8 Billion Lives
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Where you could be born / Africa / Western Africa

Born in Togo

About 1 in 456 people born in 2023 started life in Togo. A boy can expect to live 63 years and a girl 63, up from 40 and 44 in 1950. Fewer than half of people live in cities, and 64% have basic drinking water.

1 in 456
odds of being born here
289,800 births · Ranked 73rd of 230
63 / 63
years of life, boys / girls
Was 40 / 44 in 1950
$2,001
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 168th of 203 · extrapolated
43%
live in a city
Most live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 21 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 282 in every 1,000 births to 59.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth62.5 years for boys, 62.9 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 558.5 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year72,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.1World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles81%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV1.7%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year47 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year265 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 6.6 children on average in 1950. Now it is 4.2.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman4.19UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth29.1 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 45 and the poorest fifth 7.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2021
7%Poorest fifth
11%Second
15%Middle
22%Fourth
45%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $2,001 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth45% / 7% (2021)World Bank PIP
Unemployment1.9% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises5.5% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person4.2% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming39% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed77% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment63% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Lomé, with 2.2 million people.

43%
live in cities
59%
have electricity at home
64%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Lomé2.2 million
Sokodé117,811
Kara104,207
Atakpamé80,683
Kpalimé75,084
Languages
Share of people who can use each
French41%
Ewe17%
French is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Maritime2.3 million
Plateaux252,204
Kara211,856
Centrale167,811
Savanes122,745

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

Large cities

Sourced: GeoNames Cities with a page: a million people or more.

People on the move

About 6.2% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Nigeria, Benin, Ghana.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Nigeria169,717
Benin120,390
Ghana115,972
Residents born abroad3.0% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 6.2% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostNigeria (169,717), Benin (120,390), Ghana (115,972)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $650.4 million a year (2020)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

16% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

16%
of older people receive a pension (2022)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2022)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 2024290Our World in Data, from WHO
Deaths in organized violence753 between 1991 and 2024UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Togo, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Togo

Elsewhere in Africa

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences