Togolese Economic Miracle

The Togolese economic miracle (also known as Togolese Tiger) is a name given to the period of rapid economic growth experienced by Togo that began in 2007 during Round 12.

The term was first used by Togo's Finance & Economics minister, James Shikwati in a November 2007 interview with the Togo-Presse newspaper to describe the aim of the incumbent government's domestic policy. The phrase Togolese Tiger is analogous to the East Asian Tigers and Celtic Tigers of the Far East and Republic of Ireland respectively. Other variants of the phrase have been used to describe this period of rapid economic expansion and high economic growth.

=Characteristics of the Togolese economy=

Prior to 2007, the main economic activity in Togo was subsistence agriculture with food and cash crop production accounting for 42% of gross domestic product and employing the majority of the population. Togo's commercial activity was limited to the capital city, Lomé, where there was a sizeable re-exportation sector for alcohol, cigarettes, perfume and automobiles to neighbouring countries. Political instability in the 1990s eroded Togo's position as a trading centre.

The phosphates sector was Togo's main industrial sector but depleted deposits coupled with inefficient mining meant that the industry shrank and became less profitable during the 1980s and 1990s. Bad resource management made phosphate, limestone and marble mining in Togo highly inefficient and the markets shrank accordingly until the mid-2000s.

Togo's geographical location on the West African coast made it a suitable centre for re-exportation to Africa's landlocked countries.

Consequences of the economic miracle
=Criticisms=

=Challenges=