Lomé ( , ) is the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

and

largest city The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or their metrop ...

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

. It has an urban population of 837,437Résultats définitifs du RGPH4 au Togo
while there were 2,188,376 permanent residents in its

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

as of the 2022 census. Located on the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea (French language, French: ''Golfe de Guinée''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Golfo de Guinea''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Golfo da Guiné'') is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez i ...

at the southwest corner of the country, with its entire western border along the easternmost edge of

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 ...

Volta Region Volta Region (or Volta) is one of Ghana's sixteen administrative regions, with Ho designated as its capital. It is located west of Republic of Togo and to the east of Lake Volta. Divided into 25 administrative districts, the region is multi- ...

, Lomé is the country's administrative and industrial center, which includes an oil refinery. It is also the country's chief port, from where it exports

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...

copra Copra (from ; ; ; ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted ...

, and

oil palm ''Elaeis'' () is a genus of palms, called oil palms, containing two species, native to Africa and the Americas. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. Description Mature palms are single-stemmed, and can gro ...

kernels. Its city limits extends to the border with Ghana, located a few hundred meters west of the city center, to the Ghanaian city of

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 ...

and the South Ketu district where the city is situated, had 160,756 inhabitants in 2010. The cross-border agglomeration of which Lomé is the centre has about 2 million inhabitants as of 2020.

Etymology

The name 'Lomé' comes from ''Alo(ti)mé'' or (shorter) ''Alomé'', which in the

Ewe language Ewe (''Eʋe'' or ''Eʋegbe'' ) is a language spoken by approximately 5 million people in West Africa, mainly in Ghana and Togo. Ewe is part of a group of related languages commonly called the Gbe languages. The other major Gbe language is F ...

, literally, means "in the alo trees", or "within the alo trees", to designate simply the forest of alo.

History

The city was founded by the Ewes and expanded in the 19th century by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, British and African traders, becoming the capital of

Togoland Togoland, officially the Togoland Protectorate (; ), was a protectorate of the German Empire 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&nb ...

in 1897. At the end of the 19th century, British

customs duties A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...

on imported products (especially on alcohol and tobacco) weighed very heavily. The traders, mainly maritime Ewe or

Anlo The Anlo Ewe are a sub-group of the Ewe people of approximately 6 million people, inhabiting southern Togo, southern Benin, southwest Nigeria, and south-eastern parts of the Volta Region of Ghana; meanwhile, a majority of Ewe are located in the ...

from the area between

and

Keta Keta is a coastal town and the capital of the Keta Municipal District in the Volta Region of Ghana. Keta was an important trading post between the 14th and the late 20th centuries. The town attracted the interest of the Danish, because they fe ...

in the east of the British colony of Gold Coast, then looking for an alternative place to unload goods while being out of reach of British customs officers, naturally targeted the coastal site of Lomé, nearby. This commercial dynamic of customs circumvention and tax evasion then favored the expansion of Lomé around 1880. The calm and sparsely inhabited Loméen coastline began to be populated rapidly. The Ewes were soon joined by European, British and especially German companies, as well as itinerant merchants from the interior, such as the

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also ...

caravans from the cola roads. Many people were attracted by the new economic hub that Lomé represented. The rapid growth of the city was reinforced, and Lomé quickly earned a reputation as a place where good business was done.

Colonial period

It was the threats of the British present in the neighboring Gold Coast (now

) that put an end to the competition that Lomé provoked for their colony, which then provoked a call for the protection 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 ...

