Country Information on Togo

Terrain Togo's extreme south is a narrow, flat coastal strip with a number of lagoons. To the north it merges into a plateau region, which takes up the major part of the country and reaches altitudes between 200 and 500 m. The Togo-Atakora Mountains stretch from the south-west to the north-east right through the centre of the country; their highest point is Mont Agou (986 m). Climate Togo's climate is nearly tropical, with annual average temperatures of 27°C on the coast and 30°C in the north of the country. In the south there are two rainy seasons, one from April to July and another one from September to November. In the north there is but one rainy season, here almost all of the annual precipitation falls between April and June. Fauna/Flora Swampland and mangrove forests dominate Togo's coastal regions. The south-west is characterized by tropical rainforests, with savannah vegetation predominant in the centre of the country. The fast growth of Togo's population has lead to extensive deforestation, which in turn has resulted in many animals being threatened by extinction. For this reason several national parks were founded, such as the Forêt de Fazao, the country's largest national park, or the Parc National de la Kéran, which is farther north, near the town of Kara. Some of the animals you might see are giraffes, water buffaloes, rhinoceroses, wart hogs, hyenas, and baboons; elephants and lions have become rather rare. Bird species include storks, cranes and marabous. History/Politics Between the 11th and the 16th century the Ewé people migrated from Niger into the region of present-day Togo. In the 17th and 18th centuries many other ethnic groups followed. Danish traders and freed Brazilian slaves settled the coastal areas during the 16th and 18th centuries. Trade in slaves, tobacco, rum, and fabrics flourished, and the 19th century saw the advent of trade in palm oil, too. In 1884 Germany signed a deal with local chiefs and chiefs from Cameroon, and Togo became a German colony. The Germans improved the structures of agriculture and put more emphasis on the cultivation of cocoa, coffee and cotton. The country's economy boomed and Togo developed its infrastructure to the highest level in Africa. The Togolese, however, did not appreciate some of Germany's tighter reins on their lives, and when World War I broke out, they welcomed British forces with open arms. In 1922 Togo was split between the British and the French by League of Nations mandates after the war. After World War II the United Nations turned the mandates into trust territories, the British-dominated areas and the Gold Coast were united. The latter became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957. The French territories were awarded self-rule in 1960 under the name of Togo. Sylvanus Olympio was appointed the country's first president but was killed in a military coup in 1963. He was followed by opposition politician Nicolas Grunitzky, who was in turn driven out of office by General Etienne Eyadéma in 1967. Eyadéma declared himself head of government and the first decade of his rule was characterized by economic prosperity, built largely on oil exports, tourism, and a rise phosphate prices on the world market. However, worldwide economic downturn eventually triggered fierce recession in Togo. A new constitution was adopted in 1979, Eyadéma was elected president for a seven-year-term and confirmed in office in 1986. Eyadéma's authoritarian rule, economic and social problems and tension between ethnic groups sparked civil protest in 1991, and demands for the president to resign were voiced. A number of attempts to topple and assassinate the president followed when civil protest was put down violently. None of the democratic movements (especially the tribes in the south of the country) failed to secure Eyadéma's resignation from public office. Despite a civil war-like climate and accusations of electoral fraud, Eyadéma again succeeded in gaining the presidency in 1993 elections and was confirmed in office in June 1998. Economy This small economy is heavily dependent on both commercial and subsistence agriculture, which provides employment for 65% of the labour force. Cocoa, coffee, and cotton together generate about 30% of export earnings. Togo is self-sufficient in basic foodstuffs when harvests are normal, with occasional regional supply difficulties owing to a poor transport system. In the industrial sector, phosphate mining is by far the most important activity, although it has suffered from the collapse of world phosphate prices and increased foreign competition. Other major industries are agricultural processing, the production of cement, handicrafts, and textiles. Culture Culturally, the various ethnic groups are quite distinct in many respects. The Ewé consider the birth of twins a great blessing and offer gifts in kind as a token of luck and health. The same reverence, however, is not universal; the Bassari consider the birth of twins to be a grave misfortune. Celebrations to honour the ancestors and Voodoo religion are of great importance in Togo. Each month celebrations are held to pay tribute to those people who "paved the way".