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Togo is a small, narrow country located in Western Africa. Gently rolling savannas in the north give way to hills and low mountains in the central region, then descend to a low coastal plain with many lagoons and marshes. The climate is as diverse as the geography, ranging from tropical in the coastal south to semi-arid in the north.

The people of Togo come from over 30 different tribes, the largest being Ewe, Mina and Kabre. French is the official language, along with four regional African languages. Much of the population practises a religion made up of indigenous beliefs, while the rest are split between Christianity and Islam. Togo's economy is based mostly on commercial and subsistence agriculture. Cassava, yams, cotton, coffee and cacao are some of the most important crops. Togo is also the world's fourth-largest producer of phosphate.

The area that is now Togo was once a land of various separate tribes who lived between the larger kingdoms of Dahomey and Asante. It became part of the German protectorate of Togoland in 1884 and was occupied by the French and British after World War I. In 1946 the land was placed under the trust of the UN. In 1956 French Togoland became an autonomous republic, and in 1960 it achieved full independence as the nation of Togo. Beginning in 1967, Togo was ruled by a military general whose party has maintained power almost continually since that time. Upon the president's death in 2005, the military installed his son and then engineered his formal election two months later, beginning Togo's transition to democracy and leading to its first legitimate elections in October 2007.