Togo (2004) | Laos (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 5 regions (regions, singular - region); Kara, Plateaux, Savanes, Centrale, Maritime | 16 provinces (khoueng, singular and plural), 1 municipality* (kampheng nakhon, singular and plural), and 1 special zone** (khetphiset, singular and plural); Attapu, Bokeo, Bolikhamxai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louangnamtha, Louangphabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan*, Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xaisomboun**, Xekong, Xiangkhoang |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 43.9% (male 1,222,622; female 1,214,443)
15-64 years: 53.6% (male 1,455,373; female 1,522,456) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 59,165; female 82,753) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years:
42.75% (male 1,212,577; female 1,196,795) 15-64 years: 53.94% (male 1,494,927; female 1,544,851) 65 years and over: 3.31% (male 85,632; female 101,185) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; livestock; fish | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry |
Airports | 9 (2003 est.) | 51 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total:
8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total:
43 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 25 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 56,785 sq km
land: 54,385 sq km water: 2,400 sq km |
total:
236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | slightly larger than Utah |
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. While most bilateral and multilateral aid to Togo remains frozen, the European Union initiated a partial resumption of cooperation and development aid to Togo in late 2004. | In 1975 the communist Pathet Lao took control of the government, ending a six-century-old monarchy. Initial closer ties to Vietnam and socialization were replaced with a gradual return to private enterprise, an easing of foreign investment laws, and the admission into ASEAN in 1997. |
Birth rate | 34.36 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 37.84 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $214.5 million
expenditures: $296.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
revenues:
$211 million expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
Capital | Lome | Vientiane |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) |
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 | promulgated 14 August 1991 |
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:
Lao People's Democratic Republic conventional short form: Laos local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao local short form: none |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | kip (LAK) |
Death rate | 11.64 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 13.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.4 billion (2000) | $2.46 billion (1998 est.) |
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:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affairs Karen Brevard STEWART embassy: 19 Rue Bartholonie, B. P. 114, Vientiane mailing address: American Embassy, Box V, APO AP 96546 telephone: [856] (21) 212581, 212582, 212585 FAX: [856] (21) 212584 |
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 VANG Rattanavong chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416 FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923 |
Disputes - international | in 2001 Benin claimed Togo moved boundary monuments - joint commission continues to resurvey the boundary | parts of the border with Thailand are indefinite |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA $80 million (2000 est.) | $345 million (1999 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 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. | The government of Laos - one of the few remaining official communist states - began decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise in 1986. The results, starting from an extremely low base, were striking - growth averaged 7% during 1988-97. Reform efforts subsequently slowed, and GDP growth dropped an average of 3 percentage points. Because Laos depends heavily on its trade with Thailand, it was damaged by the regional financial crisis beginning in 1997. Government mismanagement deepened the crisis, and from June 1997 to June 1999 the Lao kip lost 87% of its value. Laos' foreign exchange problems peaked in September 1999 when the kip fell from 3,500 kip to the dollar to 9,000 kip to the dollar in a matter of weeks. Now that the currency has stabilized, however, the government seems content to let the current situation persist, despite limited government revenue and foreign exchange reserves. A landlocked country with a primitive infrastructure, Laos has no railroads, a rudimentary road system, and limited external and internal telecommunications. Electricity is available in only a few urban areas. Subsistence agriculture accounts for half of GDP and provides 80% of total employment. For the foreseeable future the economy will continue to depend on aid from the IMF and other international sources; Japan is currently the largest bilateral aid donor; aid from the former USSR/Eastern Europe has been cut sharply. |
Electricity - consumption | 614.5 million kWh (2001) | 173.6 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 705 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 520 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by Ghana (2001) | 142 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 101.6 million kWh (2001) | 792 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
2.78% hydro: 97.22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Agou 986 m |
lowest point:
Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 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 | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, 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, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection 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% | Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong ("Meo") and the Yao (Mien) 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (1999) | kips per US dollar - 7,578.00 (December 2000), 7,102.03 (1999), 3,298.33 (1998), 1,259.98 (1997), 921.02 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Faure GNASSINGBE (since 6 February 2005); note - Gnassingbe EYADEMA died on 5 February 2005 and was succeeded by his son, Faure GNASSINGBE, who will be allowed to complete his father's term
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:
President Gen. KHAMTAI Siphandon (since 26 February 1998) and Vice President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since NA March 2001) head of government: Prime Minister BOUNGNANG Volachit (since NA March 2001); Deputy Prime Ministers THONGLOUN Sisolit (since NA March 2001), SOMSAVAT Lengsavat (since 26 February 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president, approved by the National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 21 December 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); prime minister appointed by the president with the approval of the National Assembly for a five-year term election results: KHAMTAI Siphandon elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - NA% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $323 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | reexports, cotton, phosphates, coffee, cocoa | wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin |
Exports - partners | Burkina Faso 16.6%, Ghana 15.4%, Netherlands 13%, Benin 9.6%, Mali 7.7% (2003) | Vietnam, Thailand, Germany, France, Belgium |
