Togo (2001) | Virgin Islands (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 5 regions (regions, singular - region); De La Kara, Des Plateaux, Des Savanes, Du Centre, Maritime | none (territory of the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three islands at the second order; Saint Croix, Saint John, Saint Thomas |
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: 23.1% (male 12,676/female 12,421)
15-64 years: 66.2% (male 34,069/female 37,918) 65 years and over: 10.7% (male 5,125/female 6,499) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; livestock; fish | fruit, vegetables, sorghum; Senepol cattle |
Airports | 9 (2000 est.) | 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
7 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
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Area | total:
56,785 sq km land: 54,385 sq km water: 2,400 sq km |
total: 352 sq km
land: 349 sq km water: 3 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | twice the size of Washington, DC |
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. | During the 17th century, the archipelago was divided into two territorial units, one English and the other Danish. Sugarcane, produced by slave labor, drove the islands' economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1917, the US purchased the Danish portion, which had been in economic decline since the abolition of slavery in 1848. |
Birth rate | 37.04 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.2 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$232 million expenditures: $252 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
revenues: $560
expenditures: NA (2003) |
Capital | Lome | Charlotte Amalie |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | subtropical, tempered by easterly trade winds, relatively low humidity, little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season September to November |
Coastline | 56 km | 188 km |
Constitution | multiparty draft constitution approved by High Council of the Republic 1 July 1992; adopted by public referendum 27 September 1992 | Revised Organic Act of 22 July 1954 |
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: United States Virgin Islands
conventional short form: Virgin Islands former: Danish West Indies |
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.) | 6.26 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.5 billion (1999) | NA |
Dependency status | - | organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between the Virgin Islands and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior |
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 |
none (territory of the US) |
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 |
none (territory of the US) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
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. | Tourism is the primary economic activity, accounting for 80% of GDP and employment. The islands normally host 2 million visitors a year. The manufacturing sector consists of petroleum refining, textiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and watch assembly. The agricultural sector is small, with most food being imported. International business and financial services are a small but growing component of the economy. One of the world's largest petroleum refineries is at Saint Croix. The islands are subject to substantial damage from storms. The government is working to improve fiscal discipline, to support construction projects in the private sector, to expand tourist facilities, to reduce crime, and to protect the environment. |
Electricity - consumption | 511.6 million kWh (1999) | 962.6 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 426 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by Ghana (1999) |
0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 92 million kWh (1999) | 1.035 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
97.83% hydro: 2.17% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Agou 986 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Crown Mountain 474 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 | lack of natural freshwater resources |
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 |
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Ethnic groups | native African (37 tribes; largest and most important are Ewe, Mina, and Kabre) 99%, European and Syrian-Lebanese less than 1% | black 76.2%, white 13.1%, Asian 1.1%, other 6.1%, mixed 3.5% (2000 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 | the US dollar is used |
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 George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL (since 5 January 1999) cabinet: NA elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held November 2006) election results: Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL reelected governor; percent of vote - Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL (Democrat) 50.5%, John de JONGH 24.4% |
Exports | $336 million (f.o.b., 2000) | NA |
Exports - commodities | cotton, phosphates, coffee, cocoa | refined petroleum products |
Exports - partners | Nigeria, Brazil, Canada, Philippines (1999) | US, Puerto Rico |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
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 | white, with a modified US coat of arms in the center between the large blue initials V and I; the coat of arms shows a yellow eagle holding an olive branch in one talon and three arrows in the other with a superimposed shield of vertical red and white stripes below a blue panel |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $7.3 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
42% industry: 21% services: 37% (1997) |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 19% services: 80% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $17,200 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.4% (2000 est.) | 2% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 1 10 E | 18 20 N, 64 50 W |
Geography - note | - | important location along the Anegada Passage - a key shipping lane for the Panama Canal; Saint Thomas has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the Caribbean |
Highways | total:
7,520 km paved: 2,376 km unpaved: 5,144 km (1996) |
total: 1,257 km
paved: 1,192 km unpaved: 65 km note: the only US possession where driving on the left side of the road is practiced (2003) |
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) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products | crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer goods, building materials |
Imports - partners | Ghana, China, France, Cote d'Ivoire (1999) | US, Puerto Rico |
Independence | 27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement; handicrafts, textiles, beverages | tourism, petroleum refining, watch assembly, rum distilling, construction, pharmaceuticals, textiles, electronics |
Infant mortality rate | 70.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 8.03 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.11 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 2.2% (2003) |
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 | Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU |
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 | US District Court of the Virgin Islands (under Third Circuit jurisdiction); Territorial Court (judges appointed by the governor for 10-year terms) |
Labor force | 1.74 million (1996) | 48,900 (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 65%, industry 5%, services 30% (1998 est.) | agriculture 1%, industry 19%, services 80% (2003 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,647 km border countries: Benin 644 km, Burkina Faso 126 km, Ghana 877 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
38% permanent crops: 7% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 17% other: 34% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 11.76%
permanent crops: 2.94% other: 85.3% (2001) |
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 74.7%, Spanish or Spanish Creole 16.8%, French or French Creole 6.6%, other 1.9% (2000 census) |
Legal system | French-based court system | based on US laws |
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 Senate (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 6 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Democratic Party 10, ICM 2, independent 3 note: the Virgin Islands elects one non-voting representative to the US House of Representatives; election last held 6 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004); results - Donna M. CHRISTIAN-CHRISTENSON (Democrat) reelected |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
54.35 years male: 52.38 years female: 56.38 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 78.91 years
male: 75.08 years female: 82.96 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 51.7% male: 67% female: 37% (1995 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
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.) |
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Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $27 million (FY96) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY96) | - |
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) | Transfer Day (from Denmark to the US), 27 March (1917) |
Nationality | noun:
Togolese (singular and plural) adjective: Togolese |
noun: Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: Virgin Islander |
Natural hazards | hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; periodic droughts | several hurricanes in recent years; frequent and severe droughts and floods; occasional earthquakes |
Natural resources | phosphates, limestone, marble, arable land | sun, sand, sea, surf |
Net migration rate | 0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -8.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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 |
Democratic Party [Arturo WATLINGTON]; Independent Citizens' Movement or ICM [Usie RICHARDS]; Republican Party [Gary SPRAUVE] |
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.) |
108,708 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 32% (1989 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.6% (2001 est.) | -0.07% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Kpeme, Lome | Charlotte Amalie, Limetree Bay |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 6, FM 17, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Radios | 940,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
525 km (1995) narrow gauge: 525 km 1.000-m gauge |
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Religions | indigenous beliefs 59%, Christian 29%, Muslim 12% | Baptist 42%, Roman Catholic 34%, Episcopalian 17%, other 7% |
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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | NA years of age; universal adult | 18 years of age; universal; note - island residents are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections |
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: modern system with total digital switching, uses fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay
domestic: full range of services available international: country code - 1-340; 2 submarine cable connections (Taino Carib, Americas-1); satellite earth stations - NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (1997) | 69,400 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,995 (1997) | 41,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus two repeaters) (1997) | 16 (2004) |
Terrain | gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes | mostly hilly to rugged and mountainous with little level land |
Total fertility rate | 5.32 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.19 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 9.3% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | 50 km (Mono river) | - |