. Togoland was thus created as an entity of international law within the German colonial empire on 5 July 1884, by the Treaty of Togoville, signed by

Gustav Nachtigal Gustav Nachtigal (; born 23 February 1834 – 20 April 1885) was a German military surgeon and explorer of Central and West Africa. He is further known as the German Empire's consul-general for Tunisia and Commissioner for West Africa. His miss ...

and King . Lomé continued to prosper freely as a centre of import, thus becoming the main gateway to the North, whose major axis of penetration was then the Volta Valley; it was to access it that the construction of the first real road in the country, Lomé-Kpalimé, was undertaken from 1892. It was this major economic role that led the German administration to transfer the capital of the territory to a city that already had more than 2,000 inhabitants. Lomé benefited from 1904 from a port that made it the only maritime contact point of Togo, ruining its rival,

Aného Aného, previously known as Anecho, Petit Popo or Little Popo, is a town in southeastern Togo, lying on the Gulf of Guinea near the border of Benin. It is situated 45 km east of the capital Lomé, between the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Togo in ...

, until then much more important. From this development, a network of railways could be deployed: to Aného in 1905, to Kpalimé in 1907 and to

Atakpamé Atakpamé is the fifth largest city in Togo by population (84,979 inhabitants in 2006), located in the Plateaux Region of Togo. It is an industrial centre and lies on the main north-south highway, 161 km north of the capital Lomé. It is al ...

in 1909. All the "useful Togo" was now organized in a funnel around Lomé, whose preponderance on the Togolese urban network was definitively established and growth assured. The city reached a population of 8,000 in 1914. But, if the infrastructure set up by the Germans - which consisted of a post office in 1890, the

telephone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...

in 1894, the cathedral in 1904, a bank in 1906 and the intercontinental telegraph in 1913 - could benefit everyone, a system of discriminatory patents and licenses gradually ousted African traders from the most lucrative activities, that is the trade or import-export business. Apart from the rich Octaviano Olympio, with his large Cocoterais, the first in the city, his herds, his

brickyard A brickyard or brickfield is a place or Yard (land), yard where bricks are made, pottery firing, fired, and stored, or sometimes Commerce, sold or otherwise distributed from. Brick makers work in a brick yard. A brick yard may be constructed ...

and his construction company, most

Togolese The demographics of Togo include Ethnic group, ethnicity, population density, age, education level, health, economic status and Religion in Togo, religious affiliations. Togo’s population is estimated to have grown to four times its size betwe ...

merchants had to put themselves at the service of foreign firms as managers of their agencies in other cities, or enjoying more autonomy as buyers of agricultural export products in the interior. The smallest had been hired in large numbers as clerks in the main factories (headquarters of the offices of a trading company abroad). Firms in other African territories looked with envy at Togo, which had an abundant skilled workforce, while elsewhere, it was necessary to entrust all positions to expatriates, much more expensive for the employer. 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 ...

completely spared the city. However, in 1916, it led to the eviction of German companies, gradually replaced by British and French firms. Many Togolese traders returned to Lomé. Their flourishing businesses, their vast coconut groves, and their large land holdings made them a bourgeoisie with which the new French colonial authorities had to reckon, prompting the creation of the council of notables in 1922 (elective from 1925), which gave Lomé a remarkably early political life in French-speaking Africa. It is also quite exceptional that an African capital has been so marked by its indigenous

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...

, both in the production practices of urban space, so original in Lomé, and in the singularities of its popular architecture. The French renewed the infrastructure left by the Germans, repairing railways, building more roads, constructing a new quay, etc. They added electrification in 1926 and drinking water supply in 1940. However, they took years to fill the void left in the schools by the German verbist missionaries when they left. The level of students enrolled in 1945, at the death of , reached that of 1914. In the 1920s, a policy of systematic low taxation ushered in a long period of prosperity. In January 1923, a took place against the arrest of two Duawo leaders and forced their release. File:Ville de Lomé 1931 partie gauche.jpg , Left part File:Ville de Lomé 1931 partie droite.jpg , Right part Lomé reached 15,000 inhabitants around 1930. But the global economic crisis of the early 1930s led to a brutal recession. Many businesses closed or had to consolidate. Investments stopped, like the Northern Railway, definitively stopped in Blitta in 1934. A plan for a sharp tax increase, while the people's resources were falling, provoked the riots of January 1933, which were undoubtedly a major political break in the history of Togo. It was only after

World War II 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 ...

