Togo

• tropical;
• hot, humid in south;
• semiarid in north

• gently rolling savanna in north;
• central hills;
• southern plateau;
• low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes

noun:

Togolese (singular and plural)

adjective:

Togolese

total:

20.7 years (2024 est.)

male:

19.9 years

female:

21.4 years

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.96 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.71 male(s)/female

total population:

0.97 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

38.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

male:

43 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

33.7 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

72.1 years (2024 est.)

male:

69.5 years

female:

74.7 years

total:

1.4 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

0.78 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

0.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

0.2 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0.33 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

6.8% (2020 est.)

male:

12.3% (2020 est.)

female:

1.2% (2020 est.)

women married by age 15:

6.4%

women married by age 18:

24.8%

men married by age 18:

2.6% (2017 est.)

• deforestation attributable to slash-and-burn agriculture and the use of wood for fuel;
• very little rain forest still present and what remains is highly degraded;
• desertification;
• water pollution presents health hazards and hinders the fishing industry;
• air pollution increasing in urban areas

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

• tropical;
• hot, humid in south;
• semiarid in north

urban population:

44.5% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

3.6% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

particulate matter emissions:

35.66 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

3 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

3.06 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

1,109,030 tons (2014 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually:

22,181 tons (2012 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

2% (2012 est.)

municipal:

140 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

10 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

80 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

conventional long form:

Togolese Republic

conventional short form:

Togo

local long form:

République Togolaise

local short form:

none

former:

French Togoland

etymology:

• derived from the Ewe words "to" (river) and "godo" (on the other side) to give the sense of "on the other side of the river";
• originally, this designation applied to the town of Togodo (now Togoville) on the northern shore of Lake Togo, but the name was eventually extended to the entire nation

name:

Lome

geographic coordinates:

6 07 N, 1 13 E

time difference:

UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology:

Lome comes from "alotime" which in the native Ewe language means "among the alo plants"; alo trees dominated the city's original founding site

history:

• several previous;
• latest adopted 27 September 1992, effective 14 October 1992;
• revised 6 May 2024

amendments:

• proposed by the president of the republic or supported by at least one fifth of the National Assembly membership;
• passage requires four-fifths majority vote by the Assembly;
• a referendum is required if approved by only two-thirds majority of the Assembly or if requested by the president;
• constitutional articles on the republican and secular form of government cannot be amended;
• amended 2002, 2007, last in 2024 (reported as a revision)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Togo

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (organized into criminal and administrative chambers, each with a chamber president and advisors);
• Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges, including the court president)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court president appointed by decree of the president of the republic upon the proposal of the Supreme Council of the Magistracy, a 9-member judicial, advisory, and disciplinary body;
• other judicial appointments and judge tenure NA;
• Constitutional Court judges appointed by the National Assembly;
• judge tenure NA

subordinate courts:

• Court of Assizes (sessions court);
• Appeal Court;
• tribunals of first instance (divided into civil, commercial, and correctional chambers; Court of State Security; military tribunal

• Action Committee for Renewal or CAR
• Alliance of Democrats for Integral Development or ADDI
• Democratic Convention of African Peoples or CDPA
• Democratic Forces for the Republic or FDR
• National Alliance for Change or ANC
• New Togolese Commitment
• Pan-African National Party or PNP
• Pan-African Patriotic Convergence or CPP
• Patriotic Movement for Democracy and Development or MPDD
• Socialist Pact for Renewal or PSR
• The Togolese Party
• Union of Forces for Change or UFC
• Union for the Republic or UNIR

chief of mission:

Ambassador Frédéric Edem HEGBE (since 24 April 2017)

chancery:

2208 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 234-4212

FAX:

[1] (202) 232-3190

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://embassyoftogousa.com/

chief of mission:

Ambassador Elizabeth FITZSIMMONS (since 26 April 2022)

embassy:

Boulevard Eyadema, B.P. 852, Lome

mailing address:

2300 Lome Place, Washington, DC 20521-2300

telephone:

[228] 2261-5470

FAX:

[228] 2261-5501

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://tg.usembassy.gov/

• five equal horizontal bands of green (top and bottom) alternating with yellow;
• a white five-pointed star on a red square is in the upper hoist-side corner;
• the five horizontal stripes stand for the five different regions of the country;
• the red square is meant to express the loyalty and patriotism of the people, green symbolizes hope, fertility, and agriculture, while yellow represents mineral wealth and faith that hard work and strength will bring prosperity;
• the star symbolizes life, purity, peace, dignity, and Togo's independence

note: uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia

name:

"Salut a toi, pays de nos aieux" (Hail to Thee, Land of Our Forefathers)

lyrics/music:

Alex CASIMIR-DOSSEH

note: adopted 1960, restored 1992; this anthem was replaced by another during one-party rule between 1979 and 1992

total World Heritage Sites:

1 (cultural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

Koutammakou; the Land of the Batammariba

• low-income West African economy;
• primarily agrarian economy;
• has a deep-water port;
• growing international shipping locale;
• improving privatization and public budgeting transparency;
• key phosphate mining industry;
• extremely high rural poverty

agriculture:

18.1% (2023 est.)

industry:

20.2% (2023 est.)

services:

51.7% (2023 est.)

note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

total:

3.3% (2023 est.)

male:

4.1% (2023 est.)

female:

2.6% (2023 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

lowest 10%:

2.8% (2021 est.)

highest 10%:

29.6% (2021 est.)

note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population

consumption:

108,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

imports:

108,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

consumption:

131.373 million cubic meters (2022 est.)

imports:

131.373 million cubic meters (2022 est.)

total subscriptions:

66,000 (2022 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants:

(2022 est.) less than 1

general assessment:

include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet (2022)

domestic:

fixed-line less than 1 per 100 and mobile-cellular is 74 telephones per 100 persons (2022)

international:

• country code - 228;
• landing point for the WACS submarine cable, linking countries along the west coast of Africa with each other and with Portugal;
• satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Symphonie (2020)

• 1 state-owned TV station with multiple transmission sites;
• five private TV stations broadcast locally;
• cable TV service is available;
• state-owned radio network with two stations (in Lome and Kara);
• several dozen private radio stations and a few community radio stations;
• transmissions of multiple international broadcasters available (2019)

number of registered air carriers:

1 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 8

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

566,295 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

10.89 million (2018) mt-km

total:

568 km (2014)

narrow gauge:

568 km (2014) 1.000-m gauge

total:

9,951 km

paved:

1,794 km

unpaved:

8,157 km

urban:

1,783 km (2018)

total ports:

2 (2024)

large:

0

medium:

1

small:

0

very small:

1

ports with oil terminals:

2

key ports:

Kpeme, Lome

• 18 years of age for military service for men and women;
• 24-month service obligation;
• no conscription (2023)

note: as of 2022, about 7% of the military's personnel were women