Togo Economy Profile 2008

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)

$5.132 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate)

$2.393 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

2.5% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$900 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

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

Population below poverty line

32% (1989 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

3% (2007 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

21.4% of GDP (2007 est.)

Labor force

1.302 million (1998)

Labor force - by occupation

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

Unemployment rate

NA%

Budget

revenues: $478.1 million
expenditures: $554.1 million (2007 est.)

Industries

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

Industrial production growth rate

3% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production

176 million kWh (2005)

Electricity - consumption

576 million kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports

486 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by Ghana (2005)

Oil - production

0 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption

16,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - imports

15,130 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - exports

0 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - proved reserves

0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - imports

0 cu m (2005)

Natural gas - proved reserves

0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current Account Balance

-$165.5 million (2007 est.)

Agriculture - products

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

Exports

$675 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities

reexports, cotton, phosphates, coffee, cocoa

Exports - partners

Ghana 16.7%, Burkina Faso 14.4%, Benin 9.1%, Belgium 6.1%, Mali 5.8%, Germany 5.4%, India 4.6%, Netherlands 4.6% (2006)

Imports

$1.181 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities

machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products

Imports - partners

China 29.8%, UK 10.9%, France 8.9%, Netherlands 6%, Belgium 5.8%, US 4.6%, Estonia 4.2% (2006)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$362.6 million (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt - external

$2 billion (2005)

Market value of publicly traded shares

$NA

Economic aid - recipient

ODA, $86.71 million (2005 est.)

Currency (code)

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

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

Fiscal year

calendar year