Togo (2003) | Netherlands Antilles (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 5 regions (regions, singular - region); De La Kara, Des Plateaux, Des Savanes, Centrale, Maritime | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
note: each island has its own government |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 44.5% (male 1,211,252; female 1,203,564)
15-64 years: 53% (male 1,404,763; female 1,473,360) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 57,535; female 78,825) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years:
25.21% (male 27,332; female 26,169) 15-64 years: 66.99% (male 67,562; female 74,599) 65 years and over: 7.8% (male 6,874; female 9,690) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; livestock; fish | aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit |
Airports | 9 (2002) | 5 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2002) |
total:
5 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
- |
Area | total: 56,785 sq km
land: 54,385 sq km water: 2,400 sq km |
total:
960 sq km land: 960 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin) |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | more than five times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | French Togoland became Togo in 1960. Gen. 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. | Once the center of the Caribbean slave trade, the island of Curacao was hard hit by the abolition of slavery in 1863. Its prosperity (and that of neighboring Aruba) was restored in the early 20th century with the construction of oil refineries to service the newly discovered Venezuelan oil fields. The island of Sint Maarten is shared with France; its northern portion is named Saint Martin and is part of Guadeloupe. |
Birth rate | 35.23 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 16.55 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $232 million
expenditures: $252 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
revenues:
$710.8 million expenditures: $741.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
Capital | Lome | Willemstad |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds |
Coastline | 56 km | 364 km |
Constitution | multiparty draft constitution approved by High Council of the Republic 1 July 1992; adopted by public referendum 27 September 1992 | 29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended |
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: Netherlands Antilles local long form: none local short form: Nederlandse Antillen former: Curacao and Dependencies |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG) |
Death rate | 11.51 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 6.41 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.4 billion (2000) | $1.35 billion (1996) |
Dependency status | - | part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 1954; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Gregory ENGLE
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:
Consul General Barbara J. STEPHENSON consulate(s) general: J. B. Gorsiraweg #1, Willemstad AN, Curacao mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao telephone: [599] (9) 4613066 FAX: [599] (9) 4616489 |
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 (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
Disputes - international | in 2001 Benin claimed Togo moved boundary monuments - joint commission presently resurveying the boundary | none |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA $80 million (2000 est.) | IMF provided $61 million in 2000, and the Netherlands continued its support with $40 million |
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 important cash crop. Togo is the world's fourth-largest producer of phosphate, but production fell an estimated 22% in 2002 due to power shortages and the cost of developing new deposits. 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 moved slowly. Progress depends on following through on privatization, increased openness in government financial operations, progress toward legislative elections, and continued support from foreign donors. | Tourism, petroleum refining, and offshore finance are the mainstays of this small economy, which is closely tied to the outside world. Although GDP has declined slightly in each of the past five years, the islands enjoy a high per capita income and a well-developed infrastructure as compared with other countries in the region. Almost all consumer and capital goods are imported, with Venezuela, the US, and Mexico being the major suppliers. Poor soils and inadequate water supplies hamper the development of agriculture. |
Electricity - consumption | 614.5 million kWh (2001) | 1.032 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 520 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by Ghana (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 101.6 million kWh (2001) | 1.11 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 98.7%
hydro: 1.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% 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: Mount Scenery 862 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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | native African (37 tribes; largest and most important are Ewe, Mina, and Kabre) 99%, European and Syrian-Lebanese less than 1% | mixed black 85%, Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998) | Netherlands Antillean guilders per US dollar - 1.790 (fixed rate since 1989) |
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 1 June 2003 (next to be held NA June 2008); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Gnassingbe EYADEMA reelected president; percent of vote - Gnassingbe EYADEMA 57.2%, Emmanuel Akitani BOB 34.1%, Yawovi AGBOYIBO 5.2%, Maurice Dahuku PERE 2.3%, Edem KODJO 1.0% |
chief of state:
Queen BEATRIX of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Jaime SALEH (since NA October 1989) head of government: Prime Minister Miguel POURIER (since 8 November 1999); Deputy Prime Minister Susanne CAMELIA-ROMER (since NA) note: Miguel POURIER assumed prime ministership following the resignation of Susanne CAMELIA-ROMER cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Staten elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch for a six-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually elected prime minister by the Staten; election last held 30 January 1998 (next to be held by NA 2002) note: government coalition - PDB, DP-St. M, FOL, PLKP, PNP |
Exports | NA (2001) | $276 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | reexports, cotton, phosphates, coffee, cocoa | petroleum products |
Exports - partners | Ghana 17.7%, Benin 13.3%, Burkina Faso 8.2%, Philippines 4.9%, Niger 4.1% (2002) | US 17.5%, Guatemala 8%, Costa Rica 6.5%, The Bahamas 4.6%, Jamaica 4.1%, Chile 3.4% (1998) |
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 | white, with a horizontal blue stripe in the center superimposed on a vertical red band, also centered; five white, five-pointed stars are arranged in an oval pattern in the center of the blue band; the five stars represent the five main islands of Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $7.594 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 42%
industry: 21% services: 37% (2001 est.) |
agriculture:
1% industry: 15% services: 84% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,400 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $11,400 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.9% (2002 est.) | -3.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 1 10 E | 12 15 N, 68 45 W |
Geography - note | the country's length allows it to stretch through six distinct geographic regions; climate varies from tropical to savanna | - |
Highways | total: 7,520 km
paved: 2,376 km unpaved: 5,144 km (1999 est.) |
total:
600 km paved: 300 km unpaved: 300 km (1992) |
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 | money-laundering center; transshipment point for South American drugs bound for the US and Europe |
Imports | NA (2001) | $1.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products | crude petroleum, food, manufactures |
Imports - partners | France 21.3%, China 17%, Netherlands 6.5%, Germany 5.3%, UK 4.8%, Italy 4.4% (2002) | Venezuela 35.3%, US 21%, Mexico 9.8%, Italy 5.4%, Netherlands 4.8%, Brazil 3.1% (1998) |
