17,300 (1993).
MILITARY: 6,950 (1995) total active duty personnel with 93.5%
army, 2.9% navy and 3.6% air force while military expenditure accounts
for 2.9% (1993) of the Gross National Product (GNP).
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