Demographics of Togo

The demographics of Togo include ethnicity, population density, age, education level, health, economic status and religious affiliations.

Demographics of Togo
Population pyramid of Togo in 2020
Population	8,049,233 (2022 est.)
Growth rate	2.48% (2022 est.)
Birth rate	31.86 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate	5.27 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy	71.36 years
• male	68.76 years
• female	74.03 years
Fertility rate	4.23 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate	41.19 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate	-1.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years	39.73%
65 and over	3.57%
Nationality
Nationality	Togolese
Language
Official	French

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.

Population

Population distribution is very uneven due to soil and terrain variations. The population is generally concentrated in the south and along the major north-south highway connecting the coast to the Sahel. Age distribution is also uneven; nearly one-half of Togolese are less than fifteen years old.

French, the official language, is used in administration and documentation. The public primary schools combine French with Ewe or Kabye as languages of instruction, depending on the region. English is spoken in neighboring Ghana and is taught in Togolese secondary schools. As a result, many Togolese, especially in the south and along the Ghana border, speak some English.

Demographics of Togo; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

Population census results^[1]

Census date	Population	Average annual growth (%)	Population density/km2	Proportion urban (%)
1-11-1958	1,444,481	.	25	9.4
1-3-1970	1,950,646	2.7	34	21.2
22-11-1981	2,719,567	2.9	48	25.2
6-11-2010	6,191,155	2.9	109	37.7

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects^[2][3] the total population was 8,644,829 in 2021, compared to only 1 395 000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 39.6%, 56.9% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 3.4% was 65 years or older .^[4]

	Total population	Population aged 0–14 (%)	Population aged 15–64 (%)	Population aged 65+ (%)
1950	1 395 000	41.3	54.4	4.3
1955	1 475 000	41.9	54.1	3.9
1960	1 578 000	42.6	53.8	3.6
1965	1 700 000	43.6	53.1	3.3
1970	2 097 000	44.8	52.1	3.1
1975	2 380 000	45.9	51.1	3.1
1980	2 667 000	46.6	50.3	3.1
1985	3 161 000	46.7	50.2	3.1
1990	3 666 000	46.0	50.9	3.1
1995	4 085 000	44.8	52.1	3.1
2000	4 794 000	43.2	53.6	3.1
2005	5 408 000	41.5	55.2	3.3
2010	6 028 000	39.6	56.9	3.4

Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 06.XI.2010):^[5]

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	3 009 095	3 182 060	6 191 155	100
0–4	456 524	444 747	901 271	14.56
5–9	482 501	469 199	951 700	15.37
10–14	390 477	357 249	747 726	12.08
15–19	313 257	293 144	606 401	9.79
20–24	252 807	292 438	545 245	8.81
25–29	214 803	282 019	496 822	8.02
30–34	199 636	224 744	424 380	6.85
35–39	166 528	185 480	352 008	5.69
40–44	139 731	151 853	291 584	4.71
45–49	112 191	116 255	228 446	3.69
50–54	82 969	95 264	178 233	2.88
55–59	54 936	61 014	115 950	1.87
60–64	44 431	58 263	102 694	1.66
65-69	26 700	39 624	66 324	1.07
70-74	24 127	37 629	61 756	1.00
75-79	13 250	20 324	33 574	0.54
80+	27 960	45 631	73 591	1.19
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	1 329 502	1 271 195	2 600 697	42.01
15–64	1 581 289	1 760 474	3 341 763	53.98
65+	92 037	143 208	235 245	3.80
Unknown	6 267	7 183	13 450	0.22

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (Estimates 01.VII.2020) (Post-censal estimates.):^[6]

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	3 805 683	3 990 457	7 796 140	100
0–4	554 653	546 731	1 101 384	14.13
5–9	492 306	493 409	985 715	12.64
10–14	448 624	446 196	894 820	11.48
15–19	466 008	454 136	920 144	11.80
20–24	371 183	342 666	713 848	9.16
25–29	298 580	294 682	593 262	7.61
30–34	238 519	288 749	527 267	6.76
35–39	209 365	274 289	483 654	6.20
40–44	183 861	207 689	391 550	5.02
45–49	148 891	169 758	318 648	4.09
50–54	119 249	131 375	250 624	3.21
55–59	91 263	100 293	191 556	2.46
60–64	59 540	71 641	131 181	1.68
65-69	49 132	59 692	108 823	1.40
70-74	33 591	45 314	78 905	1.01
75-79	20 494	30 733	51 226	0.66
80+	20 429	33 108	53 536	0.69
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	1 495 583	1 486 336	2 981 919	38.25
15–64	2 186 454	2 335 274	4 521 728	58.00
65+	123 646	168 847	292 493	3.75

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Vital statistics

Population, fertility rate and net reproduction rate, United Nations estimates

Registration of vital events is in Togo not complete. The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. Population estimates account for under numeration in population census.

	Population (thousands)	Live births (thousands)	Deaths (thousands)	Natural change (thousands)	CBR[i]	CDR[i]	NC[i]	TFR[i]	IMR[i]	Life expectancy (years)
1950	1 399	66	35	31	47.2	24.8	22.4	6.51	157.9	40.92
1951	1 421	68	35	32	47.3	24.7	22.7	6.54	157.1	41.01
1952	1 445	69	35	33	47.4	24.5	22.9	6.55	156.3	41.17
1953	1 469	70	36	34	47.3	24.2	23.1	6.57	155.4	41.36
1954	1 494	71	36	35	47.2	24.0	23.2	6.57	154.5	41.45
1955	1 519	72	36	35	47.1	23.8	23.3	6.57	153.7	41.56
1956	1 544	73	36	37	47.1	23.5	23.6	6.59	152.7	41.80
1957	1 571	74	37	38	47.1	23.3	23.9	6.61	151.7	41.97
1958	1 597	75	37	39	47.1	23.0	24.1	6.63	150.6	42.16
1959	1 624	77	37	40	47.2	22.7	24.5	6.68	149.5	42.45
1960	1 651	78	37	41	47.2	22.4	24.8	6.72	148.3	42.69
1961	1 679	80	37	42	47.4	22.2	25.2	6.75	147.0	42.88
1962	1 707	82	38	44	47.6	22.0	25.7	6.80	145.7	43.15
1963	1 737	83	38	46	47.9	21.7	26.1	6.85	144.3	43.37
1964	1 773	85	38	47	47.9	21.4	26.4	6.87	142.8	43.70
1965	1 820	87	39	49	47.9	21.2	26.8	6.90	141.2	43.97
1966	1 882	90	39	51	48.0	20.8	27.2	6.94	139.4	44.37
1967	1 957	93	40	53	47.9	20.4	27.5	6.96	137.5	44.82
1968	2 039	97	41	56	47.8	20.0	27.8	6.98	135.6	45.28
1969	2 120	101	42	60	48.0	19.7	28.3	7.04	133.5	45.67
1970	2 197	105	42	63	47.9	19.3	28.6	7.07	131.3	46.12
1971	2 267	109	43	66	47.9	18.9	29.0	7.10	129.1	46.59
1972	2 331	112	43	69	47.9	18.5	29.3	7.12	126.8	47.09
1973	2 391	115	43	71	47.8	18.1	29.7	7.13	124.4	47.60
1974	2 450	117	44	74	47.7	17.7	30.0	7.15	122.1	48.10
1975	2 510	120	43	76	47.6	17.2	30.4	7.15	119.8	48.73
1976	2 570	123	43	79	47.5	16.8	30.7	7.14	117.4	49.33
1977	2 631	125	43	81	47.2	16.4	30.8	7.11	115.1	49.76
1978	2 693	127	43	83	46.9	16.1	30.8	7.06	112.8	50.23
1979	2 761	128	43	85	46.4	15.6	30.7	7.00	110.5	50.77
1980	2 838	130	43	87	45.9	15.3	30.7	6.94	108.4	51.23
1981	2 926	133	43	90	45.6	14.9	30.7	6.87	106.2	51.76
1982	3 023	136	44	92	45.1	14.5	30.6	6.77	104.2	52.26
1983	3 127	139	44	95	44.7	14.2	30.5	6.70	102.3	52.64
1984	3 232	143	45	98	44.3	13.8	30.5	6.62	100.4	53.09
1985	3 337	146	45	101	43.8	13.5	30.3	6.54	98.7	53.43
1986	3 439	150	46	104	43.5	13.3	30.2	6.46	97.1	53.71
1987	3 545	153	46	107	43.2	13.1	30.1	6.39	95.7	54.05
1988	3 653	156	47	109	42.8	12.9	29.9	6.30	94.4	54.35
1989	3 764	159	48	111	42.3	12.8	29.5	6.22	93.2	54.39
1990	3 876	163	49	113	41.9	12.7	29.2	6.13	92.1	54.37
1991	3 990	166	51	115	41.6	12.7	28.9	6.05	91.1	54.27
1992	4 106	169	52	117	41.1	12.6	28.5	5.95	90.0	54.30
1993	4 078	172	53	119	40.7	12.6	28.1	5.85	88.9	54.20
1994	4 093	163	51	112	40.3	12.6	27.7	5.75	87.7	54.04
1995	4 280	169	53	116	39.7	12.5	27.2	5.65	86.3	54.04
1996	4 446	174	55	119	39.3	12.4	26.8	5.54	84.7	54.10
1997	4 593	178	56	122	38.8	12.3	26.5	5.44	83.0	54.19
1998	4 728	183	58	125	38.8	12.3	26.6	5.38	81.4	54.20
1999	4 868	189	59	130	38.8	12.0	26.8	5.34	79.4	54.54
2000	5 008	194	60	134	38.7	11.9	26.8	5.27	77.5	54.74
2001	5 145	198	61	138	38.6	11.8	26.8	5.23	75.6	54.86
2002	5 282	203	61	142	38.4	11.5	26.9	5.19	73.6	55.31
2003	5 421	207	61	146	38.2	11.3	26.8	5.15	71.8	55.64
2004	5 565	210	63	147	37.7	11.3	26.4	5.08	69.9	55.57
2005	5 712	215	63	152	37.6	11.1	26.5	5.07	68.2	55.96
2006	5 874	221	64	156	37.6	10.9	26.7	5.08	66.5	56.22
2007	6 048	229	65	164	37.8	10.8	27.0	5.09	64.9	56.51
2008	6 222	233	66	167	37.6	10.7	26.9	5.05	63.3	56.70
2009	6 399	240	67	173	37.5	10.5	27.0	5.03	61.7	57.01
2010	6 572	246	68	178	37.4	10.3	27.0	5.01	60.2	57.30
2011	6 749	247	67	180	36.6	10.0	26.7	4.92	58.6	57.93
2012	6 927	248	68	180	35.8	9.9	26.0	4.81	57.0	58.07
2013	7 106	251	68	183	35.3	9.5	25.8	4.72	55.4	58.68
2014	7 288	254	69	185	34.8	9.4	25.4	4.66	53.9	58.85
2015	7 473	257	69	189	34.4	9.2	25.2	4.59	52.4	59.40
2016	7 661	261	70	192	34.1	9.1	25.0	4.56	51.0	59.55
2017	7 853	264	69	195	33.7	8.8	24.9	4.50	49.6	60.15
2018	8 047	267	71	197	33.2	8.8	24.4	4.44	48.2	60.24
2019	8 243	270	70	200	32.8	8.5	24.3	4.39	46.8	60.90
2020	8 566	281	73	209	32.5	8.4	24.1	4.39	45.1	61.1
2021	8 774	284	74	211	32.0	8.3	23.7	4.32	43.8	61.3
2022	8 983	287	72	215	31.5	7.9	23.7	4.25	42.6	62.3
2023	9 196	290	72	218	31.1	7.7	23.4	4.19	41.4	62.7
CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births

Source: UN DESA, World Population Prospects, 2022^[7]

Demographic and Health Surveys

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):^[8][9][10]

Year	Total		Urban		Rural
	CBR	TFR	CBR	TFR	CBR	TFR
1998	35,5	5,2 (4,2)	27,7	3,2 (2,6)	38,6	6,3 (5,2)
2013	32,9	4,8 (4,1)	32,2	3,7 (3,1)	33,2	5,7 (4,9)
2017	31.6	4.4	28.9	3.3	33.1	5.2

Fertility data as of 2013-2014 and 2017 (DHS Program):^[11][10]

Region	Total fertility rate (2013/14)	Percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant	Mean number of children ever born to women age 40-49	Total fertility rate (2017)
Lomé	3.5	6.2	3.7	3.1
Maritime (except Lomé)	5.2	9.5	5.1	4.2
Plateaux	5.2	10.6	5.4	4.9
Centrale	5.1	7.2	5.7	5.3
Kara	5.3	9.7	6.1	5.1
Savanes	6.0	9.3	7.3	5.7

Life expectancy at birth

Period	Life expectancy in Years[12]
1950–1955	35.30
1955–1960	38.66
1960–1965	41.89
1965–1970	45.02
1970–1975	48.07
1975–1980	50.93
1980–1985	53.58
1985–1990	55.41
1990–1995	55.78
1995–2000	53.71
2000–2005	53.88
2005–2010	55.80
2010–2015	59.07

Language and ethnicity

Togo's population of 8.64 million people (2021 est.) is composed of about 21 ethnic groups, the two biggest being the Tèm in the Centre (Bafilo, Sokodé, Sotouboua (about 22% of the population); they also live in Ghana and Bénin in big numbers. Tèms have a lot ties with 2/3 of the country as they live in the center of Togo. They exercise diversely almost all occupations from farmers, motors mechanic to business people] and Ewe in the South (about 21% of the population)). Dagomba is the first most common language in the north, where other Gur languages such as Mossi and Gourma are also found.

The ethnic groups of the coastal region, particularly Ewe and Gen language (or Mina) (the two major African languages in the south), constitute the bulk of the civil servants, professionals, and merchants, due in part to the former colonial administrations which provided greater infrastructure development in the south. Most of the southern peoples use these two closely related languages, which are spoken in commercial sectors throughout Togo.

The Kabye live on marginal land and traditionally have emigrated south from their home area in the Kara region to seek employment. Their historical means of social advancement has been through the military and law enforcement forces, and they continue to dominate these services.

Other groups include the Akposso on the Central Plateau, the Ana people who are related to the Yoruba, and live in the center of the country, in the strip between Atakpame and Tchamba, the Bassar in the Centre-West, the Tchamba in the Centre-East and the Konkombas in the upper region of Bassar, the Lambas in the Kandé region, the Hausa, the Tamberma, the Losso and the Ouachi.^[13]

Religion

Christian 42.3%, folk religion 36.9%, Muslim 14%, Hindu <1%, Buddhist <1%, Jewish <1%, other <1%, none 6.2% (2020 est.)