Independence | 27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement; handicrafts, textiles, beverages | tourism (Curacao, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao) |
Infant mortality rate | total: 68.73 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 76.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 60.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
11.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4% (2002 est.) | 6.4% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, 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, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | Caricom (observer), ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WCL, WMO, WToO (associate) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2001) | 6 |
Irrigated land | 70 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch) |
Labor force | 1.74 million (1996) | 89,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 65%, industry 5%, services 30% (1998 est.) | agriculture 1%, industry 13%, services 86% (1994 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,647 km
border countries: Benin 644 km, Burkina Faso 126 km, Ghana 877 km |
total:
10.2 km border countries: Guadeloupe (Saint Martin) 10.2 km |
Land use | arable land: 41.37%
permanent crops: 1.84% other: 56.79% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
10% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 90% (1993 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) | Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) predominates, English widely spoken, Spanish |
Legal system | French-based court system | based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence |
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 2007) 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 States or Staten (22 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 January 1998 (next to be held by NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PAR 4, PNP 3, SPA 1, PDB 2, UPB 1, MAN 2, PLKP 3, WIPM 1, SEA 1, DP-St. M 2, FOL 2; no party won enough seats to form a government note: the government of Prime Minister Miguel POURIER is a coalition of several parties; current seats by party - PAR 4, PNP 3, FOL 2, MAN 2, UPB 2, DP-St. M 2, PDB 1, SEA 1, WIPM 1, other 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 53.43 years
male: 51.47 years female: 55.45 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
74.94 years male: 72.76 years female: 77.22 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 60.9% male: 75.4% female: 46.9% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 98% female: 99% (1981 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana | Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - one includes Curacao and Bonaire north of Venezuela; the other is east of the Virgin Islands |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 30 NM |
exclusive fishing zone:
12 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 3,918 GRT/3,852 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1, specialized tanker 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Greece 1 (2002 est.) |
total:
123 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,113,774 GRT/1,397,841 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 35, chemical tanker 2, combination ore/oil 3, container 19, liquefied gas 4, multi-functional large-load carrier 19, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 4, refrigerated cargo 28, roll on/roll off 7 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 8, Germany 1, Italy 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie | Royal Netherlands Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, National Guard, Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $23.72 million (FY02) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (FY02) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,270,146 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
54,284 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 666,132 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
30,405 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
1,610 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 April (1960) | Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA in 1909 and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX in 1980), 30 April |
Nationality | noun: Togolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Togolese |
noun:
Dutch Antillean(s) adjective: Dutch Antillean |
Natural hazards | hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; periodic droughts | Curacao and Bonaire are south of Caribbean hurricane belt and are rarely threatened; Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are subject to hurricanes from July to October |
Natural resources | phosphates, limestone, marble, arable land | phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only) |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -0.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Juvento [Monsilia DJATO]; Movement of the Believers of Peace and Equality or MOCEP [leader NA]; Rally for the Support for Development and Democracy or RSDD [Hanay OLYMPIO]; Rally of the Togolese People or RPT [President Gnassingbe EYADEMA]; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Gagou KOKOU]
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 |
Antillean Restructuring Party or PAR [Miguel POURIER]; C 93 [Stanley BROWN]; Democratic Party of Bonaire or PDB [Jopi ABRAHAM]; Democratic Party of Curacao or DP [Errol HERNANDEZ]; Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius or DP-St. E [Julian WOODLEY]; Democratic Party of Sint Maarten or DP-St. M [Sarah WESCOTT-WILLIAMS]; Foundation Energetic Management Anti-Narcotics or FAME [Eric LODEWIJKS]; Labor Party People's Crusade or PLKP [Errol COVA]; National People's Party or PNP [Susanne F. C. CAMELIA-ROMER]; New Antilles Movement or MAN [Kenneth GIJSBERTHA]; Patriotic Union of Bonaire or UPB [Ramon BOOI]; Patriotic Movement of Sint Maarten or SPA [Vance JAMES, Jr.]; People's Party or PAPU [Richard Hodi]; Pro Curacao Party or PPK [Winston LOURENS]; Saba Democratic Labor Movement [Steve HASSELL]; Saba Unity Party [Carmen SIMMONDS]; St. Eustatius Alliance or SEA [Kenneth VAN PUTTEN]; Serious Alternative People's Party or Sapp [Julian ROLLOCKS]; Social Action Cause or KAS [Benny DEMEI]; Windward Islands People's Movement or WIPM [Will JOHNSTON]; Workers' Liberation Front or FOL [Anthony GODETT, Rignald LAK, Editha WRIGHT]
note: political parties are indigenous to each island |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 5,429,299
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 2003 est.) |
212,226 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 32% (1989 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.37% (2003 est.) | 0.97% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Kpeme, Lome | Kralendijk, Philipsburg, Willemstad |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 9, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 217,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 525 km
narrow gauge: 525 km 1.000-m gauge (2002) |
0 km |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 51%, Christian 29%, Muslim 20% | Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Seventh-Day Adventist |
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: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 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:
generally adequate facilities domestic: extensive interisland microwave radio relay links international: submarine cables - 2; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (1997) | 76,000 (1995) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,995 (1997) | 13,977 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus two repeaters) (1997) | 3 (there is also a cable service which supplies programs received from various US satellite networks and two Venezuelan channels) (1997) |
Terrain | gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes | generally hilly, volcanic interiors |
Total fertility rate | 4.97 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 2.07 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 14.9% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | 50 km (Mono river) | none |