The Burkina Faso–Togo border is 131 km (81 m) in length and runs from the tripoint with

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

in the west to the tripoint with

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

in the east.

Description

The border starts in the west at the tripoint with Ghana, and continues in a straight line orientated to the south-east. A short section then runs southwards along the Sansargou river, before a straight line veers to the north-east up to the 11th parallel north; the border then runs in a straight line immediately north of this parallel eastwards, terminating at the Beninese tripoint.

History

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 was the invasion, conquest, and colonialism, colonisation of most of Africa by seven Western European powers driven by the Second Industrial Revolution during the late 19th century and early 20th century in the era of ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

began taking an interest in acquiring African colonies in this period, signing treaties with chiefs along the coast of modern Togo in July 1884. The colony of German Togoland was then extended gradually inland. As a result of the Scramble,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

had gained control the upper valley of the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Nige ...

(roughly equivalent to the areas of modern

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

and

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

). France occupied this area in 1900; Mali (then referred to as

French Sudan French Sudan (; ') was a French colonial territory in the Federation of French West Africa from around 1880 until 1959, when it joined the Mali Federation, and then in 1960, when it became the independent state of Mali. The colony was formall ...

) was originally included, along with modern Niger and

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

(then called Upper Volta), within the Upper Senegal and Niger colony and became a constituent of the federal colony of

French West Africa French West Africa (, ) was a federation of eight French colonial empires#Second French colonial empire, French colonial territories in West Africa: Colonial Mauritania, Mauritania, French Senegal, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guin ...

(''Afrique occidentale française'', abbreviated AOF). France and Germany agreed upon the boundary between German Togoland and French territory on 23 July 1897. This was then delimited in more detail on 28 September 1912. In the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

German Togoland was

conquered Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or legal prohibitions against conquest ...

by the Allied powers and then 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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and French mandates along a dividing line agreed upon on 10 July 1919. As a result what is now the Burkina Faso-Ghana-Togo tripoint was shifted eastwards. As the movement for decolonisation grew in the post-

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

era, France gradually granted more political rights and representation for their sub-Saharan African colonies, culminating in the granting of broad internal autonomy to French West Africa in 1958 within the framework of the

French Community The French Community () was the constitutional organization set up in October 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which had reorganized the colonial em ...

. Eventually, in 1960, both French Togoland and Upper Volta gained independence (British Togoland having been absorbed into Ghana), and their mutual frontier became an international one between two states.

Settlements near the border

Burkina Faso

* Pouniouassankoto * Dagonkon * Touekoudouga

Togo

* Timbou * Nadjouni * Koundjouare * Ponio * Senkase

Border crossings

The main crossing is located at Senkanse-Bitou.James Knight & Katrina Manson (2011) ''Bradt Travel Guide – Burkina Faso'', pgs. 66 Third party governments generally discourage travel to the border region due to the poor security situation in Burkina Faso.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burkina Faso-Togo border Borders of Burkina Faso Borders of Togo International borders