Togo (2002) | Central African Republic (2005) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 5 regions (regions, singular - region); De La Kara, Des Plateaux, Des Savanes, Centrale, Maritime | 14 prefectures (prefectures, singular - prefecture), 2 economic prefectures* (prefectures economiques, singular - prefecture economique), and 1 commune**; Bamingui-Bangoran, Bangui**, Basse-Kotto, Haute-Kotto, Haut-Mbomou, Kemo, Lobaye, Mambere-Kadei, Mbomou, Nana-Grebizi*, Nana-Mambere, Ombella-Mpoko, Ouaka, Ouham, Ouham-Pende, Sangha-Mbaere*, Vakaga |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 45.1% (male 1,195,052; female 1,187,014)
15-64 years: 52.4% (male 1,351,345; female 1,420,617) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 56,270; female 75,203) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 42.5% (male 813,596/female 802,728)
15-64 years: 54% (male 1,010,696/female 1,041,903) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 54,345/female 76,629) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; livestock; fish | cotton, coffee, tobacco, manioc (tapioca), yams, millet, corn, bananas; timber |
Airports | 9 (2001) | 50 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 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 (2002) |
total: 47
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 13 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 56,785 sq km
land: 54,385 sq km water: 2,400 sq km |
total: 622,984 sq km
land: 622,984 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | slightly smaller than Texas |
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 instituted in the early 1990s, the government continues to be dominated by President EYADEMA, whose Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) party has maintained power almost continually since 1967. 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. | The former French colony of Ubangi-Shari became the Central African Republic upon independence in 1960. After three tumultuous decades of misrule - mostly by military governments - civilian rule was established in 1993 and lasted for one decade. President Ange-Felix PATASSE's civilian government was plagued by unrest, and in March 2003 he was deposed in a military coup led by General Francois BOZIZE, who has since established a transitional government. Though the government has the tacit support of civil society groups and the main parties, a wide field of affiliated and independent candidates will contest the municipal, legislative, and presidential elections scheduled for February 2005. The government still does not fully control the countryside, where pockets of lawlessness persist. |
Birth rate | 36.11 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 35.17 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $232 million
expenditures: $252 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
Capital | Lome | Bangui |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | tropical; hot, dry winters; mild to hot, wet summers |
Coastline | 56 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | multiparty draft constitution approved by High Council of the Republic 1 July 1992; adopted by public referendum 27 September 1992 | passed by referendum 5 December 2004 |
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: Central African Republic
conventional short form: none local long form: Republique Centrafricaine local short form: none former: Ubangi-Shari, Central African Empire abbreviation: CAR |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | - |
Death rate | 11.3 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 20.27 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.5 billion (1999) (1999) | $881.4 million (2000 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] 221 29 91 through 221 29 94 FAX: [228] 221 79 52 |
chief of mission: Charge d'Affaires James PANOS
embassy: Avenue David Dacko, Bangui mailing address: B. P. 924, Bangui telephone: [236] 61 02 00 FAX: [236] 61 44 94 note: the embassy is currently operating with a minimal staff |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Akoussoulelou BODJONA
chancery: 2208 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4212 FAX: [1] (202) 232-3190 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Emmanuel TOUABOY
chancery: 1618 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-7800 FAX: [1] (202) 332-9893 |
Disputes - international | Benin accuses Togo of moving boundary markers and stationing troops in its territory | about 30,000 refugees fleeing the 2002 civil conflict in the CAR still reside in southern Chad; periodic skirmishes over water and grazing rights among related pastoral populations along the border with southern Sudan persist |
Economic aid - recipient | $201.1 million (1995) (1995) | ODA $73 million; note - traditional budget subsidies from France (2000 est.) |
