Known & Unknown Facts of Togo

Official Name:

République Togolaise

short form: Togo

int'l long form: Republic of Togo

int'l short form: Togo

formerly: French Togoland

ISO Country Code: tg

Time:

Local Time = UTC No UTC/GMT offset

Actual Time: Wed-Jan-20 20:15

Capital City: Lomé

Other Cities:

Atakpamé, Kpalimé, Sokodé, Kara.

Government:

Type: Republic under transition to multiparty democratic rule.

Geography:

Location: Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana.

Area: 56 785 sq km (21,925 sq miles).

Terrain: Gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes.

Climate: Tropical; hot throughout the year, humid in south; semiarid in north.

People:

Nationality: Togolese.

Population: 5 000 000

Ethnic Groups: native African (37 tribes; largest and most important are Ewe, Mina, and Kabre) 99%, European and Syrian-Lebanese less than 1%.

Religions: traditional African religions 51%, Christian 30%, Muslim 15%.

Languages: French (official and 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).

Literacy: male: 75.4%, female: 46.9%

Natural resources: Phosphates (main source of foreign exchange), limestone, marble, arable land.

Agriculture products: Coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; livestock; fish.

Industries: Phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement; handicrafts, textiles, beverages.

Exports partners: Burkina Faso16.6%, Ghana 15.4%, Netherlands 13%, Benin 9.6%, Mali 7.7% (2003)

Imports partners: France 21.1%, Netherlands 12.1%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.9%, Germany 4.6%, Italy 4.4%, South Africa 4.3%, China 4.1% (2003)

Currency: CFA Franc (Communaute Financiere Africaine) (XOF)