, following a decade of postwar stagnation, that boom times resumed in Lomé.

Independence

The population of the city increased rapidly in the second half of the 20th century. It had only a population of 30,000 in 1950, which increased to 80,000 in 1960, the year when Togo became independent. A decade later, it stood at 200,000 people, in 1970. Within two decades, the population of Lomé increased by seven-fold. The city, as throughout the country, the very high prices of export products operate the markets, the significant investments of the colonial administration (the "FIDES" plan created a large number of roads, bridges, schools, hospitals) ensured full employment. The constructions were rapidly expanding at the expense of the old coconut groves, the hope animated each of an imminent take-off. From the mid-1970s, investments became more and more gigantic, but not always in well-targeted areas, Togo, a small open country and hub of trade between its powerful neighbors, did not have the protected market that would have been needed for the large industries that were built for it, nor the stable tourism potential for the luxurious hotels that were coming up.Roman Adrian Cybriwsky, ''Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture'', ABC-CLIO, USA, 2013, p. 162 At the same time, the railways were allowed to deteriorate, even though they had an important role, especially for serving the outlying districts of the city. But, the economic activity of an African city is not just an accumulation of large companies, banks and factories. There is also the very vast field of the popular economy, these innumerable activities of production, exchange, service, repair, which are in fact the livelihood of the majority of the population, and the only way for it to access services commensurate with its modest resources. Difficult to grasp in the statistical tools of economists, the

informal sector An informal economy (informal sector or grey economy) is the part of any economy that is neither taxed nor monitored by any form of government. Although the informal sector makes up a significant portion of the economies in developing countri ...

is increasingly affecting the real economic life of African city dwellers. In addition, the development of market gardening around the city, stimulated by growing unemployment, arose rural exodus and demand for vegetables. Market gardening, first extended to the north, is mainly on the beach (as the sand is too less salty), planting protective hedges. The various studies of the city's land market indicate that the neighborhoods are relatively heterogeneous, mixing opulent villas and modest housing, without social and spatial division of the city. This is explained by the fact that Lomeans are very attached to their plot of land and what they call their "home" (their home). This, therefore, led to a land freeze. However, if the city is not a socially divided city, the fact remains that Lomé is experiencing more and more problems related to the collection of household waste, the fight against urban insalubrity has become one of the priorities of the city and its inhabitants.

Climate

Owing to its location in the

Dahomey Gap In West Africa, the Dahomey Gap refers to the portion of the Guinean forest-savanna mosaic that extends all the way to the coast in Benin, Togo, and Ghana, thus separating the forest zone that covers much of the south of the region into two sepa ...

, Lomé has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Aw''/''As'') despite its latitude close to the equator. The capital of Togo is relatively dry with an annual average rainfall of and on average 59 rainy days per year. Despite this, the city experiences heavy fog most of the year from the northern extension of the

Benguela Current The Benguela Current is the broad, northward flowing ocean current that forms the eastern portion of the South Atlantic Ocean gyre. The current extends from roughly Cape Point in the south, to the position of the Angola-Benguela Front in the no ...

and receives a total of 2,330 bright sunshine hours annually. Comparably dry inland West African cities like

Bamako Bamako is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2022 population of 4,227,569. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country. Bamak ...

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria *Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State ** Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries ** Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom betwee ...

expect between 2,900 and 3,000 hours of sunshine annually. The annual mean temperature is about but heat is constant as monthly mean temperatures range from in July, the least hot month of the year to in February and in April, the hottest months of the year.

Climate change

A 2019 paper published in PLOS One estimated that under Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5, a "moderate" scenario of

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

where global warming reaches ~ by 2100, the climate of Lomé in the year 2050 would most closely resemble the current climate of

Managua Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central America. Located on the shores of Lake Managua, the city had an estimated population of 1, ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

. The annual temperature would increase by , the temperature of the warmest month by , and of the coldest month by . According to

Climate Action Tracker Climate Action Tracker (CAT) is an independent scientific project with the aim of monitoring government action to achieve their reduction of greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse e ...

