Togo is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately 57000 square kilometres (22000 sq mi) with a population of approximately 6.7 million.Togo is a tropical, sub-Saharan nation, highly dependent on agriculture, with a climate that provides good growing seasons. The official language is French; however, there are many other languages spoken in Togo. Approximately one half of the population lives below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day.Togo gained its independence from France in 1960.In 1967, Gnassingbé Eyadéma led a successful military coup, after which he became president. At the time of his death in 2005, Eyadéma was the longest-serving leader in modern African history, after having been president for 38 years. In 2005, his son Faure Gnassingbé was elected president. When the slave trade began in the 16th century, the Mina were the most serious of victims. For the next two hundred years, the coastal region was a major raiding centre for Europeans in search of slaves, earning Togo and the surrounding region the name "The Slave Coast".In an 1854 treaty signed at Togovil under the King Mlapa III, Germany declared a protectorate over a stretch of territory along the coast and gradually extended its control inland. In 1905, this became the German colony of Togoland. After the German defeat <b>...</b>
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