GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- Togo is facing a mass exodus of disastrous proportions. Following accusations that the 2005 presidential election was fixed, violence broke out in protest causing many Togolese to seek refuge in neighboring Ghana and Benin. More than 40,000 residents fled the small West African nation, and although most have returned, thousands of refugees have requested repatriation. Equally troubling for Togo's future, nearly half of the country's current residents (44%) tell the Gallup World Poll that they are likely to move, within a year, from the city or area in which they live.
While about half (49%) of Togolese say they are satisfied with their community as a place to reside, more say their area is becoming a worse (45%) rather than a better (30%) place to live. These results are significantly less optimistic than those for the West African region overall: two-thirds of residents region wide (66%) are satisfied with their city or area and 55% feel it is improving.
A multitude of factors may have a part in driving Togolese from their homeland. Safety is certainly a key issue; only about half of Togolese say they feel safe walking alone in their area at night (53%) or that they have confidence in their local police force (47%). Togolese are at least as distrustful of other basic institutions such as the country's healthcare system (in which 44% say they have confidence), judicial system (31%), and national government (34%). Only about one in five (21%) say they are confident in the honesty of elections in Togo.
But as in many areas of the world, economic conditions may be the most fundamental driver of migration. Just 12% of Togolese consider the current economic conditions in their area to be favorable compared to 37% of respondents overall in the West African region. There are very few jobs; only 10% of Togolese claim to have work, either paid or unpaid -- by far the lowest in Gallup's World Poll database of more than 100 countries.
Survey Methods
Results are based on face-to-face interviews with a representative sample of 1,000 residents of Togo, aged 15 and older, conducted Aug. 21-28, 2006. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling, weighting, and other random effects is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.