, the current warming trajectory appears consistent with , which closely matches RCP 4.5. Moreover, according to the 2022

IPCC Sixth Assessment Report The Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the United Nations (UN) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the sixth in a series of reports which assess the available scientific information on climate change. Three Working Groups (WGI, II, ...

, Lomé is one of 12 major African cities (

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, Lomé,

Luanda Luanda ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Angola, largest city of Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Ang ...

and

Maputo Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...

) which would be the most severely affected by the future

sea level rise The sea level has been rising from the end of the last ice age, which was around 20,000 years ago. Between 1901 and 2018, the average sea level rose by , with an increase of per year since the 1970s. This was faster than the sea level had e ...

. It estimates that they would collectively sustain cumulative damages of USD 65 billion under RCP 4.5 and USD 86.5 billion for the high-emission scenario RCP 8.5 by the year 2050. Additionally, RCP 8.5 combined with the hypothetical impact from

marine ice sheet instability In glaciology, an ice sheet, also known as a continental glacier, is a mass of glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than . The only current ice sheets are the Antarctic ice sheet and the Greenland ice sheet. Ice sheets are ...

at high levels of warming would involve up to 137.5 billion USD in damages, while the additional accounting for the "low-probability, high-damage events" may increase aggregate risks to USD 187 billion for the "moderate" RCP4.5, USD 206 billion for RCP8.5 and USD 397 billion under the high-end ice sheet instability scenario. Since sea level rise would continue for about 10,000 years under every scenario of climate change, future costs of sea level rise would only increase, especially without adaptation measures.

Geography

At its creation, the commune of Lomé was wedged between the

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

to the north, 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 ...

to the south, the village of Bè to the east and the border of

to the west. Today, it has experienced a vertiginous extension, and is bounded by the Togolese Insurance Group (GTA) to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the south, the oil refinery to the east, and the Togo-Ghana border to the west. The agglomeration spreads over an area of 333 sq.km. including 30 sq.km. in the lagoon area. The services of the municipality of Lomé go far beyond the limits of the gulf and the municipality to the north and east of the city. Distance between Lomé and the rest of the country's cities Lomé/

Tsévié Tsévié is a city and canton in the Maritime Region of Togo. It is situated 32 km north of the capital Lomé and at the 2010 Census had a population of 54,474. The city is inhabited primarily by Ewe people. It is the capital of the prefectur ...

: 35 km Lomé/

: 45 km Lomé/

Tabligbo Tabligbo is a city and canton in Togo with 22,304 inhabitants (2010). It is the seat of Yoto prefecture in Maritime Region Maritime Region () is the southernmost of Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Afric ...

: 90 km Lomé/

Notsé Notsé (also Notsie or Nuatja) is a town in the Plateaux Region of Togo. It is the capital of Haho Prefecture and is situated 95 km north of the capital Lomé. The town was formed around 1600 by the Ewe people, after they were displaced west ...

: 100 km Lomé/

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 ...

: 121 km Lomé/

: 167 km Lomé/ Blitta : 273 km Lomé/

Sokodé Sokodé is the List of cities in Togo, second largest city in Togo, with a population of about 189,000. It is a commercial center for the surrounding agricultural areas, and seat of the Tchaoudjo, Tchaoudjo Prefecture and Centrale Region, Togo, Ce ...

: 355 km Lomé/

Bafilo Bafilo is a city in Togo south of Kara and north of Sokode in Tchaoudjo Region. It is known for its large mosque, wagasi cheese, its weaving industry and the nearby Bafilo Falls. History World War I During World War I, a skirmish took place ...

: 404 km Lomé/

Bassar Bassar is a town in Bassar Prefecture, Kara Region in Togo, situated west of Kara. The town borders Tatale which is in Ghana. The town has a population of 64,888. Culture Bassar was originally a centre for iron Iron is a chemical element ...

