Chapter 168

Chapter 1683,612 wordsPublic domain

In late 1999, about 70% of the economic infrastructure of Timor-Leste was laid waste by Indonesian troops and anti-independence militias. Three hundred thousand people fled westward. Over the next three years a massive international program, manned by 5,000 peacekeepers (8,000 at peak) and 1,300 police officers, led to substantial reconstruction in both urban and rural areas. By the end of 2005, refugees had returned or had settled in Indonesia. The country continues to face great challenges in rebuilding its infrastructure, strengthening the civil administration, and generating jobs for young people entering the work force. The development of oil and gas resources in offshore waters has begun to supplement government revenues ahead of schedule and above expectations - the result of high petroleum prices. The technology-intensive industry, however, has done little to create jobs for the unemployed because there are no production facilities in Timor. Gas is piped to Australia. In June 2005 the National Parliament unanimously approved the creation of a Petroleum Fund to serve as a repository for all petroleum revenues and preserve the value of Timor-Leste's petroleum wealth for future generations. The Fund held assets of US$1.8 billion as of September 2007. The mid-2006 outbreak of violence and civil unrest disrupted both private and public sector economic activity and created 100,000 internally displaced persons - about 10 percent of the population. While real non-oil GDP growth in 2006 was negative, the economy probably rebounded in 2007. The underlying economic policy challenge the country faces remains how best to use oil-and-gas wealth to lift the non-oil economy onto a higher growth path and reduce poverty. In late 2007, the new government announced plans aimed at increasing spending, reducing poverty, and improving the country's infrastructure, but it continues to face capacity constraints. In the short term, the government must also address continuing problems related to the crisis of 2006, especially the displaced Timorese.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$2.608 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$459 million (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

19.8% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$2,500 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 32.2% industry: 12.8% services: 55% (2005)

Labor force:

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%

Unemployment rate:

50% estimated; note - unemployment in urban areas reached 20%; data do not include underemployed (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line:

42% (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Distribution of family income - Gini index:

38 (2002 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $733 million expenditures: $309 million note: the government passed a transitional budget to cover the latter half of 2007 and has moved the fiscal cycle to a calendar year, starting with the budget they passed for 2008 (FY06/07 est.)

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

7.8% (2007 est.)

Commercial bank prime lending rate:

15.05% (31 December 2007)

Stock of money:

$74.94 million (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money:

$68.78 million (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit:

NA (31 December 2007)

Agriculture - products:

coffee, rice, corn, cassava, sweet potatoes, soybeans, cabbage, mangoes, bananas, vanilla

Industries:

printing, soap manufacturing, handicrafts, woven cloth

Industrial production growth rate:

8.5% (2004 est.)

Electricity - production:

NA kWh

Electricity - consumption:

NA kWh

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports:

0 kWh

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Oil - production:

78,480 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - proved reserves:

Natural gas - production:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

200 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance:

$1.161 billion (2007 est.)

Exports:

$10 million; note - excludes oil (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities:

coffee, sandalwood, marble; note - potential for oil and vanilla exports

Exports - partners:

US, Germany, Portugal, Australia, Indonesia (2006)

Imports:

$202 million (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:

food, gasoline, kerosene, machinery

Economic aid - recipient:

$184.7 million (2005 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$NA

Currency (code):

US dollar (USD)

Currency code:

USD

Exchange rates:

the US dollar is used

Communications Timor-Leste

Telephones - main lines in use:

2,400 (2006)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

69,000 (2007)

Telephone system:

general assessment: rudimentary service limited to urban areas domestic: system suffered significant damage during the violence associated with independence; extremely limited fixed-line services; mobile-cellular services and coverage limited primarily to urban areas international: country code - 670; international service is available in major urban centers

Radio broadcast stations:

at least 21 (Timor-Leste has one national public broadcaster and 20 community and church radio stations - frequency type NA)

Radios:

Television broadcast stations:

1 (Timor-Leste has one national public broadcaster)

Televisions:

Internet country code:

.tl

Internet hosts:

285 (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

Internet users:

1,200 (2006)

Transportation Timor-Leste

Airports:

8 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2007)

Heliports:

9 (2007)

Roadways:

total: 6,040 km paved: 2,600 km unpaved: 3,440 km (2005)

Merchant marine:

total: 1 by type: passenger/cargo 1 (2008)

Ports and terminals:

Dili

Military Timor-Leste

Military branches:

Timor-Leste Defense Force (Forcas de Defesa de Timor-L'este, Falintil (FDTL)): Army, Navy (Armada) (2008)

Military service age and obligation:

18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2008)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 284,903 females age 16-49: 272,212 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 224,096 females age 16-49: 231,901 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 13,045 female: 12,670 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

Transnational Issues Timor-Leste

Disputes - international:

Timor-Leste-Indonesia Boundary Committee has resolved all but a small portion of the land boundary, but discussions on maritime boundaries are stalemated over sovereignty of the uninhabited coral island of Pulau Batek/Fatu Sinai in the north and alignment with Australian claims in the south; many refugees who left Timor-Leste in 2003 still reside in Indonesia and refuse repatriation; Australia and Timor-Leste agreed in 2005 to defer the disputed portion of the boundary for 50 years and to split hydrocarbon revenues evenly outside the Joint Petroleum Development Area covered by the 2002 Timor Sea Treaty

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

IDPs: 100,000 (2007)

Illicit drugs:

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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@Togo

Introduction Togo

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.

Geography Togo

Location:

Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana

Geographic coordinates:

8 00 N, 1 10 E

Map references:

Africa

Area:

total: 56,785 sq km land: 54,385 sq km water: 2,400 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly smaller than West Virginia

Land boundaries:

total: 1,647 km border countries: Benin 644 km, Burkina Faso 126 km, Ghana 877 km

Coastline:

56 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 30 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate:

tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north

Terrain:

gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Agou 986 m

Natural resources:

phosphates, limestone, marble, arable land

Land use:

arable land: 44.2% permanent crops: 2.11% other: 53.69% (2005)

Irrigated land:

70 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

14.7 cu km (2001)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 0.17 cu km/yr (53%/2%/45%) per capita: 28 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:

hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; periodic droughts

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

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

the country's length allows it to stretch through six distinct geographic regions; climate varies from tropical to savanna

People Togo

Population:

5,858,673 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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 41.7% (male 1,226,320/female 1,218,182) 15-64 years: 55.6% (male 1,588,354/female 1,666,274) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 63,508/female 96,035) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 18.6 years male: 18.2 years female: 19 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

2.717% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

36.66 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

9.48 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

NA (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 57.66 deaths/1,000 live births male: 65.01 deaths/1,000 live births female: 50.09 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 58.28 years male: 56.2 years female: 60.43 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

4.85 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

4.1% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

110,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

10,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:

degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever water contact disease: schistosomiasis respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis 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)

Nationality:

noun: Togolese (singular and plural) adjective: Togolese

Ethnic groups:

African (37 tribes; largest and most important are Ewe, Mina, and Kabre) 99%, European and Syrian-Lebanese less than 1%

Religions:

Christian 29%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs 51%

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)

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 60.9% male: 75.4% female: 46.9% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

total: 9 years male: 11 years female: 7 years (2000)

Education expenditures:

2.6% of GDP (2002)

Government Togo

Country name:

conventional long form: Togolese Republic conventional short form: Togo local long form: Republique togolaise local short form: none former: French Togoland

Government type:

republic under transition to multiparty democratic rule

Capital:

name: Lome geographic coordinates: 6 08 N, 1 13 E time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:

5 regions (regions, singular - region); Centrale, Kara, Maritime, Plateaux, Savanes

Independence:

27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 27 April (1960)

Constitution:

multiparty draft constitution approved by High Council of the Republic 1 July 1992, adopted by public referendum 27 September 1992

Legal system:

French-based court system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage:

NA years of age; universal (adult)

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Faure GNASSINGBE (since 4 May 2005); note - Gnassingbe EYADEMA died on 5 February 2005 and was succeeded by his son, Faure GNASSINGBE, with the support of the military following international condemnation for the unconstitutional move he then stepped aside pending elections, and Abass BONFOH served as interim president; Faure GNASSINGBE later won popular elections in April 2005 head of government: Prime Minister Gilbert HOUNGBO (since 7 September 2008) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president and the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (no term limits); election last held 24 April 2005 (next to be held by 2010); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Faure GNASSINGBE elected president; percent of vote - Faure GNASSINGBE 60.2%, Emmanuel Akitani BOB 38.3%, Nicolas LAWSON 1%, Harry OLYMPIO 0.5%

Legislative branch:

unicameral National Assembly (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 14 October 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - RPT 39.4%, UFC 37.0%, CAR 8.2%, independents 2.5%, other 12.9%; seats by party - RPT 50, UFC 27, CAR 4

Judicial branch:

Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme

Political parties and leaders:

