The Benin–Togo border is 651 km (405 m) in length and runs from the

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

with

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

in the north down to the Bight of Benin in the south.

Description

The border starts in the north at the tripoint with Burkina Faso. It then proceeds overland to the southwest, veers to the southeast in the vicinity of Grando Namoni, and then turns sharply southwards in the vicinity of Gando, Benin. The boundary then proceeds southwards in a roughly straight line, occasionally utilising rivers such as the Ogou and, in the southernmost stretches, the

Mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanese b ...

Mont Sokbaro Mont Sokbaro (also spelled as SagbaraoTchaboue, B.I. (2015) ''Tourisme et developpement socio-economique dans la commune de Bassila (Benin)''. Université d'Abomey-Calavi) is a hill that is mostly cited as the highest point of Benin, with an eleva ...

, widely cited as the highest point of Benin, lies almost on the border here. In the far south the border turns sharply to the west before reaching the Atlantic Ocean, providing Benin with a thin strip of territory encompassing

Grand-Popo Grand-Popo is a town, arrondissement, and commune in the Mono Department of south-western Benin. The commune covers an area of 289 square kilometres and as at the 2013 Census had a population of 57,636 people. The term "Grand-Popo" is a Europea ...

and Hilakondji.

History

During the second half of the 19th century France began creating small trading settlements on the West African coast. In 1851 a treaty of friendship was signed between France and the

Kingdom of Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a region ...

in what is now southern Benin, followed by the creation of a protectorate in

Porto Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of G ...

in 1863. The colony of Dahomey (the former name of Benin) was declared in 1894, and later included within the much larger federal colony of

French West Africa French West Africa (french: Afrique-Occidentale française, ) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now Burki ...

(''Afrique occidentale française'', abbreviated AOF) in 1899. The 1880s saw an intense competition for territory in Africa by the European powers, a process known as the ‘

Scramble for Africa The Scramble for Africa, also called the Partition of Africa, or Conquest of Africa, was the invasion, annexation, division, and colonisation of Africa, colonization of most of Africa by seven Western Europe, Western European powers during a ...

’.

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

began taking an interest in acquiring African colonies, signing a treaty with chiefs along the coast of modern Togo in July 1884; France recognised this claim the following year. The southernmost section of the border was agreed upon by

procès-verbal Procès-verbal ( French ''procès'', process, Late Latin ''verbalis'', from ''verbum'', word) is a legal term with a number of meanings: In law *in Francophone countries, such as France, the term "procès-verbal" is frequently mentioned as "P.V." ...

in 1887, with the rest of boundary being settled by a Franco-German protocol of July 1897. A more detailed boundary treaty was agreed upon in September 1912. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

German Togoland Togoland was a German Empire protectorate in West Africa from 1884 to 1914, encompassing what is now the nation of Togo and most of what is now the Volta Region of Ghana, approximately 90,400 km2 (29,867 sq mi) in size. During the period kno ...

was conquered by Allied forces and split into

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and French mandates. By

plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

, British Togoland was incorporated into the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

colony in 1956, which gained independence as

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

the following year. The remainder of Togolese territory remained under French control, however France had also initiated a process of decolonisation, which culminated in the granting of broad internal autonomy to its African territories in 1958 within the framework of the

French Community The French Community (1958–1960; french: Communauté française) was the constitutional organization set up in 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which ...

. French Togoland declared complete independence as Togo on 27 April 1960, followed by Dahomey on 1 August, and their mutual frontier between an international one between two independent states.

Settlements near the border

Benin

* Séméhoun-Nanbouli * Kountouri * Boukonmbé-Zongo * Kossokouangou *

Tchoumi-Tchoumi Tchoumi-Tchoumi is a town and arrondissement in the Atakora Department of northwestern Benin. It is an administrative division under the jurisdiction of the commune of Natitingou. According to the population census conducted by the Institut Nation ...

* Boukombe * Kounadougou * Dompago *

Ouaké Ouaké is a town, arrondissement, and commune in the Donga Department of western Benin. The commune covers an area of 663 square kilometres and as of 2013 had a population of 74,289 people. Ethnic Groups The Lokpa (or Lukpa) are the predomina ...

* Doumé * Séméré * Aledjo-Koura * Penelan *

Bassila Bassila is a town, arrondissement, and commune located in the Donga Department of Benin. The commune covers an area of 120 square kilometres and as of 2013 had a population of 130,770 people. The RNIE 3 highway of Benin passes through the town ...

Tchetti Tchetti is an arrondissement in the Collines department of Benin. It is an administrative division under the jurisdiction of the commune of Savalou. According to the population census conducted by the Institut National de la Statistique Benin ...

Aplahoué Aplahoué is a town and arrondissement in Benin, and is the capital of the Kouffo Department Kouffo or Couffo is one of the twelve departments of Benin. Kouffo borders the country of Togo and the departments of Mono, Zou and Atlantique. Since ...

* Athiémé * Adjaha * Agbanaken *

Agoué Agoué is an arrondissement in the Mono department of Benin. It is an administrative division under the jurisdiction of the commune of Grand-Popo. According to the population census conducted by the Institut National de la Statistique Benin An ...

* Hilakondji

Togo

Mandouri Mandouri is a city in Togo. It is the seat of Kpendjal Prefecture in Savanes Region, located 48 km from the border with Ghana, 105 km from the city of Dapaong and about 600 km from the capital, Lomé Lomé is the capital and la ...

* Grando Namoni * Gando *

Sola Sola is a municipality and a Seaside resort in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Solakrossen. Other villages include Tananger, Hålandsm ...

* Pagouda * Kpékplémé * Kétao * Balanka * Koussountou

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benin-Togo border Borders of Benin Borders of Togo International borders