01Key Takeaways
- Togo imported $3.05 billion worth of goods in 2023, up 9.2% from $2.79 billion in 2022, a fifth consecutive year of growth and the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset.
- Mineral fuels led every import category at 14.4% ($437.57 million), with vehicles ranking a distant second at 10.4% ($317.18 million).
- China was Togo's largest import partner, supplying 19.0% of imports, worth $579.60 million.
- The top three import partners together accounted for 36.0% of total import value.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $1.8B | $2.2B | $2.6B | $2.8B | $3.0B |
03Top Import Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | $579.6M | 19.0% |
| 2 | France | $275.1M | 9.0% |
| 3 | India | $242.3M | 7.9% |
| 4 | Ghana | $145.4M | 4.8% |
| 5 | Turkey | $135.7M | 4.5% |
| 6 | Nigeria | $126.9M | 4.2% |
| 7 | Netherlands | $109.0M | 3.6% |
| 8 | Japan | $100.7M | 3.3% |
| 9 | Malaysia | $98.6M | 3.2% |
| 10 | Germany | $79.1M | 2.6% |
04Top Import Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $437.6M | 14.4% |
| 2 | Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $317.2M | 10.4% |
| 3 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $236.2M | 7.7% |
| 4 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $199.4M | 6.5% |
| 5 | Electrical Machinery and Equipment and parts thereof; Sound Recorders and Reproducers, Television Image and Sound Recorders and Reproducers, and Parts and Accessories of such Articles | $168.7M | 5.5% |
| 6 | Pharmaceutical Products | $145.3M | 4.8% |
| 7 | Animal or Vegetable Fats and Oils and their Cleavage Products; Prepared Edible Fats; Animal or Vegetable Waxes | $118.0M | 3.9% |
| 8 | Cereals | $102.9M | 3.4% |
| 9 | Fertilisers | $82.5M | 2.7% |
| 10 | Oil Seeds and Oleaginous Fruits; Miscellaneous Grains, Seeds and Fruit; Industrial or Medicinal Plants; Straw and Fodder | $77.2M | 2.5% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Import Value Has Climbed for Five Straight Years
Togo imported $3.05 billion worth of goods in 2023, up 9.2% from $2.79 billion in 2022. This is the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset. The dataset covers a full five years, from 2019 through 2023, tracking the same small West African economy covered on the export side of this dataset.
Import value stood at $1.79 billion in 2019. Unlike most other years covered in this dataset, it did not fall in 2020. Import value instead rose to $2.16 billion that year, before climbing further to $2.55 billion in 2021 and $2.79 billion in 2022. Import value then reached $3.05 billion in 2023, a fifth consecutive year of growth.
This dataset does not explain why import value kept climbing through 2020 while many other economies covered here saw a decline that year. Growth of 9.2% in 2023 continues a run that has never reversed across this entire five-year window. That pattern closely mirrors the uninterrupted climb recorded on the export side of trade for this same country. Both sides of trade for this country have expanded steadily across this same stretch, without either side reversing course. Few other economies covered in this dataset show such a consistent, unbroken climb on both sides of trade at once.
Fuel, Vehicles and Machinery Lead an Import List
Mineral fuels led every import category in 2023, worth $437.57 million, or 14.4% of the total, by a clear margin the largest single category on this list. Vehicles ranked a distant second at 10.4%, worth $317.18 million. Energy products, particularly petroleum, are Togo's largest import category, and China has strengthened its position as the country's top trading partner, a pattern reflected directly in this dataset's own rankings.
Machinery and mechanical appliances added 7.7%, worth $236.18 million, and plastics contributed 6.5%, worth $199.35 million. Electrical machinery added 5.5%, worth $168.68 million. These three categories sit within a couple of percentage points of each other, forming a cluster well behind the fuel and vehicle categories leading this list.
Pharmaceutical products contributed 4.8% ($145.25 million), and animal and vegetable fats and oils added 3.9% ($118.02 million). Cereals contributed 3.4% ($102.94 million), and fertilizers added 2.7% ($82.52 million), a category tied to the same phosphate-linked mineral industry that also shows up in this country's export list. Oil seeds closed out the top ten at 2.5%, worth $77.22 million, the smallest share among the ten categories listed here. Fuel and vehicles together lead this list by a wide margin. A longer tail of manufactured and agricultural goods fills out the rest of the ranking. Cereals and oil seeds appearing near the bottom of this ranking point to a degree of food import dependence that runs alongside the energy and industrial goods dominating the top of the list.
China Leads a Partner List That Also Reflects Historical Ties to France
China was Togo's largest import partner in 2023, taking 19.0% of imports, worth $579.60 million. France ranked second at 9.0%, worth $275.14 million, a market with historical ties to this country's colonial past. India followed at 7.9%, worth $242.30 million. Together, these top three partners accounted for 36.0% of total import value, a moderate concentration well short of the more extreme clustering seen among some other economies in this dataset.
Ghana contributed 4.8% ($145.41 million), and Turkey added 4.5% ($135.74 million). Nigeria followed at 4.2% ($126.91 million), and Netherlands added 3.6% ($108.96 million).
Japan contributed 3.3% ($100.71 million), and Malaysia added 3.2% ($98.57 million). Germany closed out the top ten at 2.6%, worth $79.11 million, the smallest share among the ten partners listed here. Ghana and Nigeria's presence in this top ten reflects Togo's position among a cluster of coastal West African neighbors, alongside a broader base of European and Asian suppliers spanning several continents. Ranks four through ten here are packed within roughly two percentage points of each other, a far tighter cluster than the wide gap separating China from the rest of this list.
Taken together, this dataset's most recent confirmed year describes an import profile built around fuel, vehicles and machinery, extending a five-year run of uninterrupted growth. That profile is sourced from a partner base led by China but still shaped by historical trade ties to France and a mix of regional and global suppliers.