Togo (2002) | Cook Islands (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 5 regions (regions, singular - region); De La Kara, Des Plateaux, Des Savanes, Centrale, Maritime | none |
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: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; livestock; fish | copra, citrus, pineapples, tomatoes, beans, pawpaws, bananas, yams, taro, coffee; pigs, poultry |
Airports | 9 (2001) | 9 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2002) |
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 (2002) |
total: 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 56,785 sq km
land: 54,385 sq km water: 2,400 sq km |
total: 240 sq km
land: 240 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | 1.3 times 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 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. | Named after Captain COOK, who sighted them in 1770, the islands became a British protectorate in 1888. By 1900, administrative control was transferred to New Zealand; in 1965 residents chose self-government in free association with New Zealand. The emigration of skilled workers to New Zealand and government deficits are continuing problems. |
Birth rate | 36.11 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | NA |
Budget | revenues: $232 million
expenditures: $252 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
revenues: $28 million
expenditures: $27 million, including capital expenditures of $3.3 million (FY00/01 est.) |
Capital | Lome | Avarua |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | tropical; moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 56 km | 120 km |
Constitution | multiparty draft constitution approved by High Council of the Republic 1 July 1992; adopted by public referendum 27 September 1992 | 4 August 1965 |
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: Cook Islands former: Harvey Islands |
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.) | NA |
Debt - external | $1.5 billion (1999) (1999) | $141 million (1996 est.) |
Dependency status | - | self-governing in free association with New Zealand; Cook Islands is fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defense, in consultation with the Cook Islands |
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 |
none (self-governing in free association with New Zealand) |
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 |
none (self-governing in free association with New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | Benin accuses Togo of moving boundary markers and stationing troops in its territory | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $201.1 million (1995) (1995) | $13.1 million; note - New Zealand continues to furnish the greater part (1995) |
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. | Like many other South Pacific island nations, the Cook Islands' economic development is hindered by the isolation of the country from foreign markets, the limited size of domestic markets, lack of natural resources, periodic devastation from natural disasters, and inadequate infrastructure. Agriculture provides the economic base with major exports made up of copra and citrus fruit. Manufacturing activities are limited to fruit processing, clothing, and handicrafts. Trade deficits are offset by remittances from emigrants and by foreign aid, overwhelmingly from New Zealand. In the 1980s and 1990s, the country lived beyond its means, maintaining a bloated public service and accumulating a large foreign debt. Subsequent reforms, including the sale of state assets, the strengthening of economic management, the encouragement of tourism, and a debt restructuring agreement, have rekindled investment and growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 525.21 million kWh (2000) | 25.11 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) | 27 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: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Te Manga 652 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 | NA |
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, Law of the Sea
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% | Cook Island Maori (Polynesian) 87.7%, part Cook Island Maori 5.8%, other 6.5% (2001 census) |
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 | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.5087 (2004), 1.7221 (2003), 2.1622 (2002), 2.3788 (2001), 2.2012 (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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Frederick GOODWIN (since 9 February 2001); New Zealand High Commissioner Kurt MEYER (since July 2001), representative of New Zealand
head of government: Prime Minister Jim MARURAI (since 14 December 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Terepai MAOATE (since 9 August 2005) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister; collectively responsible to Parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the UK representative is appointed by the monarch; the New Zealand high commissioner is appointed by the New Zealand Government; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition usually becomes prime minister |
Exports | $306 million f.o.b. (2001) | NA |
Exports - commodities | cotton, phosphates, coffee, cocoa | copra, papayas, fresh and canned citrus fruit, coffee; fish; pearls and pearl shells; clothing |
Exports - partners | Benin 12%, Nigeria 9%, Belgium 5%, Ghana 4% (2000) | Australia 34%, Japan 27%, New Zealand 25%, US 8% (2000) |
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 the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large circle of 15 white five-pointed stars (one for every island) centered in the outer half of the flag |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $7.6 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 42%
industry: 21% services: 37% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 17%
industry: 7.8% services: 75.2% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.2% (2001 est.) | 7.1% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 1 10 E | 21 14 S, 159 46 W |
