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FACTBOX-Key facts about Togo

14 Oct 2007 11:47:02 GMT
Source: Reuters

Oct 14 (Reuters) - Togolese voted on Sunday in parliamentary elections which leaders of the small West African state hope will convince foreign donors that they have fully embraced multi-party democratic rule.

Here are some facts about the country:

GEOGRAPHY: Togo covers an area of 56,785 sq km (35,490 sq miles) in West Africa, making it slightly smaller than Sri Lanka. Togo stretches from the Atlantic in the south to landlocked Burkina Faso in the north and is flanked by Ghana and Benin.

POPULATION: Togo's population is around 6.4 million.

ETHNICITY: The main groups are the Ewe (43.1 percent), Kabye (26.7 percent) and Gurma (16.1 percent). There are smaller Ana and Kebu minorities. Descendants of formerly enslaved Africans who returned to Togo from Brazil form a politically and economically influential group. The small European minority is concentrated in the capital.

RELIGION: Around 50 percent of the population follow traditional African religions. There is a significant Christian population of around 35 percent and a Muslim minority of around 15 percent.

LANGUAGE: The official language is French. Local languages such as Ewe, Kabye, Twi and Hausa are also spoken.

ECONOMY: Togo is heavily dependent on both commercial and subsistence agriculture, which provides employment for 65 percent of the work force.

-- Some basic foodstuffs must still be imported. Cocoa, coffee and cotton generate about 40 percent of export earnings with cotton being the most important cash crop. Togo is the world's fourth-largest producer of phosphate.

Sources: Reuters/Statesman's Yearbook/CIA Factbook

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Last updated:Sun Oct 14 11:47:11 2007