44 Significant Facts About Togo

Last updated on April 19th, 2019

27. Togo is a member of West African economic and monetary union. The foreign and domestic investors are treated equally.

28. Togo’s safe territorial waters have become good zones for international shippers amid a regional surge in maritime piracy.

29. Togo is one of the world’s largest producers of phosphate, with coffee, cocoa and cotton accounting for 20 percent of export earnings.

30. In the year 2014, the federal government of Togo reduced fees payed by businesses to register with tax authorities and implemented electronic customs system to simplify importing and exporting process.

Government and poverty

31. There is high infant mortality. 100 children out of 1,000 die before they reach five years, owing to lack of resources such as water, road infrastructure, medical facilities and good education on nutrition to parents.

32. Togolese health care system is poor due to lack of resources to put up modern health facilities and high population growth rate.

33. Togo has a low percentage of educated adults, the highest number being women who can not read and write.

34. Little funds allocated to youth development projects has led to the increase in poverty hence more crimes.

35. The Togo government only provides 24.7 percent of the money required for education.

36. Education in Togo is of low quality. This has led to graduates who are not fully baked to run the current dynamic world.

37. Togo is ranked forty-fourth position out of the fifty most underdeveloped countries in the world. This reflects low per capita income of the general population of Togo.

38. Togo ranks 165th on 2017 United Nations Human Development Index.

39. Human trafficking is widespread in Togo. Children, especially girls are sold to forms of exploitative arrangements, which amount to slavery.

Geography

40. The Mont Agou at 986 m above sea level is the highest mountain in Togo.

41. The Mono River with a length of 400 km, running from north to south, is the longest river in the country.

42. It is a long, thin country in West Africa (See the map above.)

43. Considering its area, Togo (56,785 kilometer square) is approximately twice the size of Maryland (32,134 kilometer square.)

44. Togo has 3 National Parks, 10 faunal reserves, and 84 forest reserves.

Some health statistics

As per WHO, the top ten causes of death in Togo included: Lower respiratory infections, HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Diarrhoeal diseases, Stroke, Premature birth complications, Birth asphyxia and birth trauma, Meningitis, Ischaemic heart disease and Protein-energy malnutrition.

Togo – country at a glance

Independence27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship)
Capital CityLomé
(6°7′N 1°13′E)
Largest CityLomé
(6°7′N 1°13′E)
Land Area21,925 sq mi
Population8,492,333 (2022 est.)
Official LanguageFrench (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)
Suffrage18 years of age; universal
BordersGhana, Benin, Burkina Faso
CurrencyCFA franc (XOF)
DemonymTogolese
ReligionChristian 29%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs 51%
Life expectancy at birth71.36 years (2022)
Government typepresidential republic
PresidentFaure Gnassingbé
Prime MinisterVictoire Tomegah Dogbé
National holidayIndependence Day, 27 April (1960)
National symbollion
National colorsgreen, yellow, red, white
Climatetropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north
Terraingently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes
Lowest pointAtlantic Ocean 0 m
Mean elevation236 m
Highest pointMont Agou 986 m
Birth rate31.86 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate5.27 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Sex ratio0.97 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
Literacy ratetotal population: 63.7%
Industriesphosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement, handicrafts, textiles, beverages
Exports$1.67 billion (2019 est.)
refined petroleum, crude petroleum, electricity, calcium phosphates, cotton (2019)
Imports$2.26 billion (2019 est.)
refined petroleum, motorcycles, crude petroleum, rice, broadcasting equipment (2019)
GDP - per capita (PPP)$2,100 (2020 est.)
Drives on theRight
Calling Code+228
Time ZoneGMT (UTC+0)
Table last updatedAugust 02, 2022