Togo: People & Society#
| Population | 7,756,937 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 2016 est.) |
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| 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% |
| Languages | French (official, 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) |
| Religions | Christian 29%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs 51% |
| Demographic profile | Togo’s population is estimated to have grown to four times its size between 1960 and 2010. With nearly 60% of its populace under the age of 25 and a high annual growth rate attributed largely to high fertility, Togo’s population is likely to continue to expand for the foreseeable future. Reducing fertility, boosting job creation, and improving education will be essential to reducing the country’s high poverty rate. In 2008, Togo eliminated primary school enrollment fees, leading to higher enrollment but increased pressure on limited classroom space, teachers, and materials. Togo has a good chance of achieving universal primary education, but educational quality, the underrepresentation of girls, and the low rate of enrollment in secondary and tertiary schools remain concerns. Togo is both a country of emigration and asylum. In the early 1990s, southern Togo suffered from the economic decline of the phosphate sector and ethnic and political repression at the hands of dictator Gnassingbe EYADEMA and his northern, Kabye-dominated administration. The turmoil led 300,000 to 350,000 predominantly southern Togolese to flee to Benin and Ghana, with most not returning home until relative stability was restored in 1997. In 2005, another outflow of 40,000 Togolese to Benin and Ghana occurred when violence broke out between the opposition and security forces over the disputed election of EYADEMA’s son Faure GNASSINGBE to the presidency. About half of the refugees reluctantly returned home in 2006, many still fearing for their safety. Despite ethnic tensions and periods of political unrest, Togo in 2016 was home to more than 18,000 refugees from Ghana. |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 40.44% (male 1,573,363/female 1,563,267) 15-24 years: 19.34% (male 749,002/female 751,571) 25-54 years: 32.58% (male 1,255,524/female 1,271,804) 55-64 years: 4.27% (male 156,249/female 175,089) 65 years and over: 3.37% (male 112,845/female 148,223) (2016 est.) |
| Dependency ratios | total dependency ratio: 81.8% youth dependency ratio: 76.8% elderly dependency ratio: 5% potential support ratio: 19.9% (2015 est.) |
| Median age | total: 19.7 years male: 19.4 years female: 20 years (2016 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 2.66% (2016 est.) |
| Birth rate | 33.7 births/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Death rate | 7.1 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Urbanization | urban population: 40% of total population (2015) rate of urbanization: 3.83% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.) |
| Major urban areas - population | LOME (capital) 956,000 (2015) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 0.89 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2016 est.) |
| Mother's mean age at first birth | 21 note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2013/14 est.) |
| Maternal mortality rate | 368 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 43.7 deaths/1,000 live births male: 50.1 deaths/1,000 live births female: 37 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 65 years male: 62.3 years female: 67.7 years (2016 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 4.43 children born/woman (2016 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 15.2% (2010) |
| Health expenditures | 5.2% of GDP (2014) |
| Physicians density | 0.05 physicians/1,000 population (2008) |
| Hospital bed density | 0.7 beds/1,000 population (2011) |
| Drinking water source | improved: urban: 91.4% of population rural: 44.2% of population total: 63.1% of population unimproved: urban: 8.6% of population rural: 55.8% of population total: 36.9% of population (2015 est.) |
| Sanitation facility access | improved: urban: 24.7% of population rural: 2.9% of population total: 11.6% of population unimproved: urban: 75.3% of population rural: 97.1% of population total: 88.4% of population (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | 2.4% (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 106,300 (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | 5,100 (2015 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, dengue fever, and yellow fever respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis water contact disease: schistosomiasis animal contact disease: rabies (2016) |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 6.4% (2014) |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 16.2% (2014) |
| Education expenditures | 5.3% of GDP (2015) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 66.5% male: 78.3% female: 55.3% (2015 est.) |
| School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) | total: 12 years male: NA female: NA (2011) |
| Child labor - children ages 5-14 | total number: 774,801 percentage: 47% (2010 est.) |