Africa
Page last updated: July 24, 2024
From the 11th to the 16th centuries, various ethnic groups settled the Togo region. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, the coastal region became a major trading center for enslaved people, and the surrounding region took on the name of "The Slave Coast." In 1884, Germany declared the area a protectorate called Togoland, which included present-day Togo. After World War I, colonial rule over Togo was transferred to France. French Togoland became Togo upon independence in 1960.
Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA, installed as military ruler in 1967, ruled Togo with a heavy hand for almost four decades. Despite the facade of multi-party elections instituted in the early 1990s, EYADEMA largely dominated the government. His Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) party has been in power almost continually since 1967, with its successor, the Union for the Republic, maintaining a majority of seats in today's legislature. Upon EYADEMA's death in 2005, the military installed his son, Faure GNASSINGBE, as president and then engineered his formal election two months later. Togo held its first relatively free and fair legislative elections in 2007. Since then, GNASSINGBE has started the country along a gradual path to democratic reform. Togo has held multiple presidential and legislative elections, and in 2019, the country held its first local elections in 32 years.
Despite those positive moves, political reconciliation has moved slowly, and the country experiences periodic outbursts of protests from frustrated citizens, leading to violence between security forces and protesters. Constitutional changes in 2019 to institute a runoff system in presidential elections and to establish term limits have done little to reduce the resentment many Togolese feel after more than 50 years of one-family rule. GNASSINGBE became eligible for his current fourth term and one additional fifth term under the new rules. The next presidential election is set for 2025.
Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana
08°00' N, 01°10' E
Africa
Total : 56,785 km²
Land: 54,385 km²
Water: 2,400 km²
Slightly smaller than West Virginia
Total: 1,880 km
Border countries (3): Benin 651 km; Burkina Faso 131 km; Ghana 1,098 km
56 km
Territorial sea: 30 nm; note: the US does not recognize this claim
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north
Gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes
Highest point: Mont Agou 986 m
Lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Mean elevation: 236 m
Phosphates, limestone, marble, arable land
Agricultural land: 67.4% (2018 est.)
Arable land: 45.2% (2018 est.)
Permanent crops: 3.8% (2018 est.)
Permanent pasture: 18.4% (2018 est.)
Forest: 4.9% (2018 est.)
Other: 27.7% (2018 est.)
70 km² (2012)
Atlantic Ocean drainage: Volta (410,991 km²)
One of the more densely populated African nations with most of the population residing in rural communities, density is highest in the south on or near the Atlantic coast as shown in this population distribution map
Hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; periodic droughts
The country's length allows it to stretch through six distinct geographic regions; climate varies from tropical to savanna
Total: 8,917,994
Male: 4,395,271
Female: 4,522,723 (2024 est.)
Comparison rankings: female 100; male 101; total 101
Noun: Togolese (singular and plural)
Adjective: Togolese
Adja-Ewe/Mina 42.4%, Kabye/Tem 25.9%, Para-Gourma/Akan 17.1%, Akposso/Akebu 4.1%, Ana-Ife 3.2%, other Togolese 1.7%, foreigners 5.2%, no response 0.4% (2013-14 est.)
Note: Togo has an estimated 37 ethnic groups
French (official, 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)
Christian 42.3%, folk religion 36.9%, Muslim 14%, Hindu <1%, Buddhist <1%, Jewish <1%, other <1%, none 6.2% (2020 est.)
Togo’s population is estimated to have grown to four times its size between 1960 and 2010. With nearly 60% of its populace under the age of 25 and a high annual growth rate attributed largely to high fertility, Togo’s population is likely to continue to expand for the foreseeable future. Reducing fertility, boosting job creation, and improving education will be essential to reducing the country’s high poverty rate. In 2008, Togo eliminated primary school enrollment fees, leading to higher enrollment but increased pressure on limited classroom space, teachers, and materials. Togo has a good chance of achieving universal primary education, but educational quality, the underrepresentation of girls, and the low rate of enrollment in secondary and tertiary schools remain concerns.
Togo is both a country of emigration and asylum. In the early 1990s, southern Togo suffered from the economic decline of the phosphate sector and ethnic and political repression at the hands of dictator Gnassingbe EYADEMA and his northern, Kabye-dominated administration. The turmoil led 300,000 to 350,000 predominantly southern Togolese to flee to Benin and Ghana, with most not returning home until relative stability was restored in 1997. In 2005, another outflow of 40,000 Togolese to Benin and Ghana occurred when violence broke out between the opposition and security forces over the disputed election of EYADEMA’s son Faure GNASSINGBE to the presidency. About half of the refugees reluctantly returned home in 2006, many still fearing for their safety. Despite ethnic tensions and periods of political unrest, Togo in December 2022 was home to almost 8,400 refugees from Ghana.
