Togo Military - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Togolese Armed Forces (Forces Armees Togolaise, FAT): Togolese Army (l'Armee de Terre), Togolese Navy (Forces Naval Togolaises), Togolese Air Force (Armee de l’Air), National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale Togolaise or GNT); Ministry of Security and Civil Protection: National Police Directorate (Direction de la Police Nationale) (2023)

note: the Police Directorate and GNT are responsible for law enforcement and maintenance of order within the country; the GNT is also responsible for migration and border enforcement; the GNT falls under the Ministry of the Armed Forces but also reports to the Ministry of Security and Civil Protection on many matters involving law enforcement and internal security 

Military expenditures

2.1% of GDP (2022 est.)

1.9% of GDP (2021 est.)

2% of GDP (2020 est.)

2.6% of GDP (2019 est.)

1.9% of GDP (2018 est.)

Military and security service personnel strengths

approximately 11,000 personnel (6,500 Army; 500 Air and Navy; 3,000 Gendarmerie) (2022)

note: in January 2022, the Togolese Government announced its intent to boost the size of the FAT to more than 20,000 by 2025

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the FAT has a small, mixed inventory of mostly older equipment from a variety of countries, including Brazil, China, France, Germany, Russia/former Soviet Union, South Africa, the UK, and the US (2022)

Military service age and obligation

18 years of age for military service; 2-year service obligation; no conscription; women have been able to serve since 2007 (2022)

Military deployments

730 (plus about 300 police) Mali (MINUSMA) (May 2022)

Military - note

since its creation in 1963, the Togolese military has had a history of interfering in the country’s politics with assassinations, coups, influence, and a large military crackdown in 2005 that killed hundreds; over the past decade, however, it has made some efforts to reform and professionalize, as well as increase its role in UN peacekeeping activities; Togo maintains a regional peacekeeping training center for military and police in Lome; the FAT participates in multinational exercises and has received training from foreign partners, including France and the US

the FAT’s current focuses are primarily terrorism and maritime security; in recent years, it has increased operations in the northern border region of the country to boost border security and prevent terrorist infiltrations from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), a coalition of al-Qa'ida-affiliated militant groups based in Mali that also operates in neighboring Burkina Faso; in 2022, the Togolese Government declared a state of emergency in the north due to the threat from JNIM following an attack on a Togolese military post that killed several soldiers; the Navy and Air Force have increased focus on combating piracy and smuggling in the Gulf of Guinea

the Army has a mixed force of small, lightly-armed combined arms, infantry, and commando regiments, as well as a rapid reaction force; the Gendarmerie includes mobile, regionally-based, and maritime units; the Navy operates a few patrol boats while the Air Force has a small inventory of training, light attack-capable, and transport aircraft, as well as combat helicopters and a few armed UAVs acquired from Turkey in 2022 (2023)

Maritime threats

for a second year the International Maritime Bureau reported no incidents in 2022 in the territorial and offshore waters of Togo; past incidents have been reported where vessels were attacked and crews kidnapped; these incidents showed that the pirates / robbers in the area are well armed and violent; pirates have robbed vessels and kidnapped crews for ransom; in the past, product tankers were hijacked and cargo stolen; the Maritime Administration of the US Department of Transportation has issued a Maritime Advisory (2023-001 - Gulf of Guinea-Piracy/Armed Robbery/Kidnapping for Ransom) effective 3 January 2023, which states in part, "Piracy, armed robbery, and kidnapping for ransom continue to serve as significant threats to US-flagged vessels transiting or operating in the Gulf of Guinea"

NOTE: The information regarding Togo on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Togo 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Togo 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.