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
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