Sponsor with Compassion

Togo is a country small country located in Western Africa. Despite its size, it includes several distinct geographic regions: gently rolling savanna in north; hills in the central part of the country; southern plateau; and low coastal plain with many lagoons and marshes. The climate is as diverse as the geography: tropical in the south to semi-arid in the north. The people of Togo are made up of 37 different African tribes, the most prevalent being Ewe, Mina, and Kabre. French is the official language, along with four regional African languages. More than half of the population practices a religion made up of indigenous beliefs, while the remaining are split between Christianity and Islam. Togo's economy is based mostly on commercial and subsistence agriculture, with cotton being the most important cash crop. Cocoa and coffee are exported as well. Togo is also the world's fourth-largest producer of phosphate. Economic instability has lead to 32% of the population in Togo living below the poverty line. French Togoland became Togo in 1960. Beginning in 1967, Togo was ruled by a military general whose Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) party has maintained power almost continually since that time. The RPT still maintains a majority of seats in today's legislature. Upon the president's death in 2005, the military installed his son and then engineered his formal election two months later, beginning Togo's transition to a democracy and leading to its first legitimate elections in October 2007. While Togo has a long history of political unrest and has been accused numerous times of human rights violations, recently it has achieved some political stability and recognition in the international community.