Togo

Economy & income

1 USD = 573.9 XOF live rate

Currency: West African CFA franc (XOF, 'CFA'/'FCFA')
~574 per USD (Jul 2026)
pegged to EUR at 655.957
GDP per capita: ~$1,050 nominal (2024 — World Bank $1,043, up from $986 in 2023; IMF WEO 2025 est. ~$1,216)
~$3,080 PPP (2025, IMF/World Economics)
Average salary: ~$150–175 net/mo (est.)
gross avg ~100,000 XOF (~$174/mo, wage.is 2026)
public-sector pay ~25% above private
Numbeo sample too thin to be reliable
Median salary: n/a — no official median wage published
the economy is overwhelmingly informal (agriculture, petty trade, transport), so formal-sector averages cover a small minority
Minimum wage: SMIG 52,500 XOF/mo (~$91/mo) since 1 Jan 2023 (raised ~50% from 35,000 XOF; unchanged into 2026)
agricultural SMAG 38,500 XOF (~$67/mo)
Living-wage estimate ~128,000 XOF (~$220)
Cost of living: Low — Lomé is cheap by global standards (indicative single-person living cost ~$780/mo)
Numbeo has very sparse Togo data (few contributors — treat as unreliable)
Imported goods pricier
local food/transport cheap

Digital landscape

Population: 9.62 million (Jan 2025)
Internet users: 37.0% (~3.56M users)
Social media users: 9.7% (~934K identities; 68.1% male / 31.9% female)
Mobile connections: 7.53M cellular connections = 78.2% of pop
Devices: mobile ~39.6% / desktop ~59.1% / tablet ~1.3% (StatCounter, Jun 2026) — desktop over-indexes in measured web traffic (cybercafé/shared-PC use + measurement skew)
real consumer access is overwhelmingly mobile
Ad spend: n/a — DataReportal 'Digital 2025 Togo' publishes no ad-spend total
the digital ad market is nascent and Meta-dominated, with no reliable public figure
Top social platforms: Facebook ~934K ad reach = 9.7% of pop / ~26% of internet users — dominant social platform

LinkedIn ~380K registered members

Instagram ~181K

WhatsApp — top messenger; near-universal on mobile

YouTube — heavily used for music/TV; not in DataReportal ad-reach data

TikTok — fast-growing short-video among youth; not separately reported
Messengers: WhatsApp (dominant — default chat & social commerce)
Facebook Messenger (~184K)
Telegram (growing — betting/crypto/deal channels)

Ad regulations

Gambling & betting Restricted

RESTRICTED — All games of chance are overseen by LONATO (Loterie Nationale Togolaise, est. 1966). Land-based betting/lottery is legal but there is NO online licensing framework — online betting is a legal grey zone. Offshore books (1xBet, Melbet, Betwinner, 22Bet) dominate and player activity is growing ~80% YoY; a 5% automatic levy applies to lottery/gambling wins above CFA 500,000. Regulator: LONATO

Crypto Restricted

RESTRICTED — Legal grey zone under the WAEMU regional framework: crypto is not legal tender and has no formal consumer protection; the BCEAO is cautious, and 2024 WAEMU AML/CFT rules cover VASPs but local licensing/implementing texts are absent. Holding/trading is not criminalised

Adult Restricted

RESTRICTED — No dedicated online-porn framework; socially conservative (Christian/traditional/Muslim). Public-decency norms apply and child sexual content is criminalised; explicit ad creatives are inadvisable and routinely rejected by the regulator/platforms

Dating Allowed

ALLOWED — No specific prohibition; conservative social/religious norms mean modest creatives convert better, while explicit/sexual angles risk cultural and platform rejection

Finance & loans Restricted

RESTRICTED — Banking & consumer credit are supervised regionally by the BCEAO / WAEMU Banking Commission; microfinance is widespread and supervised; the BCEAO sets usury/interest ceilings; misleading 'guaranteed/no-check' loan ads are prohibited

Nutra & pharma Restricted

RESTRICTED — Medicines are regulated by the Ministry of Health's pharmacy directorate under WAEMU pharmaceutical harmonisation; no disease-cure claims; food supplements sit in a grey area; counterfeit/'street' medicine is a known problem. Tobacco advertising is banned

