LOME, April 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Togo will on Sunday hold its presidential polls to elect a successor to late president Gnassingbe Eyadema, whose sudden death has triggered a political crisis in the tiny west African nation.

    French Togoland became Togo in 1960. Gnassingbe Eyadema, installed as military ruler in 1967, was Africa's longest-serving head of state. Despite the facade of multiparty elections instituted in the early 1990s, the government has been dominated by Eyadema until his death on February 5. His Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) party has maintained power almost continually since 1967.

    In addition, Togo has come under fire from international organizations for human rights abuses and is plagued by political unrest. While most bilateral and multilateral aid to Togo remains frozen, the European Union initiated a partial resumption of cooperation and development aid to Togo in late 2004.

    The following are key facts about Togo which means "near the lake" in the local Ewe language.

    Official Name: the Republic of Togo.

    Location: Togo lies in west Africa, forming a narrow strip stretching north from a coastline on the Gulf of Guinea. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east, Burkina Faso to the north.

    Capital: Lome, population -- 800,000 inhabitants. The other main towns are Sokode (center), Kara (north).

    Administrative divisions: Five regions: Kara, Plateaux, Savanese, Centrale, Maritime.

    Area: 56,600 sq km.

    Population: 5.5 million inhabitants.

    Average life expectancy: 49.6 years (the World Bank).

    Ethnic groups: native African (37 tribes; largest and most important are Ewe, Mina, and Kabye) 99 percent, European and Syrian-Lebanese less than 1 percent).

    Religions: indigenous beliefs 50 percent, Christian 35 percent,Muslim 15 percent.

    Languages: French (official and the language of commerce), Ewe and Mina (the two major African languages in the south), Kabye andDagomba (the two major African languages in the north). There are about 50 local dialects.

    Date of independence: April 27, 1960.

    National Assembly: 81 members. 73 belong to the ruling Rally ofthe Togolese People (RPT) party.

    GDP per capita: 310 US dollars (World Bank).

    Climate: tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north.

    Terrain: gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes.

    HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 4.1 percent (2003 est.).

    HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 110,000 (2003 est.).

    Natural resources: phosphates, limestone, marble, arable land.

    Economy: this small sub-Saharan economy is heavily dependent onboth commercial and subsistence agriculture, which provides employment for 65 percent of the labor force. Some basic foodstuffs must still be imported. Cocoa, coffee, and cotton generate about 40 percent of export earnings, with cotton being the most important cash crop.

    Togo is the world's fourth-largest producer of phosphate, but production fell an estimated 22 percent in 2002 due to power shortages and the cost of developing new deposits. Enditem