0-14 years: 38.7% (male 1,749,533/female 1,699,084)
15-64 years: 57% (male 2,486,142/female 2,597,914)
65 years and over: 4.3% (2024 est.) (male 159,596/female 225,725)
2023 population pyramids:
Total dependency ratio: 76.5
Youth dependency ratio: 71
Elderly dependency ratio: 5.5
Potential support ratio: 18.3 (2021 est.)
Total: 20.7 years (2024 est.)
Male: 19.9 years
Female: 21.4 years
2.41% (2024 est.)
30.9 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
5.1 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
-1.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
One of the more densely populated African nations with most of the population residing in rural communities, density is highest in the south on or near the Atlantic coast as shown in this population distribution map
Urban population: 44.5% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 3.6% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030
1.982 million LOME (capital) (2023)
At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
25 years (2017 est.)
Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-29
399 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Total: 38.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male: 43 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 33.7 deaths/1,000 live births
Total population: 72.1 years (2024 est.)
Male: 69.5 years
Female: 74.7 years
4.13 children born/woman (2024 est.)
2.03 (2024 est.)
23.9% (2017)
Improved: urban: 93.8% of population
Rural: 60.3% of population
Total: 74.6% of population
Unimproved: urban: 6.2% of population
Rural: 39.7% of population
Total: 25.4% of population (2020 est.)
6% of GDP (2020)
0.08 physicians/1,000 population (2020)
0.7 beds/1,000 population (2011)
Improved: urban: 81.9% of population
Rural: 18.3% of population
Total: 45.5% of population
Unimproved: urban: 18.1% of population
Rural: 81.7% of population
Total: 54.5% of population (2020 est.)
Degree of risk: very high (2023)
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, and sexually transmitted diseases: hepatitis B (2024)
Water contact diseases: schistosomiasis
Animal contact diseases: rabies
Respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis
Note: on 31 August 2023, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; Togo is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an “infected” person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, the CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine
8.4% (2016)
Total: 1.4 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer: 0.78 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine: 0.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits: 0.2 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols: 0.33 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Total: 6.8% (2020 est.)
Male: 12.3% (2020 est.)
Female: 1.2% (2020 est.)
15.2% (2017)
62% (2023 est.)
Women married by age 15: 6.4%
Women married by age 18: 24.8%
Men married by age 18: 2.6% (2017 est.)
4% of GDP (2020 est.)
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 66.5%
Male: 80%
Female: 55.1% (2019)
Total: 13 years
Male: 14 years
Female: 12 years (2017)
Deforestation attributable to slash-and-burn agriculture and the use of wood for fuel; very little rain forest still present and what remains is highly degraded; desertification; water pollution presents health hazards and hinders the fishing industry; air pollution increasing in urban areas
Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
Signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north
Agricultural land: 67.4% (2018 est.)
Arable land: 45.2% (2018 est.)
Permanent crops: 3.8% (2018 est.)
Permanent pasture: 18.4% (2018 est.)
Forest: 4.9% (2018 est.)
Other: 27.7% (2018 est.)
Urban population: 44.5% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 3.6% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030
3.96% of GDP (2018 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
Particulate matter emissions: 35.66 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 3 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 3.06 megatons (2020 est.)
Municipal solid waste generated annually: 1,109,030 tons (2014 est.)
Municipal solid waste recycled annually: 22,181 tons (2012 est.)
Percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 2% (2012 est.)
