Togo
Geography - People - Economy - Government - Communications - Transportation - Military - Transnational IssuesCountry name - conventional long form : Togolese Republic
Country name - conventional short form : Togo
Country name - local long form : Republique togolaise
Country name - local short form : none
Country name - former : French Togoland
Government type : republic under transition to multiparty democratic rule
Capital - name : Lome
Capital - time difference : UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
National holiday : Independence Day, 27 April (1960)
Nationality - noun : Togolese (singular and plural)
Nationality - adjective : Togolese
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)
Currency (code) : Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States
Currency code : XOF
Major infectious diseases - degree of risk : very high
Major infectious diseases - note : highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2008)
Togo is located Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana. The climate is tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north. The terrain is gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes.
Background
This entry usually highlights major historic events and current issues and may include a statement about one or two key future trends.Background : French Togoland became Togo 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 multiparty elections instituted in the early 1990s, the government was largely dominated by President EYADEMA, whose Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) party has maintained power almost continually since 1967 and maintains a majority of seats in today's legislature. Upon EYADEMA's death in February 2005, the military installed the president's son, Faure GNASSINGBE, and then engineered his formal election two months later. Democratic gains since then allowed Togo to hold its first relatively free and fair legislative elections in October 2007. After years of political unrest and fire from international organizations for human rights abuses, Togo is finally being re-welcomed into the international community.
More Information about the country
