Togo (2001) | Belize (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 5 regions (regions, singular - region); De La Kara, Des Plateaux, Des Savanes, Du Centre, Maritime | 6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
45.63% (male 1,179,650; female 1,171,748) 15-64 years: 51.92% (male 1,302,197; female 1,373,247) 65 years and over: 2.45% (male 54,651; female 71,595) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years:
42.04% (male 54,876; female 52,780) 15-64 years: 54.43% (male 70,534; female 68,837) 65 years and over: 3.53% (male 4,403; female 4,632) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; livestock; fish | bananas, coca, citrus, sugarcane; lumber; fish, cultured shrimp |
Airports | 9 (2000 est.) | 44 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total:
4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
7 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total:
40 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 29 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
56,785 sq km land: 54,385 sq km water: 2,400 sq km |
total:
22,966 sq km land: 22,806 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
Background | French Togoland became Togo in 1960. General Gnassingbe EYADEMA, installed as military ruler in 1967, is Africa's longest-serving head of state. Despite the facade of multiparty elections that resulted in EYADEMA's victory in 1993, the government continues to be dominated by the military. In addition, Togo has come under fire from international organizations for human rights abuses and is plagued by political unrest. Most bilateral and multilateral aid to Togo remains frozen. | Territorial disputes between the UK and Guatemala delayed the independence of Belize (formerly British Honduras) until 1981. Guatemala refused to recognize the new nation until 1992. Tourism has become the mainstay of the economy. The country remains plagued by high unemployment, growing involvement in the South American drug trade, and increased urban crime. |
Birth rate | 37.04 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 31.69 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$232 million expenditures: $252 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
revenues:
$157 million expenditures: $279 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | Lome | Belmopan |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May) |
Coastline | 56 km | 386 km |
Constitution | multiparty draft constitution approved by High Council of the Republic 1 July 1992; adopted by public referendum 27 September 1992 | 21 September 1981 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Togolese Republic conventional short form: Togo local long form: Republique Togolaise local short form: none former: French Togoland |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Belize former: British Honduras |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | Belizean dollar (BZD) |
Death rate | 11.24 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.5 billion (1999) | $338 million (1998) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Karl HOFMANN embassy: Angle Rue Kouenou and Rue 15 Beniglato, Lome mailing address: B. P. 852, Lome telephone: [228] 21 29 91 through 21 29 94 FAX: [228] 21 79 52 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Carolyn CURIEL embassy: 29 Gabourel Lane and Hutson Street, Belize City mailing address: P. O. Box 286, Unit 7401, APO AA 34025 telephone: [501] (2) 77161 FAX: [501] (2) 30802 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Akoussoulelov BODJONA chancery: 2208 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4212 FAX: [1] (202) 232-3190 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Lisa M. SHOMAN chancery: 2535 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-9636 FAX: [1] (202) 332-6888 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles |
Disputes - international | none | Guatemala periodically asserts claims to territory in southern Belize; to deter cross-border squatting, both states in 2000 agreed to a "line of adjacency" based on the de facto boundary, which is not recognized by Guatemala |
Economic aid - recipient | $201.1 million (1995) | $NA |
Economy - overview | 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. Together, cocoa, coffee, and cotton generate some 40% of export earnings, with cotton being the most significant cash crop despite falling prices on the world market. In the industrial sector, phosphate mining is by far the most important activity. Togo is the world's fourth largest producer, and geological advantages keep production costs low. The recently privatized mining operation, Office Togolais des Phosphates (OTP), is slowly recovering from a steep fall in prices in the early 1990's, but continues to face the challenge of tough foreign competition, exacerbated by weakening demand. Togo serves as a regional commercial and trade center. It continues to expand its duty-free export-processing zone (EPZ), launched in 1989, which has attracted enterprises from France, Italy, Scandinavia, the US, India, and China and created jobs for Togolese nationals. 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 stalled. Progress depends on following through on privatization, increased openness in government financial operations, progress towards legislative elections, and possible downsizing of the military, on which the regime has depended to stay in place. Lack of foreign aid, deterioration of the financial sector, energy shortages, and depressed commodity prices continue to constrain economic growth; however, Togo did realize a 3% gain in GDP in 1999. The takeover of the national power company by a Franco-Canadian consortium in 2000 should ease the energy crisis and if successful legislative elections pave the way for increased aid, growth should rise to 5% a year in 2001-02. | The small, essentially private enterprise economy is based primarily on agriculture, agro-based industry, and merchandising, with tourism and construction assuming greater importance. Sugar, the chief crop, accounts for nearly half of exports, while the banana industry is the country's largest employer. The government's tough austerity program in 1997 resulted in an economic slowdown that continued in 1998. The trade deficit has been growing, mostly as a result of low export prices for sugar and bananas. The tourist and construction sectors strengthened in early 1999, supporting growth of 6% in 1999 and 4% in 2000. Aided by international donors, the government's key short-term objective remains the reduction of poverty. |
