Togo (2001) | Equatorial Guinea (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | 5 regions (regions, singular - region); De La Kara, Des Plateaux, Des Savanes, Du Centre, Maritime | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas |
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: 41.5% (male 114,816/female 113,688)
15-64 years: 54.8% (male 145,740/female 156,097) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 8,957/female 11,903) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; livestock; fish | coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber |
Airports | 9 (2000 est.) | 5 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
7 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Area | total:
56,785 sq km land: 54,385 sq km water: 2,400 sq km |
total: 28,051 sq km
land: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | slightly smaller than Maryland |
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. | Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule. This tiny country, composed of a mainland portion plus five inhabited islands, is one of the smallest on the African continent. President Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO has ruled the country since 1979 when he seized power in a coup. Although nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, the 1996 and 2002 presidential elections - as well as the 1999 and 2004 legislative elections - were widely seen as flawed. The president exerts almost total control over the political system and has discouraged political opposition. Equatorial Guinea has experienced rapid economic growth due to the discovery of large offshore oil reserves, and in the last decade has become Sub-Saharan Africa's third largest oil exporter. Despite the country's economic windfall from oil production resulting in a massive increase in government revenue in recent years, there have been few improvements in the population's living standards. |
Birth rate | 37.04 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 35.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$232 million expenditures: $252 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
revenues: $4.849 billion
expenditures: $2.481 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | Lome | name: Malabo
geographic coordinates: 3 45 N, 8 47 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | tropical; always hot, humid |
Coastline | 56 km | 296 km |
Constitution | multiparty draft constitution approved by High Council of the Republic 1 July 1992; adopted by public referendum 27 September 1992 | approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995 |
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: Republic of Equatorial Guinea
conventional short form: Equatorial Guinea local long form: Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial/Republique de Guinee equatoriale local short form: Guinea Ecuatorial/Guinee equatoriale former: Spanish Guinea |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | - |
Death rate | 11.24 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 15.01 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.5 billion (1999) | $288 million (31 December 2007 est.) |
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 Donald C. JOHNSON
embassy: adjacent to the golf course at the base of Mont Febe; note - relocated embassy is opened for limited functions; inquiries should continue to be directed to the US Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon mailing address: B.P. 817, Yaounde, Cameroon; US Embassy Yaounde, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2520 telephone: [237] 220 15 00 FAX: [237] 220 16 20 |
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 Purificacion ANGUE ONDO
chancery: 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 518-5700 FAX: [1] (202) 518-5252 |
Disputes - international | none | in 2002, ICJ ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, but a dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River and imprecisely defined maritime coordinates in the ICJ decision delay final delimitation; UN urges Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to resolve the sovereignty dispute over Gabon-occupied Mbane and lesser islands and to create a maritime boundary in the hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay |
Economic aid - recipient | $201.1 million (1995) | $39 million (2005) |
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 discovery and exploitation of large oil reserves have contributed to dramatic economic growth in recent years. Forestry, farming, and fishing are also major components of GDP. Subsistence farming predominates. Although pre-independence Equatorial Guinea counted on cocoa production for hard currency earnings, the neglect of the rural economy under successive regimes has diminished potential for agriculture-led growth (the government has stated its intention to reinvest some oil revenue into agriculture). A number of aid programs sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF have been cut off since 1993, because of corruption and mismanagement. No longer eligible for concessional financing because of large oil revenues, the government has been trying to agree on a "shadow" fiscal management program with the World Bank and IMF. Government officials and their family members own most businesses. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. Growth remained strong in 2007, led by oil. Equatorial Guinea now has the fourth highest per capita income in the world, after Luxembourg, Bermuda, and Jersey. |
Electricity - consumption | 511.6 million kWh (1999) | 26.04 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 426 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by Ghana (1999) |
0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 92 million kWh (1999) | 28 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
97.83% hydro: 2.17% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Agou 986 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 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 | tap water is not potable; deforestation |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, 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% | Fang 85.7%, Bubi 6.5%, Mdowe 3.6%, Annobon 1.6%, Bujeba 1.1%, other 1.4% (1994 census) |
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 | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 481.83 (2007), 522.4 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003) |
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: President Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO (since 3 August 1979 when he seized power in a military coup)
head of government: Prime Minister Ricardo Mangue Obama NFUBEA (since 14 August 2006); First Deputy Prime Minister Mercelino Oyono NTUTUMU (since 15 June 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (no term limits); election last held 15 December 2002 (next to be held in December 2009); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO reelected president; percent of vote - Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO 97.1%, Celestino Bonifacio BACALE 2.2%; elections marred by widespread fraud |
