BODJONA
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 Brenda Brown SCHOONOVER
embassy: Rue Pelletier Caventou and Rue Vauban, Lome
mailing address: B. P. 852, Lome
telephone: [228] 21 77 17, 21 29 91 through 21 29 94
FAX: [228] 21 79 52

Flag description: five equal horizontal bands of green (top and
bottom) alternating with yellow; there is a white five-pointed star on
a red square in the upper hoist-side corner; uses the popular
pan-African colors of Ethiopia

@Togo:Economy

Economy-overview: This small sub-Saharan economy is heavily dependent
on both commercial and subsistence agriculture, which provides
employment for more than 60% of the labor force. Cocoa, coffee, and
cotton together generate about 30% of export earnings. Togo is
self-sufficient in basic foodstuffs when harvests are normal, with
occasional regional supply difficulties. In the industrial sector,
phosphate mining is by far the most important activity, although it
has suffered from the collapse of world phosphate prices and increased
foreign competition. Togo serves as a regional commercial and trade
center. 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
stalled. Political unrest, including private and public sector strikes
throughout 1992 and 1993, has jeopardized the reform program, shrunk
the tax base, and disrupted vital economic activity. The 12 January
1994 devaluation of the currency by 50% provided an important impetus
to renewed structural adjustment; these efforts were facilitated by
the end of strife in 1994 and a return to overt political calm. The
1998 presidential elections provide an important opportunity for
Togo's evolving political system to demonstrate that the country can
participate in a peaceful and effective manner with World Bank and IMF
programs. Progress depends on continuing privatization, increased
transparency in government accounting to accommodate increased social
service outlays, and possible downsizing of the military, on which the
regime has depended to stay in place.

GDP: purchasing power parity-$6.2 billion (1997 est.)

GDP-real growth rate: 4.8% (1997 est.)

GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$1,300 (1997 est.)