Togo — map and facts

About Togo

Togo is a small, narrow country in West Africa with a population of approximately 8.5 million people. Its capital is Lomé, situated on the Gulf of Guinea coast at the southwestern tip of the country and serving as the principal port and commercial centre. Togo stretches roughly 550 kilometres from north to south but is only about 150 kilometres wide at its broadest point. The official language is French, and the country is a presidential republic. Togo has been dominated by the Gnassingbé family since 1967, when Gnassingbé Eyadéma seized power in a military coup. After his death in 2005, his son Faure Gnassingbé was controversially installed and has remained president since, winning elections that opposition groups have disputed. The economy relies on subsistence agriculture, phosphate mining, and regional trade through the port of Lomé, which is one of the deepest natural harbours in West Africa. Togo is a member of the Economic Community of West African States and the West African Economic and Monetary Union, and uses the West African CFA franc.

Geography and Landscape

Togo's long, narrow shape runs north-south between Ghana to the west, Benin to the east, and Burkina Faso to the north, with a short coastline on the Gulf of Guinea to the south. The terrain varies considerably from south to north. The coastal zone is characterised by lagoons, sandbars, and a narrow belt of mangroves. Moving inland, a low plateau gives way to the Akwapim-Togo mountain chain, which runs diagonally across the centre of the country from southwest to northeast. The Baumann Peak (Mont Agou) in the southwest reaches 986 metres, the country's highest point. North of the mountains lies the Oti Plateau and the broad Oti River valley, part of the Volta basin, while the far north opens into the Sahel savanna. The main rivers include the Mono in the east and the Oti in the north. Togo experiences two rainy seasons in the south and one in the north. Deforestation has been significant, particularly in the southern and central regions, where much of the original forest cover has been cleared for agriculture.

History

The territory of present-day Togo was inhabited by various peoples including the Ewe in the south, the Kabyé in the north, and the Tem in the centre long before European contact. Portuguese and later other European traders established coastal posts from the fifteenth century onward, primarily engaged in the slave trade. The area became a German protectorate, German Togoland, in 1884. During World War I, British and French forces invaded and divided the territory in 1914. After the war, the League of Nations formalised the partition: British Togoland was incorporated into the Gold Coast (later Ghana) following a 1956 plebiscite, while French Togoland became an autonomous republic within the French Union and then gained full independence as Togo on 27 April 1960. The first president, Sylvanus Olympio, was assassinated in a military coup in 1963, one of the first such coups in post-independence Africa. Gnassingbé Eyadéma seized power in 1967 and ruled until his death in 2005, creating one of Africa's longest personal dictatorships. His son Faure Gnassingbé has governed since.