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. Cocoa, coffee, and cotton generate about 40% of export earnings, with cotton being the most significant cash crop despite falling prices on the world market. Political unrest, including private and public sector strikes throughout 1992 and 1993, jeopardized the reform program, shrunk the tax base, and disrupted vital economic activity. The 12 January 1994 devaluation of the XOF currency by 50% provided an important impetus to renewed structural adjustment. 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 large-scale foreign aid, deterioration of the financial sector, energy shortages, and depressed commodity prices continue to constrain economic growth. The takeover of the national power company by a Franco-Canadian consortium in 2000 should ease the energy crisis. | Subsistence agriculture, together with forestry, remains the backbone of the economy of the Central African Republic (CAR), with more than 70% of the population living in outlying areas. The agricultural sector generates half of GDP. Timber has accounted for about 16% of export earnings and the diamond industry, for 54%. Important constraints to economic development include the CAR's landlocked position, a poor transportation system, a largely unskilled work force, and a legacy of misdirected macroeconomic policies. Factional fighting between the government and its opponents remains a drag on economic revitalization, with GDP growth at only 0.5% in 2004. Distribution of income is extraordinarily unequal. Grants from France and the international community can only partially meet humanitarian needs. |
Electricity - consumption | 525.21 million kWh (2000) | 98.58 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 435 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by Ghana (2000) |
0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 97 million kWh (2000) | 106 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 98%
hydro: 2% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Agou 986 m |
lowest point: Oubangui River 335 m
highest point: Mont Ngaoui 1,420 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; poaching has diminished the country's reputation as one of the last great wildlife refuges; desertification; 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | native African (37 tribes; largest and most important are Ewe, Mina, and Kabre) 99%, European and Syrian-Lebanese less than 1% | Baya 33%, Banda 27%, Mandjia 13%, Sara 10%, Mboum 7%, M'Baka 4%, Yakoma 4%, other 2% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 741.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); 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 - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA (since 14 April 1967)
head of government: Prime Minister Koffi SAMA (since 29 June 2002) 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 June 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 Francois BOZIZE (since 15 March 2003 coup)
head of government: Prime Minister Elie DOTE (since 13 June 2005) note - Celestin GAOMBALET resigned 11 June 2005 cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: president elected to five year term with a two-term limit; next presidential elections scheduled for 10 April 2005; prime minister appointed by the political party with a parliamentary majority |
Exports | $306 million f.o.b. (2001) | NA |
Exports - commodities | cotton, phosphates, coffee, cocoa | diamonds, timber, cotton, coffee, tobacco |
Exports - partners | Benin 12%, Nigeria 9%, Belgium 5%, Ghana 4% (2000) | Belgium 39.2%, Italy 8.6%, Spain 7.9%, US 6.2%, France 6.1%, Indonesia 5.8%, China 4.9% (2004) |
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 | four equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, green, and yellow with a vertical red band in center; there is a yellow five-pointed star on the hoist side of the blue band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $7.6 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 42%
industry: 21% services: 37% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 55%
industry: 20% services: 25% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.2% (2001 est.) | 0.5% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 1 10 E | 7 00 N, 21 00 E |
Geography - note | the country's length allows it to stretch through six distinct geographic regions; climate varies from tropical to savanna | landlocked; almost the precise center of Africa |
Highways | total: 7,520 km
paved: 2,376 km unpaved: 5,144 km (1996) |
total: 23,810 km
paved: 643 km unpaved: 23,167 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.7%
highest 10%: 47.7% (1993) |
Illicit drugs | transit hub for Nigerian heroin and cocaine traffickers; money laundering not a significant problem | - |
Imports | $420 million f.o.b. (2001) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products | food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery, electrical equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals |
Imports - partners | Ghana 26%, France 11%, China 7%, Cote d'Ivoire 7% (2000) | France 17.6%, US 16.3%, Cameroon 9.3%, Belgium 5% (2004) |
Independence | 27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) | 13 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3% (2002) |
Industries | phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement; handicrafts, textiles, beverages | gold and diamond mining, logging, brewing, textiles, footwear, assembly of bicycles and motorcycles |
Infant mortality rate | 69.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 91 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 97.84 deaths/1,000 live births female: 83.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.3% (2001 est.) | 3.6% (2001 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, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIPONUH, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC (observer), OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 70 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court (3 judges appointed by the president, 3 by the president of the National Assembly, and 3 by fellow judges); Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts; Inferior Courts |
Labor force | 1.74 million (1996) (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: 5,203 km
