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#CARD:Togo:Background Notes
US DEPARTMENT OF STATE BACKGROUND  NOTES:  TOGO

February 1990
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. [phone]).

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.

U.S.-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.

Gross Domestic Product, 1988
 Commerce, tourism, transportation and communication, and services - 48%
Agriculture - 34% Phosphate mining - 10% Other mining, construction,
manufacturing, and energy  - 8%
 Source:  US Department of Commerce, Foreign Economic Trends and Their
Implications for the United States, May 1988

 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.  (###)


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