: 412 km Lomé/

Kara Kara or KARA may refer to: Geography Localities * Kara, Chad, a sub-prefecture * Kára, Hungary, a village * Kara, Uttar Pradesh, India, a township * Kara, Iran, a village in Lorestan Province * Kara, Republic of Dagestan, a rural locality in ...

: 428 km Lomé/

Kandé Kandé is a town located in the Kara Region of Togo. As of 2020, the reported population of Kandé is 11,466. Nearby towns and villages include Tantanierta (3.7 nm), Kpasside (5.1 nm), Adjaite(2.2 nm), Koupagou (6.4 nm), ...

503 km Lomé/

Mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

: 592 km Lomé/

Dapaong Dapaong (also known as Dapaongo or Dapango) is a city in northern Togo and prefecture seat of Tône in the Savanes Region, of which it is also the capital. It had a population of 58,071 at the 2010 Census. It is situated 638 km north of th ...

: 662 km

Districts and cities of Lomé

The city of Lomé is subdivided into 5 arrondissements grouping 69 administrative districts : 1st arrondissement: To the south along the ocean, it is the historic city, which is surrounded by the circular boulevard (Boulevard du 13 juillet) and includes the 11 districts of:
Abobokomé, Adawlato, Adoboukomé, Agbadahonou, Aguia Komé, Béniglato, Fréau Jardin, Kokétimé, Quartier Administratif, Sanguéra and Wétrivi Kondji. 2nd arrondissement: From the north to northeast and bordering the maritime region, it includes the 18 districts of:
Adakpamé, Akodesséwa-Kponou, Akodesséwa-Kpota, Anfamé, Atiégou, Avénou (Batome), Bè-Kpota, Hédzranawoé, Kagnikopé, Kélégougan, Lomé 2, N'tifafakomé, Résidence du Bénin, Saint-Joseph, Tokoin-N'kafu (Noukafou), Tokoin-Aéroport, Tokoin-Forever, Tokoin-Tamé and Tokoin-Wuiti. 3rd arrondissement: To the east, along the sea, it includes the 17 districts of:

Ablogamé Ablogamé is a neighborhood of Lomé, Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso� ...

, Akodésséwa (and the fetish market), Amoutivé, Anthonio Nétimé, Bassadji, Bè, Bè-Ahligo, Bè-Apéhémé, Bè-Hédjé, Doulassamé, Gbényédi, Kotokou Kondji, Kpéhénou, Lom Nava, Souza Nétimé, Wété and Port Area. 4th arrondissement: In the southwest, along the sea and bordering

, it includes the 4 districts of:
Hanukope, Kodjoviakopé, Nyékonakpoé and Octaviano Nétimé. 5th arrondissement: To the northwest and bordering Ghana to the east and the maritime region to the north, it includes the 19 districts of:
Abové, Aflao Gakli, Agbalépédogan, Akossombo, Bè-Klikamé, Cassablanca, Dogbéavou, Doumasséssé, Gbonvié, Soviépé, Tokoin-Elavagnon, Tokoin-Gbadago, Tokoin-Hopital, Tokoin-Lycée, Tokoin-Ouest, Tokoin-Solidarité and Totsi (includes Totsigan and Totsivi). The former districts (now subdivided) are Dékon, Tokoin, Xédranawoe, Adjangbakomé and Adidogomé. The other cities composing the agglomeration of Lomé are Adewi, Agbalépédogan, Agoè, Attikoumè, Avédji, Baguida, Djidjolé, Kélékougan and Kpogan.

International agreements

Lomé Convention

The

Lomé Convention The Lomé Convention is a trade and aid agreement between the European Economic Community, European Economic Community (EEC) and 71 ACP countries, African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries, first signed in February 1975 in Lomé, Togo. His ...

is a trade and aid agreement between the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

(EU) and 71 African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries. It was first signed on 28 February 1975, in Lomé.