border countries: Cameroon 797 km, Chad 1,197 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 467 km, Sudan 1,165 km |
Land use | arable land: 41.37%
permanent crops: 1.84% other: 56.79% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 3.1%
permanent crops: 0.14% other: 96.76% (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) | French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages |
Legal system | French-based court system | based on French law |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 27 October 2002 (next NA 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPT 72, RSD 3, UDPS 2, Juvento 2, MOCEP 1, independents 1 note: two opposition parties boycotted the election, the Union of the Forces for Change, and the Action Committee for Renewal |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (109 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms
elections: last held 22-23 November and 13 December 1998 (next to be held 13 March 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - MLPC 43%, RDC 18%, MDD 9%, FPP 6%, PSD 5%, ADP 4%, PUN 3%, FODEM 2%, PLD 2%, UPR 1%, FC 1%, independents 6%; seats by party - MLPC 47, RDC 20, MDD 8, FPP 7, PSD 6, ADP 5, PUN 3, FODEM 2, PLD 2, UPR 1, FC 1, independents 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 54.02 years
male: 52.03 years female: 56.07 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 43.39 years
male: 43.27 years female: 43.52 years (2005 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: 51% male: 63.3% female: 39.9% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana | Central Africa, north of Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 30 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,603 GRT/2,800 DWT
ships by type: specialized tanker 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Greece 1 (2002 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie | Central African Armed Forces (FACA): Ground Forces, Air Force; General Directorate of Gendarmerie Inspection (DGIG), Republican Guard (2004) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $21.9 million (FY01) | $15.5 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (FY01) | 1% (2004) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,220,758 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 640,280 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 April (1960) | Republic Day, 1 December (1958) |
Nationality | noun: Togolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Togolese |
noun: Central African(s)
adjective: Central African |
Natural hazards | hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; periodic droughts | hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds affect northern areas; floods are common |
Natural resources | phosphates, limestone, marble, arable land | diamonds, uranium, timber, gold, oil, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 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), Jean Pierre FABRE, general secretary in Togo]; Union of Independent Liberals or ULI [Jacques AMOUZOU]
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 |
Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP [Jacques MBOLIEDAS]; Central African Democratic Assembly or RDC [Andre KOLINGBA]; Civic Forum or FC [Gen. Timothee MALENDOMA]; Democratic Forum for Modernity or FODEM [Charles MASSI]; Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Nestor KOMBO-NAGUEMON]; Movement for Democracy and Development or MDD [David DACKO]; Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People or MLPC [the party of deposed president, Ange-Felix PATASSE]; Patriotic Front for Progress or FPP [Abel GOUMBA]; People's Union for the Republic or UPR [Pierre Sammy MAKFOY]; National Unity Party or PUN [Jean-Paul NGOUPANDE]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Enoch LAKOUE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 5,285,501
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 2002 est.) |
3,799,897
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 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 32% (1989 est.) | NA (1993) |
Population growth rate | 2.48% (2002 est.) | 1.49% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Kpeme, Lome | Bangui, Nola, Salo, Nzinga |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (2002) |
Radios | 940,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 525 km
narrow gauge: 525 km 1.000-m gauge (2001) |
- |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 51%, Christian 29%, Muslim 20% | indigenous beliefs 35%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Muslim 15%
note: animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the Christian majority |
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: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | NA years of age; universal adult | 21 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: fair system
domestic: network consists principally of microwave radio relay and low-capacity, low-powered radiotelephone communication international: country code - 236; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (1997) | 9,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,995 (1997) | 13,000 (2003) |
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 | vast, flat to rolling, monotonous plateau; scattered hills in northeast and southwest |
Total fertility rate | 5.14 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 4.5 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 8% (23% for Bangui) (2001 est.) |
Waterways | 50 km (Mono river) | 2,800 km (primarily on the Oubangui and Sangha rivers) (2004) |