Togo

The toponym “Togo”, according to one version, comes from a word in the Ewe language, which means “the area on the other side of the lagoon” ^[6] . According to another version, the name comes from the hydronym of Togo ^[7] . In 1905, the German colonial authorities named their colony Togolend , and in 1960 the country declared independence and was called the “Togolese Republic”.

Little is known about the ancient history of Togo. Archaeological finds indicate that ancient tribes were able to make pottery and process iron. In the middle of the XV century, the Portuguese arrived here, the slave trade was established. At the end of the 18th century, the city of Lome was founded on the site of the settlement of the Ewe people.

British Expeditionary Force in Togo in 1914

In 1884, Gustav Nachtigall signed an agreement with several local leaders on the establishment of a protectorate of the German Empire over Togo, together with part of the territory of modern Ghana . Its borders were determined after the capture of German internal regions of the country and the conclusion of agreements with France and Great Britain . On January 1, 1905, the territory of modern Togo was declared the German colony of Togoland .

During World War I, Togoland was occupied by Great Britain and France, the Anglo-French condominium was proclaimed. December 7, 1916 the condominium broke up, there was a division into the English and French zone. On July 20, 1922, Great Britain received the League of Nations mandate to govern the western part of Togo, and France the eastern. In 1945, the country received the right to send three representatives to the French parliament. After World War II, the UN guardianship regime was introduced. Management remained with Britain and France.

On October 28, 1956, after a referendum, Togo received the official status of an autonomous republic within France. In February 1958, France granted Togo the status of a republic, retaining the right to control defense, external relations and finance. In April 1958, the Togolese Unity Committee party won the election to the Chamber of Deputies. The new government was led by Silvanus Olympio .

On April 27, 1960, Togo declared independence. In the presidential election of the Republic in 1961, Silvanus Olimpio became, gaining 99% of the vote. The opposition boycotted the election. On April 9, 1961, the Constitution of the Togolese Republic was adopted, according to which the National Assembly became the highest legislative body of Togo.

In December 1961, leaders of opposition parties were arrested, accused of preparing an anti-government conspiracy, a decree was issued on the dissolution of opposition parties. On January 13, 1963, a military coup took place, during which Silvanus Olympio was killed, a state of emergency was declared in Togo. The military transferred power to the interim government led by Nicholas Grunitsky . In May 1963, Grunitsky was elected president of the Republic, the new leadership pursued a policy of developing relations with France.

On January 13, 1967, due to a military coup, Gnassingbe Eyadema came to power. A ban was imposed on the activities of political parties. In November 1969, the Association of Togolese People was created and a one-party system was introduced. After the military regime, Eyadema was elected President of the Republic, in 1986 Eyadema was re-elected to the presidency of Togo.

In 1983, the privatization program was launched; in 1991, the activities of political parties were allowed. In total, Eyadema ruled the country for 38 years, having been reelected several times. In April 2004, negotiations between the European Union and Togo on renewed cooperation took place in Brussels . In 1993, the EU froze the partnership, regarding the re-election of Eyadema in 1993, 1998 and 2003 as a seizure of power.

On February 5, 2005, Eyadema died. According to the constitution, all borders of the country were closed, and the chairman of the National Assembly, Fambare Ouctare Natchabe, was to act. But since he was in Benin , the military transferred power to the son of Eyadema, Vor Essozymn Gnassingba . The constitution was amended to allow Gnassingbe to remain in power as President of the Republic until 2008.

International organizations called the military action a coup and called for elections in Togo. In February 2005, a protest rally against an unconstitutional change of government took place in Lome. The Government of Togo in response to this imposed a ban on demonstrations.

The northern part of the country is occupied by plains, the central part is a plateau with average heights of 200-400 meters above sea level, in the south - coastal plains with lagoons and low block mountains that cross the country from southwest to northeast.

The highest point in Togo is Mount Agu - 987 meters, which is part of the Atacor mountain system.

The longest river is Mono , its length is 467 kilometers. The river flows south. Along the mouth of the river runs the border with Benin. Togo Lake is the largest in the country, with an area of ​​about 50 km² and a depth of 2.5 meters.

There are minerals in Togo, for example: aluminum , bauxite , graphite , dolomites , iron , gold , limestone , kaolin , marble , phosphates , sodium chloride , uranium and chromium .

The climate is equatorial , hot. It is humid in the south and semi-dry in the north. The average annual temperature is + 24–27 ° C.

Most of the country is covered by savannahs , 10% of Togo's territory is forest. Currently, there is a reduction of forest areas, this is already leading to depletion of fauna.

The population is 6.2 million (estimate as of July 2010).

Annual growth - 2.7% (fertility - 4.7 births per woman).

The average life expectancy is 58 years for men, 62 years for women.

Infection with the immunodeficiency virus ( HIV ) - 3.3% (2007 estimate).

Literacy - 75% of men, 47% of women (2003 estimate).

Ethnic composition - about 45 tribes, the largest - Ewe and Cabra .

Religions - 51% ^[8] indigenous aborigines, 29% ^[8] - Christians, about 20% - Muslims. Christians are represented by Catholics, Methodists , Presbyterians , Pentecostals from the Assembly of God , Adventists .

Togo is a republic . The country's constitution was adopted by referendum on September 27, 1992, in 2002 and 2005, the constitution was amended.

The head of state is the president of the Republic, he is elected by voting for a term of 5 years. The President of the Republic has the right to dissolve Parliament - the National Assembly.

The legislative body is the unicameral National Assembly, consisting of 81 deputies. He is elected for a five-year term in direct general elections.

• Togo politics

In its foreign policy, Togo is guided by the Non-Aligned Movement , although it maintains strong historical and cultural ties with Western Europe , especially with France and Germany ^[9] .

• Togo international relations

Togo's economy is based on commerce (re-export) and on agriculture (with much of the food being imported). The main export products are cotton, coffee and cocoa. In addition, Togo ranks 4th in the world in the export of phosphates .

Gross domestic product is $ 4.767 billion (2017). Togo ranks 155th in the world in terms of GDP ^[10] . Gross domestic product (purchasing power parity) per capita - $ 1,660 (2017). In terms of GDP (PPP) per capita, Togo ranks 180th in the world ^[11] .

Agriculture (47% of GDP, 65% of workers) - coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; cattle, fishing.

Industry (25% of GDP, 5% of employees) - phosphate mining, agricultural processing, textiles, drinks.

The service sector is 27% of GDP, 30% of employees.

Transport

According to 2007 estimates, the total length of roads is about 11,700 km, of which 2,376 km are paved (1999). The main roads go deep into Togo through the administrative centers of the regions (transport corridor for access to the sea of ​​Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger) and along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The length of railways is 568 km (2014). Mostly cargo transportation. The main lines go from Togo's capital city of Lome to Kpalim, Anejo, Tabligbo and Blitt. International airports are Tokuen (named after Gnassingbe Eyadema, near Lome) and in the city of Niamtugu in the north, in the Kara region. The main seaports are the deep sea Lome and Kpem . Lome is the main port of Togo. The cargo turnover of the port of Lome was 8.7 million tons in 2013, which is about 80% of the national turnover. Lome is an important cargo transit point for a number of landlocked neighboring Togo countries, including about 0.8 million tons (2013) for Burkina Faso. Kpemé is a specialized port for the export of phosphate rock ^[12] . Navigation (seasonal) along Lake Togo and the Mono River ^{[10] [13]} . A branch to Lome from the underwater West African gas pipeline ( Lagos , Nigeria - Takoradi , Ghana) ^[14] .

Foreign Trade

In terms of exports in 2017, Togo ranks 135th in the world, import - 103rd ^[11] .

Export - $ 1.63 billion (2017) - re-export (of goods from Europe and Asia to neighboring African countries), oil products ($ 339 million), gold ($ 200 million), crude oil ($ 116 million), phosphorites ( calcium phosphates , $ 100 million), cement ($ 99.2 million) ^[11] , as well as various agricultural products (raw cotton, coffee, cocoa, oilseeds, including palm oil, etc.)

The main buyers are Cameroon 15% ($ 253 million), Lebanon 11% ($ 174 million), Burkina Faso 8.2% ($ 134 million), India 7.4% ($ 120 million) and Benin 6.6% ($ 107 million) ^[11] .

Import is 8.15 billion dollars (2017), including oil products (3.5 billion dollars) and crude oil (1.05 billion dollars), manufactured goods, including motorcycles (232 million dollars), food, including palm oil ($ 152 million) and unrefined sugar ($ 115 million) ^[11] .

The main suppliers are China 17% ($ 1.4 billion), Belgium and Luxembourg 13% ($ 1.05 billion), Nigeria 12% ($ 1.01 billion), South Korea 12% ($ 0.947 billion). ) and the Netherlands 7.9% ($ 0.646 billion) ^[11] .

The negative trade balance is $ 6.51 billion (2017) ^[11] .

Included in the international organization of ACP countries .

• Togo Literature
• Togo Music

Media

The state television company and state television channel TVT ( Télévision Togolaise - “Togolese Television”), launched July 31, 1973, the state radio company and state radio station Radio Lome .

Togolese army is considered the most organized and equipped in tropical Africa. The number of military personnel is 9,000. France plays an important role in the training of military personnel and the technical equipment of the Togo army.

• Cities Togo

• Togo / Klimanova O.A., Starikova A.V. et al. // Television Tower - Ulan Bator [Electronic resource]. - 2016 .-- S. 213-218. - (The Big Russian Encyclopedia : [in 35 vols.] / Ch. Ed. Yu. S. Osipov ; 2004—2017, vol. 32). - ISBN 978-5-85270-369-9 .
• Pospelov E. M. Togo // Geographical Names of the World: Toponymic Dictionary: Ok. 5000 units / holes ed. R. A. Ageeva. - 2nd ed. - M .: Russian dictionaries; Astrel; AST, 2002 .-- 512 s. - 5,000 copies. - ISBN 5-17-002938-2 , ISBN 5-271-00446-5 , ISBN 5-93259-014-9 , ISBN 5-17-001389-2 .
• Jonas Bakoubayi Billy. Musterkolonie des Rassenstaats: Togo in der kolonialpolitischen Propaganda und Planung Deutschlands 1919-1943, JHRöll-Verlag, Dettelbach 2011, ISBN 978-3-89754-377-5
• Horst Gründer. Geschichte der deutschen Kolonien, 3. Aufl. Paderborn, 1995.
• Peter Sebald. Togo 1884 bis 1914. Eine Geschichte der deutschen "Musterkolonie" auf der Grundlage amtlicher Quellen. Berlin, 1987.
• Bettina Zurstrassen. “Ein Stück deutscher Erde schaffen.” Koloniale Beamte in Togo 1884-1914. Frankfurt / M., Campus, 2008, 294 S. (Campus Forschung, 931).

• Prokopenko, Love. Togo // Encyclopedia " Around the World ."