Lomé Peace Accord

The

Lomé Peace Accord Lomé ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

was signed in Lomé. With the assistance of the international community, Sierra Leone President

Ahmad Tejan Kabbah Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah (16 February 1932 – 13 March 2014) was a Sierra Leonean politician who served twice as the 3rd President of Sierra Leone, from 1996 to 1997 and again from 1998 to 2007. An economist and attorney by profession, Kab ...

and

Revolutionary United Front The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) was a rebel group that fought a failed eleven-year war in Sierra Leone, beginning in 1991 and ending in 2002. It later transformed into a political party, which still exists today. The three most senior surv ...

leader

Foday Sankoh Foday Saybana Sankoh (17 October 1937 – 29 July 2003) was a Sierra Leonean rebel leader who was the founder and commander of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel group, which was supported by the Charles Taylor-led NPFL in the 11- ...

signed the Peace Accord on 7 July 1999. However, the agreement did not last and the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

continued for two more years.

Economy

Located 200 km from

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

and 150 km from

Cotonou Cotonou (; ) is the largest city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The city lies ...

, Lomé has an important port, including a free zone opened in 1968. Phosphates, coffee, cocoa, cotton and palm oil are exported and much of the transit is on behalf of

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. The port is also home to an oil refinery and, since 1989, a shipyard. The concession of two container terminals to the Bolloré group gave rise to police custody and indictment of Vincent Bolloré in France in April 2018. The city produces building materials, including cement from the German group,

HeidelbergCement Heidelberg Materials is a German multinational building materials company headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany. Formerly known as HeidelbergCement AG, the company has rebranded as Heidelberg Materials in September 2022. It is a DAX corporation ...

. However, the political instability that began in the 1990s and continues today has severely affected the country's tourism sector. In 2003, the country received 57,539 visitors, an increase of 1 per cent over 2002. 22% of tourists came from

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 ...

, 10% from Burkina Faso and 9% from Benin.

Demographics

Culture

The Togo National Museum is in the Palais de Congrès. The museum contains collections such as jewellery,

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person ...

doll A doll is a physical model, model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and ...

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

, weapons and many other materials showing arts and traditions.

Architecture

The city center dates from the early twentieth century. There are some remains of colonial architecture, such as the

Palace of the Governors The Palace of the Governors () is an adobe structure built in the Territorial Style of Pueblo architecture on Palace Avenue in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Located within the Santa Fe Historic District along the Santa Fe Plaza between Lincoln and Wa ...

or the Sacred Heart Cathedral, in German neo-Gothic style. There are also many modern buildings such as the headquarters of the

Central Bank of West African States The Central Bank of West African States (, BCEAO) is a central bank serving the eight west African countries which share the common West African CFA franc currency and comprise the West African Economic and Monetary Union. The BCEAO is active ...

(BCEAO), the

West African Development Bank The West African Development Bank - WADB (fr. Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement - BOAD / pt. Banco de Desenvolvimento do Oeste Africano - BDOA) was established in 1973 to serve the nations of Francophone and Lusophone West Africa. The BOAD ...

(BOAD), the Togolese Bank for Trade and Industry (BTCI), the Economic Community of West African States (ECoWAS) or hotel buildings such as the Hotel de la Paix, the Mercure Sarakawa Hotel, the Palm Beach Hotel or the famous

Hotel du 2 Février A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a refr ...

, a modernist building mixing concrete and glass panels, culminating at 102 meters with 36 floors, and is the tallest building in Togo. Not far away is the Grand Market, with a three-storey hall. There are red peppers, limes, dried fish, combs, travel bags, traditional medicinal remedies. On the first floor is the kingdom of the famous " Nana Benz", sellers of multiple loincloths made locally, in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. To the west of the city is a residential area which, facing the sea, unfolds long arteries, punctuated by official buildings such as the Palace of Justice and various embassies and consulates. Further north, next to the Independence Monument, is the headquarters of the

Rally of the Togolese People The Rally of the Togolese People (, RPT) was the ruling political party in Togo from 1969 to 2012. It was founded by President Gnassingbé Eyadéma and headed by his son, President Faure Gnassingbé, after the former's death in 2005. Faure Gnassin ...

