Togo

Togo wants to become a middle-income country. However, the West African country is facing huge challenges in terms of development.

On the current United Nations Human Development Index (HDI), Togo ranks 163rd out of 193 countries. In the past few years, the government has undertaken major reforms in order to improve the social and economic situation.

So far, the reforms that have been launched have not yet had a far-reaching impact on the daily lives of the population at large. Poverty, unemployment and shortage of skilled labour are widespread. Corruption and internal tensions are obstacles for the country's political, economic and social development.

In 2018, Togo was accepted into the G20 Compact with Africa initiative, which supports private investment in Africa

German development cooperation with Togo

In 1993, Germany stopped its development cooperation with Togo, and there was no programme of cooperation for almost 20 years. Development cooperation was only resumed in 2012, after the country had made demonstrable progress in the fields of democracy, rule of law and human rights.

Germany is currently one of Togo's biggest bilateral donors. At the government negotiations in December 2023, Germany committed 58 million euros for development cooperation with Togo. The two countries' cooperation focuses on the following core areas:

Sustainable economic development, training and employment | Areas of intervention: technical and vocational education and training, private sector and financial sector development
Transformation of agricultural and food systems | Areas of intervention: food and nutrition security, rural development, agriculture
Peaceful and inclusive societies | Area of intervention: good governance
Health, social protection and population dynamics | Area of intervention: population dynamics; sexual and reproductive health and rights

In addition, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) supports the Government of Togo in developing a decentralised, climate-friendly energy supply system in rural areas and increasing grid efficiency. Since 2012, more than 3,600 kilometres of power lines have been added to the grid in the region of the capital, Lomé, and in 53 towns and cities throughout the country, giving over 300,000 people access to electricity.

In order to prevent the spillover of Islamist terrorism from the Sahel region, Germany also works together with Togo through the BMZ's Sahel Plus Initiative.

Activities are being pursued to foster social cohesion, ensure the provision of basic services and improve people's income opportunities, especially in the northern regions that border on the Sahel, in order to reduce the attraction of joining terrorist groups.

Vocational students enrolled in a motor vehicle mechanics course at a vocational school in Sokodé, Togo, are repairing a motorcycle.

The programme of Togolese-German development cooperation is intended to provide quality, relevant vocational training for young people and foster productivity and economic growth, thus creating jobs and income.

In Togo, agriculture plays a vital role for economic development, food security and employment. However, at the moment the agricultural sector is still very traditional – there is little technology involved and the focus is often on subsistence farming. Poverty is widespread, especially in Togo's rural areas.

In the early 1990s, the Government of Togo launched a process of decentralisation. However, the process then stalled. Since 2016, it has gathered momentum again. The government has adopted a decentralisation roadmap, reformed administrative structures and created new municipalities.

Symbolic image: Foto of a woman working at her desk.

Togo's health system is faced with a shortage of equipment, funding and trained personnel. One consequence is that the likelihood for a woman in Togo to die in pregnancy or childbirth is one hundred times higher than in Germany.