Togo profile

Demography and Health

Togo’s population of about 9.5 million in 2024 sits in a demographic profile that is young and growing, reflecting a birth rate of 31.1 per 1,000 people in 2023 (ranked 26). Such dynamics typically place pressure on education, health services, and employment in the coming decades, even as other indicators point to uneven development. Life expectancy at birth is 62.7 years (2023), and mortality among children under five remains high at 58.3 per 1,000 live births (2023), signaling ongoing challenges in child health and nutrition. The prevalence of undernourishment is 12.8% (2022), underscoring food security and nutrition issues that influence child development and long-term human capital. Health spending sits at 6.04% of GDP (2022), with domestic government health expenditure per capita (PPP) around 16.4 international dollars (2022), while physicians average 0.083 per 1,000 people (2022), indicating a stretched healthcare workforce. In parallel, a relatively modest reliance on digital infrastructure is evident, with internet usage at 37.0% of the population (2023), suggesting gaps in access to information and services that could affect health education and remote care. While suicide rates (9.34 per 100,000 in 2021) remain within moderate ranges, the combination of high birth rates and limited health resources points to significant human development needs. Net migration has been negative (−14,014 in 2024), highlighting outflows that can affect labor supply and skills retention. Overall, demography and health in Togo suggest a young population with substantial needs in nutrition, maternal and child health, health system capacity, and social protection to translate a growing workforce into sustained development.

Economy

Economically, Togo remains a low-income country facing substantial development constraints. GDP per capita is 1,043 current US$ (2024), and GDP per capita at purchasing power parity is 3,239 (2024), signaling limited average income despite some price level adjustments. The economy shows relatively low integration into high-value value chains, with exports of goods and services equaling 24.4% of GDP (2024) and imports at 38.1% of GDP (2024), implying a trade-intensive structure that relies heavily on imports for consumption and investment goods. Inflation is modest at 2.87% in 2024, which helps price stability but coexists with a challenging investment climate. Foreign direct investment net inflows amount to 0.366% of GDP (2023), suggesting limited foreign capital formation relative to peers, which can constrain productivity improvements and job creation. High-technology exports are small (about 2.2 million USD in 2023), reflecting a nascent technology-driven export base and limited diversification toward advanced manufacturing or services. The unemployment rate stands at 1.97% in 2022, which, given the large informal sector typical of many West African economies, may not fully capture underemployment or job quality issues. Overall, the Togolese economy exhibits low income and modest growth potential, with vulnerabilities to external shocks given limited fiscal space and export diversification.

Trade and Investment

On trade and investment, the data portray a open economy with a trade deficit signalled by a larger reliance on imports (38.1% of GDP) than exports (24.4% of GDP) in 2024. This pattern suggests ongoing vulnerability to terms-of-trade movements and currency dynamics, particularly for a country with limited domestic savings and investment capacity. FDI net inflows stand at 0.366% of GDP in 2023, indicating modest foreign investment absorption, which can constrain technology transfer, productivity gains, and job creation. The logistics environment—captured by a Logistics Performance Index of 2.3 (2022) on a 1-to-5 scale—points to infrastructure and efficiency hurdles in trade and transport, potentially raising costs and time for firms engaged in import/export activity. The combination of energy-intensity trade, limited high-technology exports (2.2 million USD in 2023), and relatively low FDI inflows underlines the need for targeted reforms to improve competitiveness, reduce trade costs, and attract sustainable investment to diversify export receipts beyond traditional commodities.

Governance and Institutions

Governance indicators portray a challenging environment. Political stability and absence of violence/terrorism score −0.954, with regulatory quality at −0.493, rule of law at −0.527, government effectiveness at −0.578, and control of corruption at −0.619 (all 2023). Taken together, these negative scores suggest significant perception or experience of governance weaknesses, including judicial reliability, public service effectiveness, and anticorruption performance. Such constraints can hamper policy implementation, deter investment, and undermine public trust in institutions. The combination of weak governance indicators and limited economic diversification likely feeds into the modest FDI inflows and the broader difficulty of mobilizing private sector-led growth. However, social indicators such as internet penetration at 37% (2023) show pockets of digital connectivity that could be leveraged to improve governance through e-government and more transparent service delivery, if supported by reforms and investment. Net migration is negative (−14,014 in 2024), which may reflect people seeking better opportunities abroad and could shape political economy and investment dynamics over time.

Infrastructure and Technology

Infrastructure and technology conditions in Togo reflect a mix of challenges and potential. The logistics index score of 2.3 indicates room for improvement in trade- and transport-related infrastructure, affecting efficiency and competitiveness. Internet use at 37% signals substantial digital development needs and limits to digital economy scale, while high-technology exports remain modest at about 2.23 million USD in 2023, underscoring a nascent technology sector. The physician density is very low at 0.083 per 1,000 people (2022), highlighting critical gaps in health workforce capacity and broader human capital development. Yet, the country benefits from a relatively low reliance on fossil energy within its energy mix, with renewable energy accounting for 75.1% of total final energy consumption (2021). This points to a potential competitive advantage in clean energy, even as electricity access and reliability remain issues to address for broader socio-economic progress. The water resource pressure appears manageable, with a freshwater withdrawal level of 3.39% (2021), suggesting that water availability is not currently a binding constraint for most sectors. Overall, infrastructure and technology in Togo show a favorable orientation toward renewables but require substantial investment in connectivity, human capital, and transport networks to unlock higher productivity and private sector development.

Environment and Sustainability

Environment and sustainability indicators reveal a country with relatively low per-capita greenhouse gas emissions and a favorable renewable energy footprint. Total greenhouse gas emissions per capita are 1.14 t CO2e (2023), which is modest by global standards and aligns with the country's low-income profile and energy intensity. Renewable energy consumption accounts for 75.1% of total final energy consumption (2021), suggesting a strong tilt toward clean energy sources and potential resilience to fossil-fuel price volatility. Water stress appears low, with freshwater withdrawal at about 3.39% of available resources (2021), indicating ample water resources for agriculture and domestic use. However, social and developmental pressures persist: undernourishment affects around 12.8% of the population (2022), and child health and nutrition remain urgent priorities given high under-5 mortality. The environmental data thus point to a pathway where fostering sustainable agriculture, maintaining renewable energy growth, and expanding climate-resilient infrastructure could yield meaningful development gains while maintaining a low-carbon trajectory. In sum, Togo’s environment presents both opportunities from abundant renewables and challenges from nutrition and health vulnerabilities that require integrated policy action.