(RPT) and an important convention center. More eccentric, compared to the center of the city, we find in , a much more specialized market than the large market and for good reason, it is the fetish market. Fetishes, gongons, gray-gray are found here. The port of Lomé serves most of the landlocked countries of the Sahel, especially since the political problems experienced by

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

and which deprives

of an economic outlet for countries such as

. Lomé is therefore taking advantage of the difficult political situation in Côte d'Ivoire. Building in Lomé (30668258326).jpg, Former building of the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

Buildings in Lomé (6717151255).jpg, Palais des Congrès Peace dove (3330451514).jpg, Square of the Dove of Peace Hotel 2 Fevrier.jpg, Hotel du 2 Février

Places of worship

Among the

places of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is so ...

, they are predominantly

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

churches and temples :

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lomé The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lomé () is the Metropolitan See for the ecclesiastical province of Lomé in Togo. History * April 12, 1892: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Togo from the Apostolic Prefecture of Dahomey in Benin * Mar ...

(

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

), Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Togo (

World Communion of Reformed Churches The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Reformed (Calvinist) churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations (227 members and three associate or affiliate members) in 108 countries, together claiming ...

Togo Baptist Convention The Togo Baptist Convention () is a Baptist Christian denomination in Togo. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Lomé. History The Convention has its origins in the establishment of the first Baptist ...

(

Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is an international communion of Baptists, with an estimated 51 million people from 266 member bodies in 134 countries and territories as of 2024. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA accounts f ...

Living Faith Church Worldwide Living Faith Church Worldwide (also known as Winners' Chapel) is an international Evangelical charismatic Christian denomination. The headquarters is located in Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria. The organization has since become a global network of chur ...

Redeemed Christian Church of God The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) is a holiness pentecostal megachurch and denomination headquartered in Ebute Metta, Lagos, Nigeria. With presence in 197 countries and territories of the world and more than 5 million members in Nigeri ...

Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...

. There are also

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

mosques. File: Cathedral Lome ext.jpg ,

Sacred Heart Cathedral, Lomé The Sacred Heart Cathedral () is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lomé (since 14 September 1955), one of the seven Catholic church districts of Togo. Built in just over a year (April 1901 to September 1902) by the German colo ...

(

) File: Église Baptiste le Sauveur de Lomé.jpg, The Savior Baptist Church in Lomé (

)

Education

The

University of Lomé The University of Lomé (; abbreviated UL) is a public university in Togo, located in the capital Lomé. It is the country's largest university. It was founded in 1970 as the University of Benin () and adopted its current name in 2001. 2011 s ...

(previously called University of Benin), located in Lomé Tokoin, was founded in 1970. Schools located in the city include American International School of Lomé, British School of Lomé, Ecole Internationale Arc-en-Ciel and

Lycée Français de Lomé The Lycée Français de Lomé (LFL) is a French international school in Nyékonakpoé, Lomé, Togo. It includes ''primaire'' (primary), ''collège'' (junior high school), and ''lycée'' (senior high school) levels. Its current primary school faci ...

Transport

Road

For urban transport, there are a few taxis; however,

motorcycle taxis A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

( zémidjans) are more commonly used.

Rail

The city, which had no rail service since 1997, has seen since 2014, the return of trains, with a new station: those of Blueline Togo, constructed by the French international firm, Bolloré. The inaugural train on 26 April 2014 ran on the short distance Lomé to Cacavéli. The under-construction of the Lomé-Cotonou link, as part of a rail loop project from Lomé, Cotonou,

Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. As the Niamey Urban Community (, CUN), it is a Regions of Niger, first-level division of Niger, surrounded by the Tillabéri Region, in the western part of the country. Niamey lies on the Nige ...

