Togo

Landscape

Highly variable stretching from north to south. Gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes.

People

In Togo, there are about 40 different ethnic groups, the most numerous of which are the Ewe in the south 46% Although along the south coastline they account for 21% of the population, Kotokoli and Tchamba in the center, Kabyé in the north 22%. Another classification lists Uaci or Ouatchis 14% as a separate ethnic group from the Ewe which brings the proportion of Ewe down to 32%. However, there are no historic or ethnic facts that justify the separation between Ewes and Ouatchis. On the contrary, the term Ouatchi relates to a subgroup of Ewes which migrated south during the 16th century from Notse the ancient Ewe Kingdom capital. This classification is inaccurate and has been contested for being politically biased; Mina, Mossi, and Aja about 8% are the remainder; and under 1% are European expatriates who live in Togo as diplomats and for economic reasons. The Ouatchis are a sub-group of the Ewe just as the Anlo in the Republic of Ghana are a subgroup of the Ewe ethnic group.

Climate

The climate is generally tropical with average temperatures ranging from 27°C on the coast to about 30°C in the northernmost regions, with a dry climate and characteristics of a tropical savanna. To the south there are two seasons of rain the first between April and July and the second between October and November.

History

In an 1884 treaty signed at Togoville, Germany declared a protectorate over a stretch of territory along the coast and gradually extended its control inland. This became the German colony Togoland in 1905. After the German defeat during World War I in August 1914 at the hands of British troops coming from the Gold Coast and the French troops coming from Dahomey, Togoland became two League of Nations mandates, administered by the United Kingdom and France. After World War II, these mandates became UN Trust Territories. The residents of British Togoland voted to join the Gold Coast as part of the new independent nation of Ghana, and French Togoland became an autonomous republic within the French Union.

Togo's size is just less than 57,000 square kilometres 22,000 sq mi. It has a population of more than 6,600,000 people, which is dependent mainly on agriculture. The mild weather makes for good growing seasons. Togo is a tropical, sub-Saharan nation.

Togo gained its independence from France in 1960. In 1967, Gnassingbé Eyadéma, the former leader of the country, led a successful military coup, after which he became President. Eyadéma was the longest-serving leader in African history after being president for 38 years at the time of his death in 2005.[4] In 2005, his son Faure Gnassingbé was elected president. About a third of the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day.