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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 multi-party elections instituted in the early 1990s, the government was largely dominated by President EYADEMA, whose Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) party has been in power almost continually since 1967 and its successor, the Union for the Republic, 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. Since 2007, President GNASSINGBE has started the country along a gradual path to political reconciliation and democratic reform, and Togo has held multiple presidential and legislative elections that were deemed generally free and fair by international observers. Despite those positive moves, political reconciliation has moved slowly and many Togolese complain that important political measures such as presidential term limits and electoral reforms remain undone, leaving the country’s politics in a lethargic state. Internationally, Togo is still known as a country where the same family has been in power for five decades.

Location

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

Natural Resources

phosphates, limestone, marble, arable land

Population - distribution

one of the more densely populated African nations with most of the population residing in rural communities, density is highest in the south on or near the Atlantic coast

6587239
French (official, 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)
LOME (capital) 956,000 (2015)
Conventional long form
Togolese Republic
Conventional short form
Togo
Local long form
Republique Togolaise
Local short form
none
presidential republic
Name
Lome
Geographic coordinates
6 07 N, 1 13 E
Time difference
UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt
Togo is enjoying a period of steady economic growth fueled by political stability and a concerted effort by the government to modernize the country’s commercial infrastructure. The country has recently completed an ambitious large-scale infrastructure improvement program, including new principal roads, a new airport terminal, and a new sea-port. The economy depends heavily on both commercial and subsistence agriculture, which provides employment for around 60% of the labor force. Some basic foodstuffs must still be imported. Cocoa, coffee, and cotton and other agricultural products generate about 20% of export earnings with cotton being the most important cash crop. Togo is among the world's largest producers of phosphate and seeks to develop its carbonate phosphate reserves, which provide more than 20% of export earnings.
Inflation
0.854%
External debt stocks
US$ 1,056,055,000
Total tax rate (% of commercial profits)
48.5%
Real Interest Rate
2.671%
Manufacturing, value added (% of GDP)
4.692%
Current Account Balance
US$ -460,839,236
Labor Force, Total
3,578,703
Employment in Agriculture
54.10%
Employment in Industry
6.80%
Employment in Services
37.50%
Unemployment Rate
6.79%
Imports of goods and services
US$ 2,756,157,166
Exports of goods and services
US$ 1,879,291,720
Total Merchandise Trade
83.45%
FDI, net inflows
US$ 257,756,356
Commercial Service Exports
US$ 442,685,333
coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (manioc, tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; livestock; fish
phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement, handicrafts, textiles, beverages
Commodities
reexports, cotton, phosphates, coffee, cocoa
Partners
India 13.7%, Burkina Faso 11.5%, China 11.4%, Benin 9.7%, Ghana 9.1%, Lebanon 8.4%, Nigeria 6.2%, Niger 6% (2015)
Commodities
machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products
Partners
China 22.8%, Belgium 20.2%, Netherlands 11.9%, France 6.6%, India 4.8%, Singapore 4.4% (2015)
Country Risk Rating
C
A very uncertain political and economic outlook and a business environment with many troublesome weaknesses can have a significant impact on corporate payment behavior. Corporate default probability is high.
Business Climate Rating
C
The business environment is difficult. Corporate financial information is often unavailable and when available often unreliable. Debt collection is unpredictable. The institutional framework has many troublesome weaknesses. Intercompany transactions run major risks in the difficult environments rated C.
  • Phosphate-producing country
  • Growing port and airport traffic
  • Structural reforms under way (public finances, banking system, phosphate, and cotton sectors)
  • Public and private investment in infrastructure
  • Sharp socio-political tensions
  • Poor business climate
  • High levels of poverty and unemployment
  • Low productivity of the agricultural sector
  • Under-investment in terms of education and public health

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