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou or Wagadugu (, , , ) is the capital city of Burkina Faso, and the administrative, communications, cultural and economic centre of the nation. It is also the List of cities in Burkina Faso#Largest cities, country's largest city, wi ...

and to

, is expected to be completed by 2024.

Air

The city is served by Lomé-Tokoin International Airport, located northeast from the city centre. ASKY Airlines, a subsidiary of

Ethiopian Airlines Ethiopian Airlines (), formerly ''Ethiopian Air Lines'' (EAL), is the flag carrier of Ethiopia, and is wholly owned by the country's government. EAL was founded on 21 December 1945 and commenced operations on 8 April 1946, expanding to intern ...

, and itself, operates at the airport.

Water

The city has the Port of Lomé, which is the only commercial port of Togo that carries out trade and export-import activities in the country. It also has a cruise terminal where passengers are also served. File:Lométaxis.jpg, Taxis File:Déplacement de containers au port.jpg, Port of Lomé File:Aéroport International GNASSINGBE EYADEMA.jpg,

Lomé–Tokoin International Airport Lomé–Tokoin International Airport ( French: ''Aéroport international de Lomé-Tokoin'') , also known as Gnassingbé Eyadéma International Airport ( French: ''Aéroport international Gnassingbé Eyadéma''), is an international airport servin ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Lomé is twinned with: *

Duisburg Duisburg (; , ) is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine (Lower Rhine) and the Ruhr (river), Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruh ...

, Germany (2010) *

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

, China (1997) *

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

, Taiwan (1966)

Notable people

Emmanuel Adebayor Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor (; born 26 February 1984) is a Togolese former professional footballer who played as a striker. During his career, he played for English clubs Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace, as well as ...

, retired footballer for

* Kangni Alem, writer *

Gnimdéwa Atakpama Gnimdéwa Atakpama (born 19 April 1977 in Lomé) is a Togo, Togolese journalist, writer and French teacher. He has written four Children's literature, children's books as of 2015: ''La désillusion'' (2003), ''Tolo-Tolo'' (2004), ''Sauve-souris ! ...

, journalist and writer * Yaovi Aziabou, Togolese professional footballer * Nicole Coste, Air France flight attendant, mother of

Alexandre Coste Albert II (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi; born 14 March 1958) is Prince of Monaco, reigning since 2005. Born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, Albert is the second child and only son of Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace. He attend ...

(the son of

Albert II, Prince of Monaco Albert II (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi; born 14 March 1958) is Prince of Monaco, reigning since 2005. Born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, Albert is the second child and only son of Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace. He attend ...

) *

Patricia Dagban-Zonvidé Ayawavi Djigbodi Patricia Dagban-Zonvidé (born 17 March 1960 in Lomé) is a Togolese politician. Holder of a doctorate in African and comparative literature, Dagban-Zonvidé is Minister for the Promotion of Women in the government of Arthème ...

(born 1960 in Lomé), Togolese politician * Christiane Akoua Ekué, writer * Sika Foyer, visual artist * Emmanuel Kavi, artist * Senam Langueh, Togolese former international footballer * King Mensah, popular Afropop musician * Amadou Morou, Togolese-Polish footballer * Davide-Christelle Sanvee, Swiss performance artist of Togolese origin *

Marie Madoé Sivomey Marie Madoé Sivomey (July 3, 1923 – September 15, 2008), born Marie Madoé Gbikpi–Benissan, was a Togolese politician who was the first woman to serve as a mayor in Togo, overseeing the capital, Lomé, from 1967 to 1974. Early life and edu ...

, first female mayor in Togo, served as mayor of Lomé from 1967 to 1974

References

Bibliography

External links

The Olympio family

Togo Woezon Tourism
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lome Capitals in Africa Ghana–Togo border crossings Populated places established in the 18th century Populated places in Maritime Region, Togo Port cities in Africa 18th-century establishments in Africa