The Ghana–Togo border is 1,098 km (682 miles) in length and runs from the tripoint with

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 ...

in the north to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

in the south.

Description

The border starts in the north at the tripoint with Burkina Faso; it then veers eastwards, almost re-touching the Burkinabe border and thereby creating a piece of Togolese territory almost cut off by only 0.14 km (140 m) from the main body of the country. The border then turns southwards, proceeding overland before reaching the

White Volta The White Volta or Nakambé ( French: ''Volta blanche'') is the headstream of the Volta River, Ghana's main waterway. The White Volta emerges in northern Burkina Faso, flows through Northern Ghana and empties into Lake Volta in Ghana. The White V ...

river. The border follows this river for a while, before veering south-eastwards, utilising overland lines and some small rivers, eventually reaching the

Oti River The Oti River or Pendjari River ( French: ''Rivière Pendjari'') is an international river in West Africa. It rises in Benin, forms the border between Benin and Burkina Faso, flows through Togo, and joins the Volta River in Ghana. Geography The ...

. The border then follows the Oti southwards, then veers eastwards along one of its branches, before turning south overland down to the

Mo River The Mo River ( French: ''Rivière Mo'') is a river of Ghana and Togo, and it arises in Togo and flows west, forming a short part of the international boundary between Ghana and Togo. It empties into Lake Volta Lake Volta (), the largest artifi ...

. After a brief section on the Mo the border then continues to the south, using various overland segments and some small rivers, before eventually terminating at the Atlantic coast just west of Togo's capital

Lomé Lomé ( , ) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Togo, largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

. The highest points of both countries,

Mount Afadja Mount Afadja, known as Afadjato to the Ewe people of Ghana and Togo, is one of the highest mountains in Ghana. The summit is located in the Volta Region, near the border with Togo, close to the villages of Liati Wote and Gbledi Gbogame in the Afad ...

in Ghana and

Mount Agou Mount Agou ( French: ''Mont Agou'', earlier known as ''Baumannspitze'' or Baumann Peak) is the highest mountain in Togo at . It is situated to the south east of Kpalimé in the Plateaux Region of Togo. The mountain lies close to the border with ...

(

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

: ''Mont Agou'') in Togo, lie close to each other near the border.

History

Remains of the

Kintampo Complex The Kintampo complex, also known as the Kintampo culture, Kintampo Neolithic, and Kintampo Tradition, was established by Saharan agropastoralists, who may have been Niger-Congo or Nilo-Saharan speakers and were distinct from the earlier residi ...

(2500 –1400 BCE) have been discovered in Togo. Europeans made contact with the coast of Ghana (then referred to as the Gold Coast) from the 15th century, and it became the centre of a various trading networks, notably in

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

and slaves;

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 ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

all had trading posts in the region. In the 18th and 19th centuries Togo served as the

buffer zone A buffer zone, also historically known as a march, is a neutral area that lies between two or more bodies of land; usually, between countries. Depending on the type of buffer zone, it may serve to separate regions or conjoin them. Common types o ...

between the

Ashanti Empire The Asante Empire ( Asante Twi: ), also known as the Ashanti Empire, was an Akan state that lasted from 1701 to 1901, in what is now modern-day Ghana. It expanded from the Ashanti Region to include most of Ghana and also parts of Ivory Coast ...

and

Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African List of kingdoms in Africa throughout history, kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. It developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in ...

until the establishment of German Togoland in the 1880s.

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

also took an interest in the region, and during the 19th century became the predominant regional power, taking over all the rival trading posts and declaring the Gold Coast colony in 1867.McLaughlin & Owusu-Ansah (1994), ''Britain and the Gold Coast: the Early Years'' The British gradually extended their rule into the interior, against often determined resistance by the Ashanti Empire; the northern region of what is now Ghana was annexed to the Gold Coast colony in 1901. 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 ...

began taking an interest in acquiring colonies, signing treaties with chiefs along the coast of modern Togo in July 1884. The colony of German Togoland was then gradually extended inland. An initial border in the southernmost section west of Lomé was agreed upon by Britain and Germany on 14 July 1886. It was extended further to the north to the Volta-Daka confluence the following year. This section of the border was then delimited in more detail via an Anglo-German agreement of 1 July 1890. The border was extended further northwards via mutual agreement on 14 November 1899. The full boundary was then delimited in late 1901, and then demarcated on the ground 1901–02; this final boundary was approved on 25 June 1904. 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 Allies 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

mandates along a mandate lines agreed upon on 10 July 1919. The new boundary between the mandates (i.e. the modern Ghana–Togo border) was then confirmed between Britain and France on 21 October 1929 following demarcation work conducted 1927–29. By

plebiscite A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or adv ...

, British Togoland was incorporated into the Gold Coast colony in 1956, which gained independence as

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 ...

the following year. France had also initiated a process of decolonisation at this time, culminating in the granting of broad internal autonomy to each African colony 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 ...

. French Togoland declared complete independence on 27 April 1960, whereupon the frontier with Ghana became one between two sovereign states. The two states undertook some re-demarcation work in the 1970s.

Settlements near the border

Ghana

* Wurinyanga *

Nakpanduri Nakpanduri is a village in Bunkpurugu-Nakpanduri District, a district in the North East Region of north Ghana adjacent to the border with Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to ...

Bunkpurugu Bunkpurugu is a small town and is the capital of Bunkpurugu Nakpanduri district, a district in the North East Region of Ghana adjacent to the border with Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is borde ...

* Wawjawga * Kilingg * Nkanta * Breniasi * Agbome *

Denu Denu is a small town which is the capital of Ketu South Municipal, a district on the south-eastern corner of the Volta Region of Ghana, next to Aflao the border town with Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Afr ...

Aflao Aflao is a border town in the Ketu South District in the Volta Region of Ghana on the Ghana–Togo border, border with Togo. Aflao is the twenty-eighth most populous Human settlement, settlement in Ghana, in terms of population, with a populat ...

Togo

* Tami * Bantierk * Kpankpande * Passao * Biakopabe * Bidjabe * Dimouri * Kakpa * Bloma *

Kpalimé Kpalimé is a city in the Plateaux Region, Togo, Plateaux Region of Togo, 120 km north of Lomé and 15 km from the Ghana–Togo border, border with Ghana. It is the administrative capital of Kloto Prefecture. Kpalimé has a population ...

* Kpadafe * Agoueve *

Lomé Lomé ( , ) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Togo, largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

Border crossings

The main border crossing is at Aflao-Lomé; other crossings include Ho-Kpalimé and Leklebi-Kame.Phillip Briggs (2019) ''Bradt Travel Guide - Ghana'', pgs. 60-61

References

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