The World Factbook (1982)/Togo

by the Central Intelligence Agency

TOGO

(See reference map VII)

LAND

56,980 km²; nearly one-half is arable, under 15% cultivated

Land boundaries: 1,646 km

WATER

Limits of territorial waters (claimed): 30 nm (fishing 200 nm; exclusive economic zone 200 nm)

Coastline: 56 km

PEOPLE

Population: 2,783,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 3.0%

Nationality: noun—Togolese (sing. and pl.); adjective—Togolese

Ethnic divisions: 37 tribes; largest and most important are Ewe in south and Cabrais in north; under 1% European and Syrian-Lebanese

Religion: about 20% Christian, 5% Muslim, 75% animist

Language: French, both official and language of commerce; major African languages are Ewe and Mina in the south and Dagomba and Kabie in the north

Literacy: 54.9% of school age (7-14) currently in school

Labor force: over 90% of population engaged in subsistence agriculture; about 30,000 wage earners, evenly divided between public and private sectors

Organized labor: 1 national union, the CNTT organized in 1972

GOVERNMENT

Official name: Republic of Togo

Type: republic; under military rule since January 1967

Capital: Lomé

Political subdivisions: 21 circumscriptions

Legal system: based on French civil law and customary practice; no constitution; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 27 April

Branches: military government, with civilian-dominated Cabinet, took over on 14 April 1967, replacing provisional government created after January coup; no legislature; separate judiciary including State Security Court established 1970

Government leader: Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA, President, Minister of National Defense, and Armed Forces Chief of Staff

Suffrage: universal adult

Elections: presidential referendum of January 1972 elected Gen. Eyadema for indefinite period

Political party: single party formed by President Eyadema in September 1969, Rally of the Togolese People (RPT), structure and staffing of party closely controlled by government

Communists: no Communist Party; possibly some sympathizers

Member of: AFDB, CEAO (observer), EAMA, ECA, ECOWAS, ENTENTE, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, ITU, NAM, OAU, OCAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

ECONOMY

GNP: $1,200 million (1980), about $462 per capita; -2.0% real growth in 1980

Agriculture: main cash crops—coffee, cocoa, cotton; major food crops—yams, cassava, corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum, fish; must import some foodstuffs

Fishing: catch 2,000 metric tons (1979)

Major industries: phosphate mining, agricultural processing, handicrafts, textiles, beverages

Electric power: 75,000 kW capacity (1980); 188 million kWh produced (1980), 71 kWh per capita

Exports: $384.3 million (c.i.f., 1980); phosphates, cocoa, coffee, and palm kernels

Imports: $536.2 million (c.i.f., 1980); consumer goods, fuels, machinery, tobacco, foodstuffs

Major trade partners: mostly with France and other EC countries

Budget: (1980), revenues, $294.41 million; current expenditures, $277.77 million, development expenditures $16.63

Monetary conversion rate: Communaute Financiere Africaine 286 francs=US$1 (1981)

Fiscal year: calendar year

COMMUNICATIONS

Railroads: 442 km meter gauge (1.00 m), single track

Highways: 7,000 km total; 1,320 km paved, 1,280 km improved earth, remainder unimproved earth

Inland waterways: section of Mono River and about 50 km of coastal lagoons and tidal creeks

Ports: 1 major (Lomé), 1 minor

Civil air: 1 major transport aircraft

Airfields: 11 total, 11 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways 2,440-3,659 m

Telecommunications: fair system based on skeletal network of open-wire lines supplemented by a radio-relay route and radiocommunication stations; only center is Lome; 7,500 telephones (0.4 per 100 popl.); 2 AM, no FM, and 3 TV stations; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite station and 1 SYMPHONIE station

DEFENSE FORCES

Military manpower: males 15-49, 600,000; 313,000 fit for military service; no conscription

Military budget: for fiscal year ending 31 December 1981, $20.8 million; 8.5% of central government budget