Atlantic Ocean drainage: Volta (410,991 km²)
Municipal: 140 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 10 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 80 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
14.7 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Conventional long form: Togolese Republic
Conventional short form: Togo
Local long form: Republique Togolaise
Local short form: none
Former: French Togoland
Etymology: derived from the Ewe words "to" (river) and "godo" (on the other side) to give the sense of "on the other side of the river"; originally, this designation applied to the town of Togodo (now Togoville) on the northern shore of Lake Togo, but the name was eventually extended to the entire nation
Presidential republic
Name: Lome
Geographic coordinates: 6 07 N, 1 13 E
Time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: Lome comes from "alotime" which in the native Ewe language means "among the alo plants"; alo trees dominated the city's original founding site
5 regions (regions, singular - region); Centrale, Kara, Maritime, Plateaux, Savanes
27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship)
Independence Day, 27 April (1960)
History: several previous; latest adopted 27 September 1992, effective 14 October 1992
Amendments: proposed by the president of the republic or supported by at least one fifth of the National Assembly membership; passage requires four-fifths majority vote by the Assembly; a referendum is required if approved by only two-thirds majority of the Assembly or if requested by the president; constitutional articles on the republican and secular form of government cannot be amended; amended 2002, 2007, last in 2023
Customary law system
Accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Togo
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
18 years of age; universal
Chief of state: President Faure GNASSINGBE (since 4 May 2005)
Head of government: Prime Minister Victoire TOMEGAH Dogbé (since 25 September 2020)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister
Elections/appointments: president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 5-year term (no term limits); election last held on 22 February 2020 (next to be held in 2025); prime minister appointed by the president
Note- on 21 May 2024 the Prime Minister and her cabinet resigned. The President requested they continue serving during the government transition.
Election results:
2020: Faure GNASSINGBE reelected president; percent of vote - Faure GNASSINGBE (UNIR) 70.8%, Agbeyome KODJO (MPDD) 19.5%, Jean-Pierre FABRE (ANC) 4.7%, other 5%
2015: Faure GNASSINGBE reelected president; percent of vote - Faure GNASSINGBE (UNIR) 58.8%, Jean-Pierre FABRE (ANC) 35.2%, Tchaboure GOGUE (ADDI) 4%, other 2%
Description: unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (113 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by closed, party-list proportional representation vote to serve 5-year terms); party lists are required to contain equal numbers of men and women
Elections: last held on 29 April 2024 (next election April 2029)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UNIR 108, ADDI 2, ANC 1, DMP 1, FDR 1 composition - men 92, women 21, percentage of women elected 18.6%
Highest court(s): Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (organized into criminal and administrative chambers, each with a chamber president and advisors); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges, including the court president)
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court president appointed by decree of the president of the republic upon the proposal of the Supreme Council of the Magistracy, a 9-member judicial, advisory, and disciplinary body; other judicial appointments and judge tenure NA; Constitutional Court judges appointed by the National Assembly; judge tenure NA
Subordinate courts: Court of Assizes (sessions court); Appeal Court; tribunals of first instance (divided into civil, commercial, and correctional chambers; Court of State Security; military tribunal
Action Committee for Renewal or CAR [Dodji APEVON]
Alliance of Democrats for Integral Development or ADDI [Tchaboure GOGUE]
Democratic Convention of African Peoples or CDPA [LĂ©opold GNININVI]
Democratic Forces for the Republic or FDR [Dodji APEVON]
National Alliance for Change or ANC [Jean-Pierre FABRE]
New Togolese Commitment [Gerry TAAMA]
Pan-African National Party or PNP [Tikpi ATCHADAM]
Pan-African Patriotic Convergence or CPP (vacant)
Patriotic Movement for Democracy and Development or MPDD [Agbeyome KODJO]
Socialist Pact for Renewal or PSR [Abi TCHESSA]
The Togolese Party [Nathaniel OLYMPIO]
Union of Forces for Change or UFC [Jean-Pierre FABRE]
Union for the Republic or UNIR [Faure GNASSINGBE]
ACP, AfDB, AIIB, AU, ECOWAS, EITI (compliant country), Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Five equal horizontal bands of green (top and bottom) alternating with yellow; a white five-pointed star on a red square is in the upper hoist-side corner; the five horizontal stripes stand for the five different regions of the country; the red square is meant to express the loyalty and patriotism of the people, green symbolizes hope, fertility, and agriculture, while yellow represents mineral wealth and faith that hard work and strength will bring prosperity; the star symbolizes life, purity, peace, dignity, and Togo's independence
Note: uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia
Lion; national colors: green, yellow, red, white
Name: "Salut a toi, pays de nos aieux" (Hail to Thee, Land of Our Forefathers)
Lyrics/music: Alex CASIMIR-DOSSEH
Note: adopted 1960, restored 1992; this anthem was replaced by another during one-party rule between 1979 and 1992
Total World Heritage Sites: 1 (cultural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales: Koutammakou; the Land of the Batammariba
Low-income West African economy; primarily agrarian economy; has a deep-water port; growing international shipping locale; improving privatization and public budgeting transparency; key phosphate mining industry; extremely high rural poverty
$25.75 billion (2023 est.)
