Situated in West Africa, the Republic of Togo is bounded on the north by Burkina Faso, on the south by the Gulf of Guinea, on the east by the Republic of Benin, and on the west by the Republic of Ghana. The population of Togo is estimated at 5 million people, and Lomé, the capital city, has an estimated 1 million inhabitants. Togo is a developing country. Its main economic activities are subsistence farming and commerce. In 2003 the per capita gross national income was about $1,500. Life expectancy was estimated at fifty-one years for men and fifty-five years for women; approximately 32 percent of the population was living in poverty.

(MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/THE GALE GROUP)

On April 27, 1960, Togo became independent from French-administered United Nations trusteeship. On January 13, 1963, the first president of Togo, Sylvanus Olympio (1902–1963), was assassinated in a military coup, the first ever in West Africa. On May 5, 1963, Nicholas Grunitzky...