Economic situation Trade hub in the Gulf of Guinea

The Togolese government is working to achieve economic stability and increase government revenue. In its development strategy, it has laid down the goal of making Togo a logistics and trade hub in West Africa.

The well-developed deepwater port of Lomé, the capital, serves as a transshipment point for the movement of goods to the Sahel countries and North Africa. The country has also expanded its international airport and improved numerous highways.

Value chain development on the ground

The country's only significant extractive resource is phosphate, of which it has one of the largest reserves in the world. There is great international demand for phosphate, which is needed for the production of agricultural mineral fertiliser.

So far, the country has mainly been exporting unprocessed raw materials, which is making it vulnerable to price volatility in world markets. The government is working to foster local processing and is developing agricultural value chains with high employment and export potential. At present, however, most farmers are engaged in subsistence farming.

Stable growth rate, high levels of debt

Togo's economy has grown by four to six per cent per year over the last few years. The only year in which the rate was lower (2.2 per cent) was 2020, which was due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Apart from the impact of the pandemic, factors that are presenting the country with challenges are also Russia's attack on Ukraine and the unstable situation in the region. In order to stabilise the economy, the government has significantly increased public spending. It is also working to improve the environment for private investment.

While tax revenue increased significantly in 2023 (by 14.7 per cent over the previous year's levels), the government is facing significant fiscal constraints. At present, over 60 per cent of all revenue is spent on debt service (the cost of which keeps increasing), with interest payments alone consuming nearly 18 per cent of revenue.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) considers the overall economic situation of Togo to be good. It expects the Togolese economy to grow by more than five per cent in 2025.

Togo start page