Togo is a narrow coastal country in West Africa with a population of around 9.3 million and a young, culturally diverse population. In 2025, the Togolese government reaffirmed its commitment to gender equality – a goal to which the country has been devoting increasing attention for several years and for which it is receiving international recognition. According to a World Bank report, Togo ranks second among African countries in terms of equal pay, equality in marriage, property rights and pensions.
The national programme for women’s political leadership, for example, illustrates how this commitment is put into practice: in the run-up to the local elections in July 2025, the government reduced the registration fee for female candidates by 75 per cent. Nevertheless, women won only 216 of the 1,527 local council seats – 14 per cent, four percentage points below their representation in the national parliament (18 per cent).
Togolese women continue to have limited access to education, digital technologies, financial services and formal employment. This is despite the fact that women have a long tradition of holding influential positions in Togo: the Nana Benz – economically influential businesswomen who, from the 1950s onwards, turned the capital, Lomé, into the centre of the textile trade in West Africa – are often described as the first female millionaires on the African continent.
Despite a progressive legal framework, practical implementation remains a challenge. Although domestic violence has been a criminal offence since 2022, only 7 per cent of those affected seek legal support. More than half of Togolese women (52 per cent) have experienced domestic violence. Maternal mortality remains very high at 399 deaths per 100,000 births.
At the same time, investment in the field of reproductive health demonstrates that the government recognises health as a key foundation for development. In August 2025, a parliamentary workshop on sexual and reproductive health rights took place in Kparimé – the very area where IAMANEH operates. Neonatal mortality fell to 21 deaths per 1,000 live births (2023).
Capital: Lomé / approx. 1.9 million inhabitants
Population: 9.3 million (2024)
Population growth: 2.35% per year
Urban population: 44.5 per cent
Life expectancy: 65.1 years
Infant mortality: 43.2 per 1,000 live births
Maternal mortality: 399 per 100,000 births
Fertility rate: 4.13 births per woman
Literacy rate: 66.5%
Our programs are supported by core contributions from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