$24.199 billion (2022 est.)
$22.881 billion (2021 est.)
Note: data in 2021 dollars
6.41% (2023 est.)
5.76% (2022 est.)
5.99% (2021 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency
$2,800 (2023 est.)
$2,700 (2022 est.)
$2,600 (2021 est.)
Note: data in 2021 dollars
$9.171 billion (2023 est.)
Note: data in current dollars at official exchange rate
7.97% (2022 est.)
4.19% (2021 est.)
1.7% (2020 est.)
Note: annual % change based on consumer prices
Moody's rating: B3 (2019)
Standard & Poors rating: B (2019)
Note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
Agriculture: 28.8% (2017 est.)
Industry: 21.8% (2017 est.)
Services: 49.8% (2017 est.)
Comparison rankings: services 178; industry 133; agriculture 18
Household consumption: 84.5% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 11.4% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 23.4% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: -1.4% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 43.1% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -61% (2017 est.)
Cassava, yams, maize, oil palm fruit, sorghum, soybeans, beans, rice, vegetables, cotton (2022)
Note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage
Phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement, handicrafts, textiles, beverages
6.74% (2023 est.)
Note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency
3.166 million (2023 est.)
Note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work
2.05% (2023 est.)
2.07% (2022 est.)
2.29% (2021 est.)
Note: % of labor force seeking employment
Total: 9.7% (2021 est.)
Male: 12.3%
Female: 7.7%
45.5% (2018 est.)
Note: % of population with income below national poverty line
37.9 (2021 est.)
Note: index (0-100) of income distribution; higher values represent greater inequality
Lowest 10%: 2.8% (2021 est.)
Highest 10%: 29.6% (2021 est.)
Note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population
6.1% of GDP (2023 est.)
6.81% of GDP (2022 est.)
6.67% of GDP (2021 est.)
Note: personal transfers and compensation between resident and non-resident individuals/households/entities
Revenues: $1.275 billion (2019 est.)
Expenditures: $1.158 billion (2019 est.)
-3.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
75.7% of GDP (2017 est.)
81.6% of GDP (2016 est.)
14.19% (of GDP) (2022 est.)
Note: central government tax revenue as a % of GDP
-$20.738 million (2020 est.)
-$55.444 million (2019 est.)
-$184.852 million (2018 est.)
Note: balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars
$1.722 billion (2020 est.)
$1.665 billion (2019 est.)
$1.703 billion (2018 est.)
Note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars
UAE 26%, India 11%, Cote d'Ivoire 11%, South Africa 6%, Burkina Faso 6% (2022)
Note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports
Gold, refined petroleum, phosphates, soybeans, plastic products (2022)
Note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars
$2.389 billion (2020 est.)
$2.261 billion (2019 est.)
$2.329 billion (2018 est.)
Note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars
India 30%, China 16%, South Korea 13%, Nigeria 4%, Taiwan 4% (2022)
Note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
Refined petroleum, crude petroleum, motorcycles and cycles, garments, rice (2022)
Note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars
$77.8 million (31 December 2017 est.)
$42.6 million (31 December 2016 est.)
$1.442 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$1.22 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
606.57 (2023 est.)
623.76 (2022 est.)
554.531 (2021 est.)
575.586 (2020 est.)
585.911 (2019 est.)
Electrification - total population: 57.2% (2022 est.)
Electrification - urban areas: 96.5%
Electrification - rural areas: 25%
Installed generating capacity: 309,000 kW (2022 est.)
Consumption: 1.562 billion kWh (2022 est.)
Imports: 796.563 million kWh (2022 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 121.682 million kWh (2022 est.)
Comparison rankings: transmission/distribution losses 53; imports 85; consumption 154; installed generating capacity 164
Fossil fuels: 74.4% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)
Solar: 6.8% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)
Hydroelectricity: 18.4% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)
Biomass and waste: 0.4% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)
Consumption: 108,000 metric tons (2022 est.)
Imports: 108,000 metric tons (2022 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 12,000 bbl/day (2022 est.)
Consumption: 131.373 million cubic meters (2022 est.)
Imports: 131.373 million cubic meters (2022 est.)
