Western Africa · TGO
Togo
The story · 8 chapters
How it was drawn
Ewe and Kabye lands squeezed between Asante and Dahomey, made into German Togoland in 1884, split between France and Britain in 1919, and independent as Togo in 1960.
Play the story Take the first lessonThrough the ages
Rivals in history
The kingdoms, empires and states Togo fought or stood against, from the first to today.
- Asante Empire1869 to 1874
In 1869 an Asante army crossed the Volta and campaigned for several years against Ewe communities east of the river, taking captives including European missionaries. Britain's war against Asante in 1873 and 1874 ended the campaign.
- German Empire1884 to 1914
In 1884 Germany turned treaties with coastal chiefs into a protectorate, then pushed inland with military expeditions in the 1890s. Its rule ended when British and French troops overran the colony in August 1914.
- France1914 to 1960
France ruled eastern Togoland from 1914 under League and UN mandates. Sylvanus Olympio's Committee of Togolese Unity pressed its case at the United Nations, won the UN supervised election of 1958 and led Togo to independence in 1960.
- Ghana1957 to 1966
Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah hoped to absorb Togo, while Sylvanus Olympio wanted the Ewe lands of former British Togoland back. Border closures and mutual accusations poisoned relations until Nkrumah's fall in 1966.
- JNIM jihadistsSince 2022Still open
Al Qaeda linked fighters of JNIM, spreading south from Burkina Faso, have attacked army posts and villages in Togo's northern Savanes region since 2022, killing soldiers and civilians. The government declared a state of emergency there in 2022.
Today
Togo now
From the 11th to the 16th centuries, various ethnic groups settled the Togo region. " In 1884, Germany declared the area a protectorate called Togoland, which included present-day Togo. After World War I, colonial rule over Togo was transferred to France. French Togoland became Togo upon independence in 1960. Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA, installed as military ruler in 1967, ruled Togo with a heavy hand for almost four decades.
- Capital
- Lomé
- Government
- presidential republic
- Head of government
- Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé
- Head of state
- Jean-Lucien Savi de Tové
- Languages
- French
- Area
- 56,785 km²
Through time
Then and now
- Population8.2 million2023 · 1.4 million in 1950
- Life expectancy62.7 years2023 · 41.9 years in 1950
- GDP per person$1,5862022 · $870 in 1950
- Living in cities44%2025 · 7% in 1950
- Literacy73%2022 · 8% in 1950
- Political regimeElectoral autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
- Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
- Military spending1.9% of GDP2025
- War deaths0.8 per 100,0002025
Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.
Relations
Close partners and tensions
Close partners
- France
- United States
Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 24 October 2026.