Geography - note | the country's length allows it to stretch through six distinct geographic regions; climate varies from tropical to savanna | the northern Cook Islands are seven low-lying, sparsely populated, coral atolls; the southern Cook Islands consist of eight elevated, fertile, volcanic isles where most of the populace lives |
Highways | total: 7,520 km
paved: 2,376 km unpaved: 5,144 km (1996) |
total: 320 km
paved: 33 km unpaved: 287 km (2000) |
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; money laundering not a significant problem | - |
Imports | $420 million f.o.b. (2001) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products | foodstuffs, textiles, fuels, timber, capital goods |
Imports - partners | Ghana 26%, France 11%, China 7%, Cote d'Ivoire 7% (2000) | New Zealand 61%, Fiji 19%, US 9%, Australia 6%, Japan 2% (2000) |
Independence | 27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) | none (became self-governing in free association with New Zealand on 4 August 1965 and has the right at any time to move to full independence by unilateral action) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 1% (2002) |
Industries | phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement; handicrafts, textiles, beverages | fruit processing, tourism, fishing, clothing, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | 69.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.3% (2001 est.) | 3.2% (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, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIPONUH, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, AsDB, FAO, ICAO, ICFTU, IFAD, IFRCS, IOC, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 70 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | High Court |
Labor force | 1.74 million (1996) (1996) | 8,000 (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 65%, industry 5%, services 30% (1998 est.) | agriculture 29%, industry 15%, services 56%
note: shortage of skilled labor (1995) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,647 km
border countries: Benin 644 km, Burkina Faso 126 km, Ghana 877 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 41.37%
permanent crops: 1.84% other: 56.79% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 17.39%
permanent crops: 13.04% other: 69.57% (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 (official), Maori |
Legal system | French-based court system | based on New Zealand law and English common 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 Parliament (25 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 7 September 2004 (next to be held by 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CIP 10, DAP 9, Demo Tumu 4, independent 1; note - one seat undecided pending by-election note: the House of Ariki (chiefs) advises on traditional matters and maintains considerable influence, but has no legislative powers |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 54.02 years
male: 52.03 years female: 56.07 years (2002 est.) |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 51.7% male: 67% female: 37% (1995 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 95% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 30 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
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.) |
total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,074 GRT/7,520 DWT
by type: petroleum tanker 1 (2005) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand, in consultation with the Cook Islands and at its request |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie | no regular military forces; Ministry of Police and Disaster Management (2004) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $21.9 million (FY01) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (FY01) | - |
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) | Constitution Day, first Monday in August (1965) |
Nationality | noun: Togolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Togolese |
noun: Cook Islander(s)
adjective: Cook Islander |
Natural hazards | hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; periodic droughts | typhoons (November to March) |
Natural resources | phosphates, limestone, marble, arable land | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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 |
Cook Islands People's Party or CIP [Geoffrey HENRY]; Democratic Alliance Party or DAP [Terepai MAOATE]; New Alliance Party or NAP [Norman GEORGE]; Cook Islands National Party or CIN [Teariki HEATHER]; Demo Party Tumu [Robert WOONTON] |
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.) |
21,388 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 32% (1989 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.48% (2002 est.) | NA |
Ports and harbors | Kpeme, Lome | Avatiu |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004) |
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% | Cook Islands Christian Church 55.9%, Roman Catholic 16.8%, Seventh Day Saint 7.9%, Church of Latter Day Saints 3.8%, other Protestant 5.8%, other 4.2%, unspecified 2.6%, none 3% (2001 census) |
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.) |
NA |
Suffrage | NA years of age; universal adult | NA years of age; universal adult |
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: Telecom Cook Islands offers international direct dialing, Internet, email, fax, and Telex
domestic: the individual islands are connected by a combination of satellite earth stations, microwave systems, and VHF and HF radiotelephone; within the islands, service is provided by small exchanges connected to subscribers by open-wire, cable, and fiber-optic cable international: country code - 682; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (1997) | 6,200 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,995 (1997) | 1,500 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus two repeaters) (1997) | 1 (outer islands receive satellite broadcasts) (2004) |
Terrain | gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes | low coral atolls in north; volcanic, hilly islands in south |
Total fertility rate | 5.14 children born/woman (2002 est.) | NA children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 13% (1996) |
Waterways | 50 km (Mono river) | - |