TOGO

Facts•  Officialname:République

Togolaise(TogoleseRepublic)•  Formofgovernment:mul5party

republicwithonelegisla5vehouse

•  Headofstateandgovernment:President:FaureGnassingbé,

•  Capital:Lome•  Officiallanguage:French•  Officialreligion:none•  Monetaryunit:

CFAfranc(CFAF)

•  Popula>on:7,607,000•  Totalarea:(sqmi)

21,853•  Urban-ruralpopula>on

Urban:(2014)39.5%Rural:(2014)60.5%

•  LifeexpectancyMale:(2015)61.9yearsFemale:(2015)67.2years•  Literacy:Male:(2015)78.3%Female:(2015)55.3%•  GNIpercapita(U.S.$):540

LandandClimate•  Togoisanarrow,oblong-shapedcountrythatliesalongtheGulfofGuineaforonly32miles(51kilometers)butextendsinlandfor320miles

•  TogoisaboutthesizeofTennessee•  AtitswidestpointTogoisonly75mileswide.•  Togohasatropicalclimate,withgenerallywarmtohottemperatures.

•  Thecoastalzoneisthedriestregion,withonlyabout35inchesofrainayear.TheweZestregionintheinlandreceivesabout70inchesofraineachyear.

•  Duringtherestoftheyear,thenorthernclimateisdominatedbytheharmaZan,ahot,dustytradewindthatoriginatesinthesouthernSahara

PlantsandAnimals

•  LandscapeismostlySavannas.•  Inthesouthernplateauslargetrees,includingthebaobab,grow.

•  Thesouthwesternhighlandregionsarecoveredwithtropicalforests

•  Monkeys,snakes,andlizardsarenumerousinmanyareas,andcrocodilesandhippopotamusesaboundintherivers.

•  IntheKeranForestReserveinthenorth,therearewildherdsofbuffalo,asses,warthogs,antelope,anddeer.

People

•  Togo’smanyindigenoustribesincludetheMina,andOuatchiinthesouthandtheKabreandGourousiinthenorth.

•  TheEwe,whoemigratedfromNigeriabetweenthe14thand16thcentury,formthemajorethnicgroup

•  Mostofthecountry’snon-Africans—themajorityofwhomareFrench—liveinLomé.Brazilians,orPortugueseofBrazilianbirth,cons5tutedtheoriginaltradingseZlementinTogo.

•  Thepopula5onofTogoismadeupofabout30ethnicgroups,manyofwhomareimmigrantsfromotherpartsofwesternAfrica.

Language,Religion

•  Frenchisthena5onallanguagebutnotwidelyspoken.

•  WidelyspokenindigenouslanguagesincludeEweinthesouthandKabiyeinthenorth.

•  Almosthalfofthepopula5onisChris5an,manyofwhomareRomanCatholic.

•  Aboutone-thirdofTogo’spopula5onadherestovariousancestralformsofbelief,includingsectsassociatedwithVoodoo

Economy•  Togohaswell-diversifiedagriculture,unlikemostAfricancountries.–  Corn,yams,cassavas,pineapples,bananas,andpeanutsaregrownforhomeconsump5on.

–  Coffee,cacao,andcoZonareproducedmainlyforexport.

•  CaZlearetheprincipalwealthofthepastoraluplands.Togohasrichdepositsofphosphate,chromite,iron,andbauxite.

•  Thechiefforestproductsaredyewoods,orwoodfromwhichcoloringmaZerisextracted,andpalmkernels,fromwhichpalmoilisobtained.

EarlyHistory

•  ManyEuropeanna5onsusedTogoaspartoftheirbasestogainslaves,earningthisareaofWestAfricathenicknamethe‘SlaveCoast’.

•  Un5l1884TogolandwasanindeterminatebufferzonebetweenthewarringstatesofAsanteandDahomey.

•  Betweenthe11thand16thcenturies,Togowaspopulatedbyvarioustribes,whomigratedherefromnearbyareas.LiZleisknownaboutthehistoryofthecountrybeforethis5me.

TogolandHistory•  TogowasoriginallypartoftheTogoprotectoratethatGermanyacquiredin1884,soGermanycouldcheckinonexpansionofGreatBritainandFrancealongtheGuineacoast.

•  AkertheGermany’slossinWorldWarI,itwasdividedbetweenBritain(tothewest)andFrance(totheeast)

•  In1956,areferendumshowedthattheTogolesewantedself-government,soFrancemadeFrenchTogolandaself-governingrepublicwithintheFrenchUnion.

•  TogowonindependenceandjoinedtheUnitedNa5onsin1960.SylvanusOlympiobecamepresidentin1961

ModernHistory•  1963Olympio’sgovernmentwasoverthrown,andhewaskilled.•  1967AnarmycoupledbyGeneralEyadémaoustedthesucceeding

government.Eyadémabecamepresidentandbannedopposi5onpar5es.•  1991:Poli5calpar5eswerelegalizedforthefirst5mein1991•  1992:Anewcons5tu5onwasadoptedallowingformul5partyelec5ons.•  1993:Eyadémawasreelected(andagainin1998)amidwidespread

controversyoverfraudaccusa5onsandhumanrightsabuses.•  2001:Akerayearlonginves5ga5on,ajointUnitedNa5onspanel

concludedinthathundredsofTogolesehadbeentorturedorexecutedduringthe1998elec5onperiod.

•  2005:Eyadéma(whowasre-electedin2002)diedandhissonFaureGnassingbé,wasappointedbythemilitarytosucceedhim,butviolentdemonstra5onsandinterna5onalpressureforcedGnassingbétoresignandagreetoholdelec5ons.

•  April24,2005,Gnassingbéwaselectedpresidentwith60%ofthevote.

FunFacts•  Togomeans“HouseofSea”inthe

Ewelanguage•  TheKoutammakoulandscapein

northeasternTogo,whichextendsintoneighboringBenin,ishometotheBatammariba,whoseremarkablemudtowerhouseshavecometobeseenasasymbolofTogo.

•  Inmostruralareas,asaculturalrule,awoman'slegsmustbecoveredatall5mes.However,itisacceptableforherbreaststobeexposed.

•  TheofficialTogolesedrinkiscalledsodabi,whichisaliquorcreatedfromthedis5lla5onofpalmwine.