2.306 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 257,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 1.793 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 256,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)
4.077 million Btu/person (2022 est.)
Total subscriptions: 66,000 (2022 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: (2022 est.) less than 1
Total subscriptions: 6.564 million (2022 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 74 (2022 est.)
General assessment: include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet (2022)
Domestic: fixed-line less than 1 per 100 and mobile-cellular is 74 telephones per 100 persons (2022)
International: country code - 228; landing point for the WACS submarine cable, linking countries along the west coast of Africa with each other and with Portugal; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Symphonie (2020)
1 state-owned TV station with multiple transmission sites; five private TV stations broadcast locally; cable TV service is available; state-owned radio network with two stations (in Lome and Kara); several dozen private radio stations and a few community radio stations; transmissions of multiple international broadcasters available (2019)
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Total: 3.01 million (2021 est.)
Percent of population: 35% (2021 est.)
Total: 52,706 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 0.6 (2020 est.)
Number of registered air carriers: 1 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 8
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 566,295 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 10.89 million (2018) mt-km
5V
7 (2024)
62 km gas
Total: 568 km (2014)
Narrow gauge: 568 km (2014) 1.000-m gauge
Total: 9,951 km
Paved: 1,794 km
Unpaved: 8,157 km
Urban: 1,783 km (2018)
50 km (2011) (seasonally navigable by small craft on the Mono River depending on rainfall)
Total: 397 (2023)
By type: bulk carrier 1, container ship 10, general cargo 250, oil tanker 56, other 80
Total ports: 2 (2024)
Large: 0
Medium: 1
Small: 0
Very small: 1
Ports with oil terminals: 2
Key ports: Kpeme, Lome
Togolese Armed Forces (Forces Armees Togolaise, FAT): Togolese Army (l'Armee de Terre), Togolese Navy (Forces Naval Togolaises), Togolese Air Force (Armee de l’Air), National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale Togolaise or GNT)
Ministry of Security and Civil Protection: National Police Directorate (Direction de la Police Nationale) (2024)
Note: the Police Directorate and GNT are responsible for law enforcement and maintenance of order within the country; the GNT is also responsible for migration and border enforcement; the GNT falls under the Ministry of the Armed Forces but also reports to the Ministry of Security and Civil Protection on many matters involving law enforcement and internal security; in 2022, the Ministry of the Armed Forces was made part of the Office of the Presidency
2.2% of GDP (2023 est.)
2.1% of GDP (2022 est.)
1.9% of GDP (2021 est.)
2% of GDP (2020 est.)
2.6% of GDP (2019 est.)
Estimated 15,000 active-duty personnel, including approximately 3,000 Gendarmerie (2023)
Note: in January 2022, the Togolese Government announced its intent to boost the size of the FAT to more than 20,000 by 2025
The FAT has a small, mixed inventory of mostly older equipment from a variety of countries; in recent years, it has received limited amounts of equipment from several suppliers, including France, Russia, and the US (2023)
18 years of age for military service for men and women; 24-month service obligation; no conscription (2023)
Note: as of 2022, about 7% of the military's personnel were women
Since its creation in 1963, the Togolese military has had a history of interfering in the country’s politics with assassinations, coups, influence, and a large military crackdown in 2005 that killed hundreds; over the past decade, however, it has made some efforts to reform and professionalize, as well as increase its role in UN peacekeeping activities; Togo maintains a regional peacekeeping training center for military and police in Lome; the military participates in multinational exercises and has received training from foreign partners, including France and the US
The FAT’s current focuses are primarily terrorism and maritime security; in recent years, it has increased operations in the northern border region of the country to boost border security and prevent terrorist infiltrations from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), a coalition of al-Qa'ida-affiliated militant groups based in Mali that also operates in neighboring Burkina Faso; in 2022, the Togolese Government declared a state of emergency in the north due to the threat from JNIM following an attack on a Togolese military post that killed several soldiers; northern Togo has also had problems with banditry, as well as arms, drugs, fuel, and gold smuggling, which has aggravated local disputes and provided terrorist groups with financial resources; the Navy and Air Force have increased focus on combating piracy and smuggling in the Gulf of Guinea (2023)
Terrorist group(s): Jama’at Nusrat al Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM)
Note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide
Refugees (country of origin): 9,846 (Burkina Faso), 8,436 (Ghana) (2023)
Transit hub for Nigerian heroin and cocaine traffickers; money laundering not a significant problem