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 | three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $8.257 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $9 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 39.5%
industry: 20.4% services: 40.1% (2003 est.) |
agriculture:
51% industry: 22% services: 27% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.3% (2003 est.) | 4% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 1 10 E | 18 00 N, 105 00 E |
Geography - note | the country's length allows it to stretch through six distinct geographic regions; climate varies from tropical to savanna | landlocked |
Highways | total: 7,520 km
paved: 2,376 km unpaved: 5,144 km (1999 est.) |
total:
14,000 km paved: 3,360 km unpaved: 10,640 km (1991) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%:
4.2% highest 10%: 26.4% (1992) |
Illicit drugs | transit hub for Nigerian heroin and cocaine traffickers; money laundering not a significant problem | world's third-largest illicit opium producer (estimated cultivation in 1999 - 21,800 hectares, a 16% decrease over 1998; estimated potential production in 1999 - 140 metric tons, about the same as in 1998); potential heroin producer; transshipment point for heroin and methamphetamine produced in Burma; illicit producer of cannabis |
Imports | NA (2001) | $540 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel |
Imports - partners | France 21.1%, Netherlands 12.1%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.9%, Germany 4.6%, Italy 4.4%, South Africa 4.3%, China 4.1% (2003) | Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, China, Singapore, Hong Kong |
Independence | 27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) | 19 July 1949 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 7.5% (1999 est.) |
Industries | phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement; handicrafts, textiles, beverages | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 67.66 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 75.4 deaths/1,000 live births female: 59.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
92.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -1% (2003 est.) | 33% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACCT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 70 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,250 sq km (1993 est.)
note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | People's Supreme Court (the president of the People's Supreme Court is elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the National Assembly Standing Committee; the vice president of the People's Supreme Court and the judges are appointed by the National Assembly Standing Committee) |
Labor force | 1.74 million (1996) | 1 million - 1.5 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 65%, industry 5%, services 30% (1998 est.) | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,647 km
border countries: Benin 644 km, Burkina Faso 126 km, Ghana 877 km |
total:
5,083 km border countries: Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km |
Land use | arable land: 46.15%
permanent crops: 2.21% other: 51.64% (2001) |
arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 54% other: 40% (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) | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages |
Legal system | French-based court system | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice |
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, RSDD 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 (99 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - by presidential decree, on 27 October 1997, the number of seats increased from 85 to 99)
elections: last held 21 December 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LPRP or LPRP-approved (independent, non-party members) 99 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 53.05 years
male: 51.07 years female: 55.09 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
53.48 years male: 51.58 years female: 55.44 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: 57% male: 70% female: 44% (1999 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam |
Map references | Africa | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 30 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 3,918 GRT/3,852 DWT
by type: cargo 1, specialized tanker 1 registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,370 GRT/3,000 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie | Lao People's Army (LPA; includes riverine element), Air Force, National Police Department |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $32.6 million (2003) | $55 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.9% (2003) | 4.2% (FY96/97) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,316,455 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,319,537 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 690,331 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
710,627 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
64,437 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 April (1960) | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) |
Nationality | noun: Togolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Togolese |
noun:
Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian |
Natural hazards | hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; periodic droughts | floods, droughts, and blight |
Natural resources | phosphates, limestone, marble, arable land | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products 136 km |
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 [Harryy 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 |
Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 |
Population | 5,556,812
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 2004 est.) |
5,635,967 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 32% (1989 est.) | 46.1% (1993 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.27% (2004 est.) | 2.48% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Kpeme, Lome | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | - | 730,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 568 km
narrow gauge: 568 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
0 km |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 51%, Christian 29%, Muslim 20% | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2004 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: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 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: country code - 228; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Symphonie |
general assessment:
service to general public is poor but improving, with over 20,000 telephones currently in service and an additional 48,000 expected by 2001; the government relies on a radiotelephone network to communicate with remote areas domestic: radiotelephone communications international: satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 60,600 (2003) | 25,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 220,000 (2003) | 4,915 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus two repeaters) (1997) | 4 (1999) |
Terrain | gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus |
Total fertility rate | 4.79 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 5.12 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA (2003 est.) | 5.7% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | 50 km (seasonally on Mono River depending on rainfall) (2003) | 4,587 km approximately
note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m |