• Togo’s HDI rises to 0.571, now ranked 161 globally
• Exits low-HDI group, ranks 2nd in UEMOA after Côte d’Ivoire
• Gains driven by water, electricity access; plans further investment

Togo has achieved a Human Development Index (HDI) score of 0.571, up from its previous score of 0.567, placing it above the 0.550 threshold that distinguishes low HDI countries from those with medium HDI.

The country now ranks 161st globally, placing it fourth in West Africa and second in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA). Within UEMOA, only Cote d’Ivoire (0.582) scored marginally higher. Togo's rank is ahead of Senegal, Benin, Guinea-Bissau, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.

"This progress illustrates the efforts made to improve the daily lives of our populations," said Sandra Ablamba Johnson, Minister and Secretary General of the Council of the Presidency, at the report's launch ceremony.

The country has registered notable advances in recent years, including an increase in access to drinking water from 60% to 86% over four years, and access to electricity rising from 50% to 74.5%.

Togo plans to increase investment in education, health, and infrastructure to consolidate this progress and turn each gain into a development lever, even amid global inequalities and post-COVID uncertainties.

The report, titled "Une affaire de choix : individus et perspectives à l’ère de l’IA (A Matter of Choice: Individuals and Perspectives in the Age of AI)," emphasized that artificial intelligence presents both an opportunity and a challenge. "AI is not merely a technological issue but a matter of human perspective," noted Binta Sanneh, the UNDP Resident Representative.

Fiacre Kakpo