Lome

CAPITAL CITY OF Togo: Lome
LANGUAGE OF Togo: French
CURRENCY OF Togo: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF, XAF)
COMMENTS ABOUT Togo:
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa
Cities : Lome, Atakpame, Kpalime, Badou, Aneho, Kara, Dapaong, Sokode
Eat : Akume, Fufu
Electricity : 127-220/50 Hz (European plug)
Calling Code : +228
Time Zone : UTC
French Togoland became Togo in 1960. Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA, installed as military ruler in 1967, continued to rule well into the 21st century. Despite the facade of multiparty elections instituted in the early 1990s, the government continued to be dominated by President EYADEMA, whose Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) party maintained power almost continually since 1967. Togo has come under fire from international organizations for human rights abuses and is plagued by political unrest. While most bilateral and multilateral aid to Togo remains frozen, the European Union initiated a partial resumption of cooperation and development aid to Togo in late 2004. Upon his death in February 2005, President EYADEMA was succeeded by his son Faure GNASSINGBE. The succession, supported by the military and in contravention of the nation's constitution, was challenged by popular protest and a threat of sanctions from regional leaders. GNASSINGBE succumbed to pressure and agreed to hold elections in late April 2005.
CLIMATE OF Togo: tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north
RELIGION OF Togo: A majority of the Togolese population (50%) adhere to indigenous animist beliefs. Christianity is the second largest religious group, to which 29% of the country's population belong. The remaining 21% of Togolese follow Islam.
POPULATION OF Togo: 5,681,519 - estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.)>>
CULTURA OF Togo: Togo's culture reflects the influences of its thirty-seven ethnic groups, the largest and most influential of which are the Ewe, Mina, and Kabre. French is the official language of Togo. The many indigenous African languages spoken by Togolese include: Gbe languages such as Ewe, Mina, and Aja; Kabiyé; and others. Despite the influences of Christianity and Islam, over half of the people of Togo follow native animistic practices and beliefs.
ECONOMY OVERVIEW OF Togo: This small sub-Saharan economy is heavily dependent on both commercial and subsistence agriculture, which provides employment for 65% of the labor force. Some basic foodstuffs must still be imported. Cocoa, coffee, and cotton generate about 40% of export earnings, with cotton being the most important cash crop. Togo is the world's fourth-largest producer of phosphate, but production fell an estimated 22% in 2002 due to power shortages and the cost of developing new deposits. The government's decade-long effort, supported by the World Bank and the IMF, to implement economic reform measures, encourage foreign investment, and bring revenues in line with expenditures has moved slowly. Progress depends on following through on privatization, increased openness in government financial operations, progress toward legislative elections, and continued support from foreign donors.