French Togoland became Togo in 1960. Gen. Gnassingbe Eyadema, installed as military ruler in 1967, continued to rule 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 has 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 EU initiated a partial resumption of cooperation and development aid to Togo in late 2004 based upon commitments by Togo to expand opportunities for political opposition and liberalize portions of the economy.

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 in April 2005 held elections that legitimized his succession. Legislative elections are scheduled for June 2007. Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 5,701,579 note: 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 2007 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 42% (male 1,201,840/female 1,193,416) 15-64 years: 55.3% (male 1,535,855/female 1,617,631) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 61,658/female 91,179) (2007 est.)

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Median age: total: 18.4 years male: 18 years female: 18.9 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate: 2.718% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate: 36.83 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate: 9.65 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.007 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.949 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.676 male(s)/female total population: 0.965 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 59.12 deaths/1,000 live births male: 66.56 deaths/1,000 live births female: 51.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 57.86 years male: 55.81 years female: 59.96 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 4.9 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 4.1% (2003 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 110,000 (2003 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: 10,000 (2003 est.)

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Major infectious diseases: degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever are high risks in some locations water contact disease: schistosomiasis respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2007)

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Nationality: noun: Togolese (singular and plural) adjective: Togolese

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

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Religions: Christian 29%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs 51%

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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)

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Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 60.9% male: 75.4% female: 46.9% (2003 est.)

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. 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 follow through on privatization, increased openness in government financial operations, progress toward legislative elections, and continued support from foreign donors. Togo is working with donors to write a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) that could eventually lead to a debt reduction plan.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $9.29 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): $2.089 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 2% (2006 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,700 (2006 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 39.5% industry: 20.4% services: 40.1% (2003 est.)

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Labor force: 1.302 million (1998)

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 65% industry: 5% services: 30% (1998 est.)

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Unemployment rate: NA%

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Population below poverty line: 32% (1989 est.)

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.8% (2006 est.)

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Investment (gross fixed): 22.4% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $260.2 million expenditures: $311 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

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

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Industries: phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement, handicrafts, textiles, beverages

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Industrial production growth rate: NA%

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Electricity - production: 286.2 million kWh (2004)

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Electricity - consumption: 929.2 million kWh (2004)

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Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004)

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Electricity - imports: 663 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by Ghana (2004)

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Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - consumption: 14,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - imports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - proved reserves: 0 bbl

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Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Current account balance: -$261.9 million (2006 est.)

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Exports: $868.4 million f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Exports - commodities: reexports, cotton, phosphates, coffee, cocoa

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Exports - partners: Ghana 16.7%, Burkina Faso 14.4%, Benin 9.1%, Belgium 6.1%, Mali 5.8%, Germany 5.4%, India 4.6%, Netherlands 4.6% (2006)

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Imports: $1.208 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products

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Imports - partners: China 30.9%, UK 11.3%, France 9.2%, Netherlands 6.1%, Belgium 6%, US 4.8%, Estonia 4.3%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.1% (2006)

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $333.9 million (2006 est.)

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Debt - external: $2 billion (2005)

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Economic aid - recipient: ODA, $80 million (2000 est.)

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Currency (code): Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States

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Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002)

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Fiscal year: calendar year