Togo, also known as the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa, with an estimated population of about 8.6 million in 2020 and a population density of 152 inhabitants/km2. Togo takes its name from the present-day Togoville.

As one of the smallest continental African states6 , Togo covers an area of 56,785 km2 and stretches for about 700 km from north to south with a width of no more than 150 km. Bordered to the north by Burkina Faso, to the south by the Gulf of Guinea, to the east by Benin and to the west by Ghana, Togo has a great diversity of landscapes: a sandy coastline lined with coconut trees in the south, hills, green valleys, small mountains in the centre of the country, arid plains and large savannahs in the north of the country.

In 1884, the territory was colonised as a German protectorate. During the First World War, the protectorate was partitioned into two mandates between the UK in the west and France in the east in 1916. While the British mandate was incorporated into what is now Ghana in 1956, the French colony gained independence in 1960 to become the modern country. Following two coups in 1963 and 1967, Gnassingbé Eyadema became president and established a highly authoritarian one-party dictatorship. Although a multi-party system was introduced in the early 1990s, he continued to hold power until his death in 2005. His son, Faure Gnassingbé, succeeded him as president and remains in power to this day.

Togo has been a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) since 19757 , the WAEMU since 19948 , the Commonwealth since 2022 9 and is a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.