Regulators

HARC — Haute Autorité de Régulation de la Communication écrite, audiovisuelle et numérique (media/advertising/digital content; replaced the HAAC in Dec 2025 under the 2024 constitution, with powers extended to digital platforms & social networks)
ARCEP Togo (telecom/digital)
LONATO (gambling)
BCEAO / WAEMU Banking Commission (finance & crypto)
Ministry of Health (pharma)

Notes

French-language creatives expected
HARC (ex-HAAC) regulates broadcast, press and now digital content
the media environment is state-sensitive (self-censorship on politics)
WAEMU regional frameworks apply across finance/AML
Togo runs one of West Africa's largest ports (Lomé) and markets itself as a logistics & fintech hub

Payments & behaviour

Payment methods: Mobile money — Mixx by YAS (ex-T-Money / Togocom; ~58% of MM subscribers) via app/USSD/QR
Flooz (Moov Africa Togo; ~42% of MM subscribers) — #2 wallet
Cash / cash-on-delivery (default for e-commerce; low card penetration)
Gozem Money (super-app wallet, launched Oct 2025 — low-fee entrant)
Cards — Visa/Mastercard (low penetration; urban/online only)
E-wallets: Mixx by YAS (T-Money)
Flooz (Moov Money)
Gozem Money
Wave (low-fee regional entrant)
Cash on delivery: High — card and bank penetration are low, so cash-on-delivery and mobile-money-on-delivery dominate online purchases
E-commerce: Low but rising — Gozem super-app (rides/delivery/e-commerce/payments) is the local leader
CoinAfrique classifieds and Jumia are present
much commerce is social (Facebook/WhatsApp) and market-based
Notes: Mobile money is the backbone: ~4.96M subscribers by Sep 2025 (+21% YoY)
Q3-2025 transaction value ~1.398 trillion FCFA (+33% YoY)
Offer Mixx/Flooz + COD to convert — cards alone will not

Audience & culture

Languages: French (official; language of business, media & virtually all ads)
Ewe / Mina (Gen) — largest southern group; lingua franca of Lomé and the south
Kabiye (national language of the north)
Tem (Kotokoli) & other Gur/Gbe languages (centre & north)
~40 languages in total; Ewe and Kabiye are the designated national languages
Religion: Christian ~45–48% (Catholic ~28% + Protestant/other), Traditional/animist (Vodun) ~33–38%, Muslim ~14–18% (estimates vary; 2020)
Christians in the south, Muslims in the centre/north
traditional beliefs remain widespread and often syncretic
Median age: 19.1 years (DataReportal, Jan 2025) — among the world's youngest populations
Key seasons: Evala (July — Kabye coming-of-age wrestling festival in the Kara region; major northern event)
Christmas & New Year (Dec–Jan)
Ramadan & Eid al-Fitr (Korité) / Eid al-Adha (Tabaski) — Muslim north
Independence Day (27 Apr)
Back-to-school (Sep–Oct)
AFCON & European football seasons (betting spikes)
Cultural notes: Mobile- and Facebook/WhatsApp-first
French creatives essential
strongly price-sensitive
trust is built via COD and mobile money
Football-loving and religiously mixed — keep creatives modest and religion-neutral
avoid mocking traditional/Vodun beliefs
Where to find creators: Facebook
TikTok
Instagram
YouTube
WhatsApp/Telegram channels

Media landscape

Top media outlets

1 Togo-Presse French; state-owned daily of record — government/national news
2 Togo First French/English; respected business & economy news site (togofirst.com)
3 République Togolaise (republicoftogo.com) French/English; official government news & information portal
4 L'Union French; long-running private daily newspaper — general & political news
5 Liberté French; leading private/independent daily — politics & investigations
6 Icilome French; popular independent/diaspora news portal — real-time general news

Top YouTube channels

1 Toofan Officiel ~1.2M
2 Santrinos Raphael ~896K
3 New World TV ~612K
4 Présidence Togolaise ~42K
5 Moov Africa Togo ~25K
6 ICC TV Lomé ~20K

Creators & public figures

Top creators

T

Toofan ~1.2M YouTube / ~322K Instagram / ~3M Facebook

YouTube/Instagram/FacebookAfrobeat duo (Masta Just & Barabas) — Togo's biggest music act; concerts & brand endorsements

S

Santrinos Raphael ~896K YouTube / ~435K Instagram

YouTube/InstagramAfrobeat/R&B star; Hollantex brand ambassador — youth music & lifestyle

