Costs in Togo

A realistic cost estimate for Togo combines regular payments with irregular expenses and location-specific risks. The national consumer price index, called IHPC, tracks prices in urban and rural areas each month. Inflation was 0.2% in January 2026, compared with 2.9% in January 2025, but individual household costs can change more sharply because food, rent and transport do not move uniformly. The West African CFA franc, XOF or FCFA, is used in Togo within the West African Economic and Monetary Union, known as UEMOA. Housing is often the largest fixed cost, especially in Grand Lomé. IOM 2024 reference values place a one-bedroom dwelling at about FCFA 150,000–250,000 per month in central Lomé, FCFA 50,000–150,000 outside the centre and FCFA 20,000–50,000 in rural areas. These are indicative ranges rather than a national rent schedule. Neighbourhood, condition, access to water and electricity, furnishing and security can change the amount considerably. A written lease is required under Décret 2022-001/PR. The caution and guarantee are each capped at three months, but advance rent and agency charges can be considerably higher in practice, and enforcement is uneven. Utilities must be calculated separately from rent. CEET household electricity tariffs depend on consumption and whether the meter is postpaid or prepaid. For a postpaid household connection below 2.2 kVA, the tariff is FCFA 60 per kWh for 0–30 kWh, FCFA 93 for 31–120 kWh and FCFA 130 above 120 kWh, excluding taxes. The postpaid monthly charges listed by CEET include FCFA 250 for power, FCFA 500 for connection, FCFA 500 for the meter and FCFA 5 per kWh for public lighting. Under the corresponding prepaid schedule, the rates are FCFA 70 for 0–30 kWh, FCFA 88 for 31–120 kWh, FCFA 123 for 121–350 kWh and FCFA 145 above 350 kWh; the listed household prepaid connection has no equivalent fixed monthly charges. Water supplied by TdE uses progressive bands. The social band applies only to DN15 and DN20 connections, water from public standpipes costs FCFA 265 per cubic metre and the current third band costs FCFA 500 per cubic metre. A DN15 connection costs FCFA 75,000 in total and a DN20 connection FCFA 119,777. Where a network connection is unavailable, a public standpipe or other local supply changes both the price and the time needed to obtain water. Food is a major household cost. DNCF Mercuriale figures provide reference prices, not a guarantee for every market. Recent averages include FCFA 617 for a large bowl of white maize, FCFA 6,687 for 5 kg of fragrant rice, FCFA 31,891 for 25 kg of fragrant rice and FCFA 2,058 for a large bowl of white beans. Prices vary by season, region, market and dependence on imports. In January 2026, month-on-month prices rose by 63.9% for fresh okra, 53.4% for local tomatoes, 45.8% for imported tomatoes and 10.2% for firewood. Rural households may cover part of food needs through own consumption, while urban households are generally more exposed to market and import prices. Transport combines formal and informal services. SOTRAL is Lomé's only formal city-bus provider. Taxi and taxi-moto services, commonly called zémidjan, are central to daily travel, and fares may be negotiated. Arrêté 002/2022 sets taxi price ceilings, but the applicable table should be checked locally. Intercity fares depend on travel distance, journey conditions, fuel prices and the provider. From 27 May 2026, listed pump prices are FCFA 725 per litre for Super sans plomb, FCFA 750 for gasoil, FCFA 1,040 for kerosene and FCFA 811 for two-stroke mixture. Remote stations may charge about FCFA 20 more per litre. These are fuel prices, not the complete household cost of a taxi or bus journey. Health costs include insurance contributions and payments that remain outside coverage. The Assurance Maladie Universelle, or AMU, is administered through INAM and CNSS. Active employees contribute 10% of salary, split equally between employee and employer. Pensioners contribute 5% of their pension. Informal workers, agricultural workers and independent workers can use AMU-TNS through CNSS at FCFA 10,000 per month, FCFA 28,500 for three months, FCFA 54,000 for six months or FCFA 102,000 per year. The contribution can cover up to six dependants, called ayants droit, and a 90-day waiting period applies. The package includes preventive, curative and hospital care, as well as some tests and essential medicines, but the remaining amount depends on the contracted provider and service. Private providers often cost more. Because no reliable national price list exists for self-paid treatment, a budget should retain a separate reserve for health payments outside AMU. Public primary education has had no school fees since 2008. Public colleges and secondary schools do not charge enrolment and schooling fees under the continuing state compensation system. Education still creates costs for uniforms, supplies, transport, meals and, in some cases, private tutoring. Private secular and faith-based schools set fees according to the school and area, and fee increases have drawn government criticism. Authorities closed 132 illegal private institutions in 2023. At the University of Lomé, some 2025–2026 applications listed dossier fees of FCFA 10,000–25,000 for nationals and UEMOA applicants or for applicants from outside UEMOA, depending on the application category. There is no single national total budget for tertiary education. Family costs rise mainly with the number of household members and dependants. Food, housing, school expenses and health needs usually increase with household size. Childcare and eldercare are mainly provided through family or informal arrangements, and no reliable national standard tariff or universal standard service was identified. A household budget should therefore record the actual arrangement rather than assume a fixed national price. No cash benefit should be added without checking a specific programme and eligibility rule. Communication costs are shaped mainly by mobile data. ARCEP regulates the sector, with YAS Togo/Togo Cellulaire and Moov Africa Togo among the main providers. Reference packages published in September 2023 included 1,024 MB for seven days at FCFA 1,000 with TogoCell, 1,500 MB for seven days at FCFA 1,000 with Moov, 6,144 MB for 30 days at FCFA 5,000 with TogoCell and 61,440 MB for 30 days at FCFA 15,000 for Air Fiber. Current packages should be checked before purchase. ARCEP rules issued in February 2026 preserve unused data for 10 days when the original validity is up to 10 days and for 30 days when it is longer, require byte-based billing, delay SIM inactivity until six months and preserve main credit while the SIM remains active. Fixed connections are more concentrated in urban areas. Leisure and eating out have no reliable national standard tariff. Prices depend on the provider, event, neighbourhood and season. IHPC recorded a 4.7% year-on-year fall for leisure and culture in July 2025, while restaurants and accommodation rose by 4.9%. These expenses are usually less dominant than food, housing and transport but can vary widely. For planning, separate fixed costs such as rent, utilities and communication from variable food and transport costs. Add school-related expenses and a health reserve, then adjust for season and location. Grand Lomé generally brings higher rent, transport and internet costs. Rural areas may offer lower rent but create higher access and supply costs. The national poverty line was FCFA 295,182 per person per year in 2021, about FCFA 24,599 per person per month; poverty rates were 24.6% in urban areas and 58.2% in rural areas. The private-sector SMIG and SMAG have been FCFA 52,500 per month since 1 January 2023, but that wage is not a household budget and cannot be compared directly with a multi-person household's total needs. No current national price series supports a single reliable one-person or family budget figure, so local market checks should supplement IHPC, DNCF, CEET, TdE and AMU information.