Electricity - consumption | 511.6 million kWh (1999) | 172.1 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 426 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by Ghana (1999) |
0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 92 million kWh (1999) | 185 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
97.83% hydro: 2.17% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
56.76% hydro: 43.24% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Agou 986 m |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Victoria Peak 1,160 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation attributable to slash-and-burn agriculture and the use of wood for fuel; water pollution presents health hazards and hinders the fishing industry; air pollution increasing in urban areas | deforestation; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff; solid waste disposal |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | native African (37 tribes; largest and most important are Ewe, Mina, and Kabre) 99%, European and Syrian-Lebanese less than 1% | mestizo 43.7%, Creole 29.8%, Maya 10%, Garifuna 6.2%, other 10.3% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro | Belizean dollars per US dollar - 2.0000 (fixed rate pegged to the US dollar) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA (since 14 April 1967) head of government: Prime Minister Agbeyome KODJO (since 29 August 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president and the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 21 June 1998 (next to be held NA 2003); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Gnassingbe EYADEMA reelected president; percent of vote - Gnassingbe EYADEMA 52.13%, Gilchrist OLYMPIO 34.12%, other 13.75% |
chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Colville YOUNG (since 17 November 1993) head of government: Prime Minister Said MUSA (since 27 August 1998); Deputy Prime Minister John BRICENO (since 1 September 1998) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; governor general appoints the member of the House of Representatives who is leader of the majority party to be prime minister |
Exports | $336 million (f.o.b., 2000) | $235.7 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, phosphates, coffee, cocoa | sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood |
Exports - partners | Nigeria, Brazil, Canada, Philippines (1999) | US 42%, UK 33%, EU 12%, Caricom 4.8%, Canada 2%, Mexico 1% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | five equal horizontal bands of green (top and bottom) alternating with yellow; there is a white five-pointed star on a red square in the upper hoist-side corner; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia | blue with a narrow red stripe along the top and the bottom edges; centered is a large white disk bearing the coat of arms; the coat of arms features a shield flanked by two workers in front of a mahogany tree with the related motto SUB UMBRA FLOREO (I Flourish in the Shade) on a scroll at the bottom, all encircled by a green garland |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $7.3 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $790 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
42% industry: 21% services: 37% (1997) |
agriculture:
18% industry: 24% services: 58% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,200 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.4% (2000 est.) | 4% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 1 10 E | 17 15 N, 88 45 W |
Geography - note | - | only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean |
Highways | total:
7,520 km paved: 2,376 km unpaved: 5,144 km (1996) |
total:
2,872 km paved: 488 km unpaved: 2,384 km (1998 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transit hub for Nigerian heroin and cocaine traffickers | minor transshipment point for cocaine; small-scale illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; minor money-laundering center |
Imports | $452 million (f.o.b., 2000) | $413 million (c.i.f., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products | machinery and transportation equipment, manufactured goods; food, beverages, tobacco; fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals |
Imports - partners | Ghana, China, France, Cote d'Ivoire (1999) | US 58%, Mexico 12%, UK 5% EU 5%, Central America 5%, Caricom 4% (1998) |
Independence | 27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) | 21 September 1981 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 4.6% (1999) |
Industries | phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement; handicrafts, textiles, beverages | garment production, food processing, tourism, construction |
Infant mortality rate | 70.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 25.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 2% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIPONUH, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | 2 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 70 sq km (1993 est.) | 20 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister) |
Labor force | 1.74 million (1996) | 71,000
note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (1997 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 65%, industry 5%, services 30% (1998 est.) | agriculture 38%, industry 32%, services 30% (1994) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,647 km border countries: Benin 644 km, Burkina Faso 126 km, Ghana 877 km |
total:
516 km border countries: Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km |
Land use | arable land:
38% permanent crops: 7% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 17% other: 34% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
10% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 2% forests and woodland: 84% other: 3% (2000 est.) |
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) | English (official), Spanish, Mayan, Garifuna (Carib), Creole |
Legal system | French-based court system | English law |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 21 March 1999 (next due to be held NA October 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPT 79, independents 2 note: Togo's main opposition parties boycotted the election because of EYADEMA's alleged manipulation of 1998 presidential polling; in March of 1999, opposition parties entered into negotiations with the president over the establishment of an independent electoral commission and a new round of legislative elections, now scheduled for October 2001 |
bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (eight members, five appointed on the advice of the prime minister, two on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and one by the governor general; members are appointed for five-year terms); and the House of Representatives (29 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 27 August 1998 (next to be held by NA August 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - PUP 59.2%, UDP 40.8%; seats by party - PUP 26, UDP 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
54.35 years male: 52.38 years female: 56.38 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
71.19 years male: 68.91 years female: 73.57 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 51.7% male: 67% female: 37% (1995 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 70.3% male: 70.3% female: 70.3% (1991 est.) note: other sources list the literacy rate as high as 75% |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana | Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 30 NM |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM in the north, 3 NM in the south; note - from the mouth of the Sarstoon River to Ranguana Cay, Belize's territorial sea is 3 NM; according to Belize's Maritime Areas Act, 1992, the purpose of this limitation is to provide a framework for the negotiation of a definitive agreement on territorial differences with Guatemala |
Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,603 GRT/2,800 DWT ships by type: specialized tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
402 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,575,851 GRT/2,241,731 DWT ships by type: bulk 27, cargo 265, chemical tanker 6, combination ore/oil 1, container 14, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 56, refrigerated cargo 18, roll on/roll off 7, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Cuba 1, Singapore 1, US 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie | Belize Defense Force (includes Army, Maritime Wing, Air Wing, and Volunteer Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $27 million (FY96) | $17 million (FY98/99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY96) | 2.4% (FY98/99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,175,528 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
62,698 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
616,622 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
37,174 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
2,847 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 April (1960) | Independence Day, 21 September (1981) |
Nationality | noun:
Togolese (singular and plural) adjective: Togolese |
noun:
Belizean(s) adjective: Belizean |
Natural hazards | hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; periodic droughts | frequent, devastating hurricanes (September to December) and coastal flooding (especially in south) |
Natural resources | phosphates, limestone, marble, arable land | arable land potential, timber, fish, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Action Committee for Renewal or CAR [Yawovi AGBOYIBO]; Coordination des Forces Nouvelles or CFN [Joseph KOFFIGOH]; Democratic Convention of African Peoples or CDPA [Leopold GNININVI]; Party for Democracy and Renewal or PDR [Zarifou AYEVA]; Patriotic Pan-African Convergence or CPP [Edem KODJO]; Rally of the Togolese People or RPT [President Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA]; Union of Forces for Change or UFC [Gilchrist OLYMPIO (in exile), Jeane-Pierre FABRE, general secretary in Togo]; Union of Independent Liberals or ULI [Jacques AMOUZO]
note: Rally of the Togolese People or RPT, led by President EYADEMA, was the only party until the formation of multiple parties was legalized 12 April 1991 |
People's United Party or PUP [Said MUSA]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Manuel ESQUIVEL, Dean BARROW, Doug SINGH] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Society for the Promotion of Education and Research or SPEAR [Diane HAYLOCK]; United Worker's Front |
Population | 5,153,088
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 2001 est.) |
256,062 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 32% (1989 est.) | 33% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.6% (2001 est.) | 2.7% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Kpeme, Lome | Belize City, Big Creek, Corozol, Punta Gorda |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 1, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 940,000 (1997) | 133,000 (1997) |
Railways | total:
525 km (1995) narrow gauge: 525 km 1.000-m gauge |
0 km |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 59%, Christian 29%, Muslim 12% | Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 30% (Anglican 12%, Methodist 6%, Mennonite 4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Pentecostal 2%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1%, other 2%), none 2%, other 6% (1980) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | NA years of age; universal adult | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
fair system based on a network of microwave radio relay routes supplemented by open-wire lines and a mobile cellular system domestic: microwave radio relay and open-wire lines for conventional system; cellular system has capacity of 10,000 telephones international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Symphonie |
general assessment:
above-average system domestic: trunk network depends primarily on microwave radio relay international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (1997) | 31,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,995 (1997) | 3,023 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus two repeaters) (1997) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes | flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south |
Total fertility rate | 5.32 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.05 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 12.8% (1999) |
Waterways | 50 km (Mono river) | 825 km (river network used by shallow-draft craft; seasonally navigable) |