King Mensah ~180K+ across platforms

YouTube/InstagramVeteran Afro-folk/world-music icon — one of Togo's best-known voices

A

Almok ~90K Instagram

Instagram/YouTubeHip-hop/rap artist — urban youth audience

E

Elom 20ce n/a exact (mid-tier)

YouTube/InstagramConscious/pan-African rapper & activist ('Arctivist') — culture & history angles

J

Jojo l'Officier n/a exact (rising)

TikTok/YouTubeComedian — relatable everyday sketches; strong for mass-reach brand content

Celebrities

Emmanuel Adebayor ~2M Instagram

Togo's most famous personality; retired striker (Arsenal, Man City, Real Madrid, Tottenham) & national-team captain

Kévin Denkey n/a exact (rising profile)

Togo national-team striker; joined FC Cincinnati in Jan 2025 for a then-MLS-record ~$16.2M fee

Peniel Mlapa n/a exact

Striker & Togo international (ex-Germany youth international; Bundesliga background)

Floyd Ayité n/a exact

Long-time Togo international winger/forward (ex-Fulham, Bordeaux)

K

Kangni Alem n/a exact (modest)

Award-winning Togolese writer, playwright & translator (Grand Prix littéraire d'Afrique noire 2003)

Sami Tchak n/a exact (modest)

Internationally acclaimed Togolese novelist & essayist

Affiliate & traffic

Hot verticals: Sports betting & iGaming (booming with young men; ~80% YoY growth)
Nutra COD (health, beauty, weight, potency)
Sweepstakes / mobile content & VAS
Finance — microloans, forex/crypto trading
Dating (light/modest angles)
Active networks: 1xBet / Melbet / Betwinner partner programs (betting)
Dr.Cash (nutra CPA)
AdCombo / Terraleads (nutra COD, francophone Africa)
Adsterra & PropellerAds (pop/push)
Mobidea, Alfaleads, CPAgetti (multi-vertical CPA)
Payouts: Tier-3 low payouts — betting CPA ~$5–25 (FTD-dependent), nutra COD on RevShare/approved-order, CPL ~$1–5. Watch COD delivery/approval rates
Competition: Lower than Tier-1/2 and under-served
betting is competitive but growing fast
French-language, low-CPM environment — a volume play
Seasonality: Football-driven (AFCON, European leagues, weekends)
Ramadan/Eid dips then spikes
end-of-year and salary/mobile-money top-up cycles
Traffic sources: Facebook/Meta ads
TikTok
Push & pop (Adsterra, PropellerAds)
Telegram & WhatsApp channels
Influencer/UGC & Facebook groups

Good to know

Capital: Lomé (capital, largest city, major West African port & economic hub)
Major cities: Lomé
Sokodé
Kara
Kpalimé
Atakpamé
Dapaong
Time zones: Single zone — Greenwich Mean Time (GMT, UTC+0)
no daylight saving
Android vs iOS: 84% 16%

Android 84% iOS 16%
Phone brands: Apple (~16%)
Samsung (~14%)
Huawei (~12%)
Tecno (~11%)
Transsion budget brands (Tecno/Infinix/itel) dominate real-world retail; StatCounter Jun 2026 vendor sample is small & noisy
Top e-commerce: Gozem (super-app — rides, delivery, e-commerce & Gozem Money)
CoinAfrique Togo (classifieds)
Jumia (regional marketplace)
Facebook Marketplace / WhatsApp (social commerce)
Grand Marché de Lomé & informal retail
Peak activity: Evenings ~19:00–22:00 and lunch ~12:00–14:00; weekends and just after month-end pay / mobile-money top-ups (local time = GMT/UTC+0)
Creative taboos: Politics/government (state-sensitive press — avoid political angles; long-running Gnassingbé rule), religion (balance Christian/Muslim/traditional; don't mock Vodun), overt sexual content, 'poor Africa' stereotypes
Also worth knowing: Mobile-money-first (integrate Mixx/Flooz + COD or you won't convert)
Meta (Facebook + WhatsApp) is the whole funnel and French creatives are mandatory
Ultra-young (median 19), football- and betting-obsessed — cheap traffic & low CPMs but low payouts and thin card/e-commerce rails
strong as a volume play alongside neighbours Ghana, Benin & Burkina Faso
Note StatCounter over-states desktop due to cybercafé/shared-PC measurement