Regions of Togo

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Updates: 

Togo's Direction Générale de la Statistique et de la Comptabilité Nationale  has yearly population estimates by prefecture and region. Estimates in general are not highly reliable, but the older figures are 25 years old and the population has roughly doubled since then.

FIPS Publication Change Notice No. 10, affecting FIPS PUB 10-4, was issued on 2006-03-23. It assigns new FIPS codes to the current Togolese regions, superseding the prefecture codes formerly in effect.

Since about 1970, Togo has been divided into regions, which are further subdivided into circumscriptions. International standard ISO 3166-2 was published on December 15, 1998. It superseded ISO/DIS 3166-2 (draft international standard). The draft standard listed the 21 circumscriptions. The final standard listed the five regions instead. FIPS PUB 10-4 still lists the circumscriptions.

Country overview: 

Togoland was a German protectorate in 1900. After World War I, the Allies split up Germany's African possessions. The League of Nations mandated Togoland to Great Britain and France. They split it longitudinally. On 1922-07-20, France received the broader eastern strip. The French mandate of Togo was administered under Dahomey (see Benin), and thus was part of French West Africa. After World War II, the mandate was extended as a U.N. trusteeship. Togo became independent on 1960-04-27.

Other names of country: 

1. Danish: Togo
2. Dutch: Togo, Togolese Republiek (formal)
3. English: Republic of Togo (formal)
4. Finnish: Togo
5. French: Togo m, République f Togolaise (formal)
6. German: Togo n
7. Icelandic: Tógó
8. Italian: Togo m
9. Norwegian: Togo, Republikken Togo (formal)
10. Portuguese: Togo m, República f Togolesa (formal)
11. Spanish: Togo, República f Togolesa (formal), República de Togo (formal)
12. Swedish: Togo

Origin of name: 

from Togoville, on Lake Togo, where the German protectorate was established

Primary subdivisions: 

Togo is divided into five régions (regions).

Further subdivisions:

See the Prefectures of Togo page.

The regions are subdivided into préfectures.

Change history: 

1. 1914-08: Under French administration, capital moved from Sebbe to Aného.
2. 1920: Capital moved from Aného to Lomé.
3. The Encyclopædia Britannica World Atlas, 1951 edition, shows Togo divided into six cercles, as listed here. The same divisions (then called circumscriptions) can be seen on a map  which dates from post-1914, and on this 1926 map . The latter shows Atakpamé as the capital of Centre and Sansanné-Mango as the capital of Mango.

1. ~1955: Togo reorganized from six cercles into four regions (Centre, Maritime, Plateaux, and Savanes).
2. ~1966: The four regions were supposedly abolished as administrative divisions. However, the same four regions show up in the late 1970s.
3. ~1981: Kara region formed from parts of Centre and Savanes.

Other names of subdivisions: 

Centre: Centrale (variant)