In 1884, a paper was signed at Togoville with King Mlapa III, whereby Germany claimed a protectorate over a stretch of territory along the coast and gradually extended its control inland.

These factors eventually led to a military coup on 13 January 1963 during which he was assassinated by a group of soldiers under the direction of Sergeant Gnassingbé Eyadéma.

UN condemned the resulting crackdown by security forces, and Gambia's foreign minister, Ousainou Darboe, had to issue a correction after saying that Gnassingbé should resign.

An investigation was opened for this case, resulting in Major General Kadangha Abalo Felix being prosecuted and tried for involvement in Madjoulba's assassination and 'conspiracy against the internal security of the state.'

[26] Prior to its admission at the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Foreign Minister Robert Dussey said that he expected Commonwealth membership to provide new export markets, funding for development projects and opportunities for Togolese citizens to learn English and access new educational and cultural resources.

[27] The president is elected by universal and direct suffrage for five years, and is the commander of the armed forces and has the right to initiate legislation and dissolve parliament.

With an engineered power vacuum, the Parliament voted to remove the constitutional clause that would have required an election within 60 days and declared that Eyadema's son, Faure Gnassingbé, would inherit the presidency and hold office for the rest of his father's term.

With the presence of an EU observer mission, cancelled ballots and illegal voting took place, the majority of which in RPT strongholds.

Faure Gnassingbé won re-election in the March 2010 presidential election, taking 61% of the vote against Jean-Pierre Fabre from UFC, who had been backed by an opposition coalition called FRAC (Republican Front for Change).

[37] Electoral observers noted "procedural errors" and technical problems, and the opposition did not recognize the results, claiming irregularities had affected the outcome.

[40] In May 2010, opposition leader Gilchrist Olympio announced that he would enter into a power-sharing deal with the government, a coalition arrangement which provides UFC with eight ministerial posts.

In the same month, the home of opposition leader Jean-Pierre Fabre was raided by security forces, and thousands of protesters again rallied publicly against the government crackdown.

[26] In joining the Commonwealth, Foreign Minister Robert Dussey told Reuters, the country sought to expand its "diplomatic, political and economic network" and to "forge closer ties with the anglophone world.

According to a U.S. State Department report based on conditions in 2010, human rights problems include "security force use of excessive force, including torture, which resulted in deaths and injuries; official impunity; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrests and detention; lengthy pretrial detention; executive influence over the judiciary; infringement of citizens' privacy rights; restrictions on freedoms of press, assembly, and movement; official corruption; discrimination and violence against women; child abuse, including female genital mutilation (FGM), and sexual exploitation of children; regional and ethnic discrimination; trafficking in persons, especially women and children; societal discrimination against persons with disabilities; official and societal discrimination against homosexual persons; societal discrimination against persons with HIV; and forced labour, including by children.

Low market prices for Togo's major export commodities coupled with the volatile political situation of the 1990s and 2000s had a negative effect on the economy.

The government's decade-long efforts supported by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to carry out economic reforms, to encourage investments, and to create the balance between income and consumption has stalled.

Political unrest, including private and public sector strikes throughout 1992 and 1993, jeopardized the reform program, shrank the tax base, and disrupted economic activities in the country.

Its main import partners are France (21.1%), the Netherlands (12.1%), Côte d'Ivoire (5.9%), Germany (4.6%), Italy (4.4%), South Africa (4.3%) and China (4.1%).

In terms of structural reforms, it has made progress in the liberalization of the economy, namely in the fields of trade and port activities.

On 12 January 1994, the devaluation of the currency by 50% provided an impetus to renewed structural adjustment; these efforts were facilitated by the end of strife in 1994 and a return to overt political calm.

The Trans–West African Coastal Highway crosses Togo, connecting it to Benin and Nigeria to the east, and Ghana and Ivory Coast to the west.

It follows a track gauge of 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) (narrow gauge) Trains are operated by Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Togolais (SNCT), which was established as a result of the restructuring and renaming of Réseau des Chemins de Fer du Togo from 1997 to 1998.

[68] Between Hahotoé and the port of Kpémé, the Compagnie Togolaise des Mines du Bénin (CTMB) operated phosphate trains.

Togo, in terms of water transport, is only 50 km (31 mi) navigable, mostly seasonally on the Mono River, depending on rainfall, as of 2011.

After World War I, German missionaries had to leave, which gave birth to the early autonomy of the Ewe Evangelical Church.

Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism are recognised by the state; other groups must register as religious associations to receive similar benefits.

[85] AFD is working to enhance living conditions in Lomé, the coastal city with a population of 1.4 million, by modernizing solid waste management services.

The dyed fabric batiks of the artisanal centre of Kloto represent stylized and coloured scenes of ancient everyday life.

Works of the painter Sokey Edorh are inspired by the "immense arid extents, swept by the dry wind", and where the soil keeps the prints of the men and the animals.

The plastics technician Paul Ahyi practiced the "zota", a kind of pyroengraving, and his monumental achievements decorate Lomé.