Background Notes: Togo
PA/PC
Source: Office of Public Communication, Bureau of Public
Affairs
Date: Feb 15, 19902/15/90
Category: Country Data
Region: Subsaharan Africa
Country: Togo
Subject: Cultural Exchange, Resource Management,
Military Affairs, History, International Organizations,
Trade/Economics
[TEXT]
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.
US-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.
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. (###)