Exports | $336 million (f.o.b., 2000) | 371,700 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, phosphates, coffee, cocoa | petroleum, methanol, timber, cocoa |
Exports - partners | Nigeria, Brazil, Canada, Philippines (1999) | China 30.9%, US 22.2%, Spain 12.6%, Taiwan 10.6%, Portugal 6.1% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side and the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms has six yellow six-pointed stars (representing the mainland and five offshore islands) above a gray shield bearing a silk-cotton tree and below which is a scroll with the motto UNIDAD, PAZ, JUSTICIA (Unity, Peace, Justice) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $7.3 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
42% industry: 21% services: 37% (1997) |
agriculture: 2.8%
industry: 92.5% services: 4.6% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.4% (2000 est.) | 12.7% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 1 10 E | 2 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | - | insular and continental regions widely separated |
Highways | total:
7,520 km paved: 2,376 km unpaved: 5,144 km (1996) |
- |
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 | - |
Imports | $452 million (f.o.b., 2000) | 1,026 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products | petroleum sector equipment, other equipment |
Imports - partners | Ghana, China, France, Cote d'Ivoire (1999) | US 37.7%, Spain 9.8%, Cote d'Ivoire 7.9%, France 6.1%, South Korea 6.1%, UK 5.8%, Italy 5% (2006) |
Independence | 27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) | 12 October 1968 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 14.1% (2007 est.) |
Industries | phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement; handicrafts, textiles, beverages | petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas |
Infant mortality rate | 70.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 87.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 93.17 deaths/1,000 live births female: 80.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 5.5% (2007 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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 70 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | Supreme Tribunal |
Labor force | 1.74 million (1996) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 65%, industry 5%, services 30% (1998 est.) | - |
Land boundaries | total:
1,647 km border countries: Benin 644 km, Burkina Faso 126 km, Ghana 877 km |
total: 539 km
border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km |
Land use | arable land:
38% permanent crops: 7% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 17% other: 34% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 4.63%
permanent crops: 3.57% other: 91.8% (2005) |
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) | Spanish 67.6% (official), other 32.4% (includes French (official), Fang, Bubi) (1994 census) |
Legal system | French-based court system | partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom |
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 |
unicameral House of People's Representatives or Camara de Representantes del Pueblo (100 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 25 April 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PDGE 98, CPDS 2 note: Parliament has little power since the constitution vests all executive authority in the president |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
54.35 years male: 52.38 years female: 56.38 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 49.51 years
male: 48.11 years female: 50.95 years (2007 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: 85.7% male: 93.3% female: 78.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 30 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
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: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 1,745 GRT/3,434 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2007) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie | National Guard (Guardia Nacional (Army), with Coast Guard (Navy) and Air Wing) (2008) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $27 million (FY96) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY96) | 0.1% (2006 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,175,528 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
616,622 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 April (1960) | Independence Day, 12 October (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
Togolese (singular and plural) adjective: Togolese |
noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)
adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean |
Natural hazards | hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; periodic droughts | violent windstorms, flash floods |
Natural resources | phosphates, limestone, marble, arable land | petroleum, natural gas, timber, gold, bauxite, diamonds, tantalum, sand and gravel, clay |
Net migration rate | 0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 42 km; condensate/gas 5 km; gas 80 km; oil 54 km (2007) |
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 |
Convergence Party for Social Democracy or CPDS [Placido MICO Abogo]; Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea or PDGE (ruling party) [Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO]; Party for Progress of Equatorial Guinea or PPGE [Severo MOTO]; Popular Action of Equatorial Guinea or APGE [Avelino MOCACHE]; Popular Union or UP |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
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.) |
551,201 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 32% (1989 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.6% (2001 est.) | 2.015% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Kpeme, Lome | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2001) |
Radios | 940,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
525 km (1995) narrow gauge: 525 km 1.000-m gauge |
- |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 59%, Christian 29%, Muslim 12% | nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.934 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.752 male(s)/female total population: 0.957 male(s)/female (2007 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: digital fixed-line network in most major urban areas and good mobile coverage
domestic: fixed-line density is about 2 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular subscribership has been increasing and in 2005 stood at about 20 percent of the population international: country code - 240; international communications from Bata and Malabo to African and European countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (1997) | 10,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,995 (1997) | 96,900 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus two repeaters) (1997) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes | coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic |
Total fertility rate | 5.32 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.48 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 30% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | 50 km (Mono river) | - |