Togo - Facts

President : Faure Gnassingbe (2005)

Prime Minister : Kwesi Ahoomey-Zunu (2012)

Land area : 21,000 sq mi (54,390 sq km); total area: 21,925 sq mi (56,785 sq km)

Population (2012 est.) : 6,961,049 (growth rate: 2.748%); birth rate: 35.26/1000; infant mortality rate: 49.87/1000; life expectancy: 63.17; density per sq mi: 301.9

Capital and largest city (2011 est.) : Lomé, 1,570,283 (metro. area), 837,437 (city proper)

Monetary unit : CFA Franc

Geography : Togo, twice the size of Maryland, is on the south coast of West Africa bordering on Ghana to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Benin to the east. The Gulf of Guinea coastline, only 32 mi long (51 km), is low and sandy. The only port is at Lomé. The Togo hills traverse the central section.

Government : Republic transitioning to multiparty democratic rule.

History : The Voltaic peoples and the Kwa were the earliest known inhabitants. The Ewe followed in the 14th century and the Ane in the 18th century. The Danish claimed the land in the 18th century, but by 1884 it was established as a German colony (Togoland). The area was split between the British and the French under League of Nations mandates after World War I and subsequently administered as UN trusteeships. The British portion voted for incorporation with Ghana. The French portion became Togo, which declared its independence on April 27, 1960.