Action Committee for Renewal or CAR [Yawovi AGBOYIBO]; Democratic Convention of African Peoples or CDPA; Democratic Party for Renewal or PDR; Juvento [Monsilia DJATO]; Movement of the Believers of Peace and Equality or MOCEP; Pan-African Patriotic Convergence or CPP; Rally for the Support for Development and Democracy or RSDD [Harry OLYMPIO]; Rally of the Togolese People or RPT [Faure GNASSINGBE]; Socialist Pact for Renewal or PSR; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Gagou KOKOU]; Union of Forces for a Change or UFC [Gilchrist OLYMPIO]

Political pressure groups and leaders:

International organization participation:

ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Lorempo LANDJERGUE chancery: 2208 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4212 FAX: [1] (202) 232-3190

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia McMahon HAWKINS embassy: 4332 Blvd. Gnassingbe Eyadema, Cite OUA, Lome mailing address: B. P. 852, Lome; 2300 Lome Place, Washington, DC 20512-2300 telephone: [228] 261-5470 FAX: [228] 261-5501

Flag description:

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; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia

Economy Togo

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. 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 follow through on privatization, increased openness in government financial operations, progress toward legislative elections, and continued support from foreign donors. Togo is working with donors to write a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) that could eventually lead to a debt reduction plan. Economic growth remains marginal due to declining cotton production, underinvestment in phosphate mining, and strained relations with donors.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$5.042 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$2.497 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

2.1% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$900 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 40% industry: 25% services: 35% (2003 est.)

Labor force:

1.302 million (1998)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: 65% industry: 5% services: 30% (1998 est.)

Unemployment rate:

NA%

Population below poverty line:

32% (1989 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Investment (gross fixed):

24.2% of GDP (2007 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $466.8 million expenditures: $514.7 million (2007 est.)

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

1% (2007 est.)

Central bank discount rate:

4.25% (31 December 2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate:

NA (31 December 2007)

Stock of money:

$624.9 million (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money:

$383.9 million (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit:

$590.7 million (31 December 2007)

Agriculture - products:

coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; livestock; fish

Industries:

phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement, handicrafts, textiles, beverages

Industrial production growth rate:

1% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production:

203 million kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - consumption:

607 million kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports:

505 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by Ghana (2006 est.)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 98.7% hydro: 1.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Oil - production:

0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - consumption:

17,770 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports:

1,547 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - imports:

16,650 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves:

0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance:

-$159 million (2007 est.)

Exports:

$702 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities:

reexports, cotton, phosphates, coffee, cocoa

Exports - partners:

Ghana 16.8%, Burkina Faso 14.5%, Germany 9.2%, Benin 9.1%, Netherlands 5.9%, Mali 5.8%, India 4.7% (2007)

Imports:

$1.201 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities:

machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products

Imports - partners:

China 36.3%, Estonia 9.6%, US 7.6%, Netherlands 7.3%, France 7% (2007)

Economic aid - recipient:

ODA, $86.71 million (2005 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

$438 million (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt - external:

$2 billion (2005)

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$NA

Currency (code):

Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States

Currency code:

XOF

Exchange rates:

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 482.71 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003) note: since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc has been pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro

Communications Togo

Telephones - main lines in use:

82,100 (2006)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

1.19 million (2007)

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; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 15 telephones per 100 persons international: country code - 228; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Symphonie

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998)

Radios:

940,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

3 (plus 2 repeaters) (1997)

Televisions:

73,000 (1997)

Internet country code:

.tg

Internet hosts:

769 (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

3 (2001)

Internet users:

320,000 (2006)

Transportation Togo

Airports:

9 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2007)

Railways:

total: 568 km narrow gauge: 568 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)

Roadways:

total: 7,520 km paved: 2,376 km unpaved: 5,144 km (2000)

Waterways:

50 km (seasonally on Mono River depending on rainfall) (2005)

Merchant marine:

total: 10 by type: cargo 9, refrigerated cargo 1 foreign-owned: 6 (Bangladesh 1, Denmark 1, Egypt 1, Lebanon 1, Syria 2) (2008)

Ports and terminals:

Kpeme, Lome

Military Togo

Military branches:

Togolese Armed Forces: Ground Forces, Togolese Navy (Marine du Togo), Togolese Air Force (Force Aerienne Togolaise, FAT), National Gendarmerie (2008)

Military service age and obligation:

18 years of age for selective compulsory and voluntary military service; 2-year service obligation (2006)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 1,365,505 females age 16-49: 1,374,993 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 897,195 females age 16-49: 913,327 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 69,156 female: 69,200 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

1.6% of GDP (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues Togo

Disputes - international:

in 2001, Benin claimed Togo moved boundary monuments - joint commission continues to resurvey the boundary; in 2006 14,000 Togolese refugees remain in Benin and Ghana out of the 40,000 who fled there in 2005

Refugees and internally displaced persons: