Since 1960, Togo has had a colorful group of political leaders. Sylvanus Olympio, the first president of Togo was assassinated in 1963 due to ethnic tensions. Nicolas Grunitzy succeeded him but was removed from power by Étienne Eyadéma in a bloodless coup in 1967. Eyadéma ruled as a dictator until he died in February 2005. Faure Gnassingbé was then declared president by the army, but was forced to temporarily step down in within the month due to outside political pressure. He would make a triumphant return after a controversial presidential election. Since then, he has retained the presidency, most recently winning the 2015 presidential election in Togo. (BBC News, 2017) Three major ethnic groups exist within Togo: Ewe, Kaybe, and Mina. Each ethnic group has a specific native language that corresponds to their name, such as the Ewe people speaking the Ewe language. Tensions arose between the Ewe and Kaybe people during the years after Togo became an independent nation. The assassination of Olympio was said to be directly related to Ewe territory disputes. Moreover, a long-standing criticism of Eyadéma is that he favored the Kaybe over other ethnic groups. Historically, all presidents of Togo have been controversial figures in their own rights, with opposition party figures living in exile. The trend has continued to the current day with protests still occurring.
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Togo has an estimated total population of 7,965,055. Togo is a young country, with 40.29% of its population falling within 0-14 years old and having a healthy male to female ratio. Togo’s population is expected to exponentially increase in the future. As such, Togo is the 99th most populated country in the world and can be anticipated to rise in rank.
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(The World Factbook, 2018)
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ReligionThere are three major dominant religious groups within Togo. The population is 48 percent Christian, 33 percent traditional animist, and 14 percent Sunni Muslim. The remaining 5 percent are made up of various other religions. Roman Catholics make up 28 percent of the Christian religious bloc, and the Christian density is highest in the southern regions of Togo, while the Muslim populations are predominant in the central and northern regions. The animist practitioners are widespread, usually existing in larger numbers in regions made of villages. Togo has shown a trend of moving away from animist practices.
(Heikkila, 2015) A typical Christian service in Togo is shown.
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Of the different ethnic people groups, the Ewe people have the largest population. They have nearly 1.7 million individuals and are the people group with the highest percentage of Christians (Joshua Project, 2018).
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The official language and formal written language of Togo is French. Its national languages are Ewe and Kabiye. The majority of the ethnic languages and people are included within the Ewe, Mina, and Kaybe. The Ewe people have the largest population of the three within Togo. Ewe is spoken throughout Togo. Kabiye is spoken mostly in the northern regions of Togo, and within Togo's neighboring country Benin. According to the Joshua Project, there are at least 56 specific language groups within Togo (Joshua Project, 2018). Togo has a historically diverse language background, with a legacy of a strong background in American Sign Language due to the work of Andrew Foster, an American missionary. At least 30%-37% of the population speak French. Schools are primarily taught in French, and transactions are held in French as well. A common practice for students is to speak an African language at home, and French at school.
(Ager, 2018) This basic chart shows simple English to Ewe translated greetings.
(Easy Mina, 2016) One of the three major official languages within Togo, Mina is usually spoken in the south eastern lands of Togo.
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(Heikkila, 2018) The video provides a glimpse into the language of the Ewe, one of Togo's major people groups.
(Children Love to Sing Christmas & Kids Songs, 2015) The English version of O Come All Ye Faithful is usually sung more quickly in English than in Ewe.
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