City Africa
Lomé
Lomé is the capital city of Togo, in West Africa. It is a port city on the coast, right next to the border with Ghana.
Lomé is the capital of Togo, on the Atlantic coast of West Africa, right at the border with Ghana. Togo's 2022 census counted 2,188,376 people in Lomé, more than ten times Kara, the next city. A monument in the city marks Togo's independence on 27 April 1960.
Lomé became the capital of a French colony when Togoland was divided between France and Britain in 1920, leaving it on a border. Hemmed in by the border to the west and the port zone to the east, it has spread north, up to 20 km from the sea. The 2022 census counted 2,188,376 people.
Photo: Harmonide, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Lomé
Lomé is the capital city of Togo. Togo is a narrow country in West Africa, beside the Atlantic Ocean.
More than two million people live in Lomé.
Lomé is the capital of Togo, on the coast of West Africa. Togo's census of November 2022 counted 2,188,376 people in Lomé, more than ten times as many as Kara, the next-biggest city.
Universalis says the city cannot spread west, because of the border with Ghana, or east, because of the port zone, so it has grown northward, up to 20 kilometers from the sea.
City Population (Direction Générale de la Statistique et de la Comptabilité Nationale, Togo) gives Lomé 2,188,376 people in the final results of the census of 8 November 2022, first in Togo ahead of Kara (158,090) and Dapaong (117,675); the whole Maritime region counted 3,534,991.
Universalis (Philippe Gervais-Lambony): for about twenty years after independence in 1960, Lomé's population grew by about 7.5% a year, with newcomers from the north of the country.
- Country
- Togo (its capital)
- People in Lomé (census, 8 November 2022)
- 2,188,376
- Next-biggest city (same census)
- Kara, 158,090
- Deep-water port built
- 1969
The beach and the monument
Look at the palm trees on the sandy beach! Lomé is right beside the sea.
In the city, a tall stone monument has words carved on it that tell when Togo became free.
This photo shows a beach in Lomé in August 2016: a row of palm trees stands on wide, golden sand, and ships can be seen far out on the sea.
In the city, the Independence Monument is carved with words in French that mark the proclamation of Togo's independence on 27 April 1960. The Palais des Congrès, a congress hall, stands in Lomé too.
Commons: 'a beach from Lomé in Togo … with sand and palm trees, in August 2016', 13 August 2016 (file data), own work by Harmonide (CC BY-SA 4.0); ships are visible on the horizon. Another Commons photo (Hermannkass, 26 June 2021, category 'Monument de l'Indépendance, Lomé') shows the Independence Monument's carved inscription: 'Proclamation de l'indépendance du Togo, 27 avril 1960'.
Wikidata: the Palais des Congrès, a congress center, about 1.05 km WNW of Lomé Grand Market.
- Photo
- a beach in Lomé, 13 August 2016
- Words carved on the monument
- Proclamation of Togo's independence, 27 April 1960
- Palais des Congrès
- a congress hall, about 1 km west-northwest of the Grand Market
A border town becomes a capital
About 100 years ago, the land around Lomé was split between two countries. So Lomé ended up right next to a border.
In 1960 Togo became a free country, and Lomé is its capital.
In 1920 the territory of Togoland was divided between France and Britain, Universalis says. Lomé became a border town and the capital of a French colony. The French built railways, a wharf and main roads.
From the 1950s the city spread across the lagoon onto the Tokoin plateau. Togo's independence was proclaimed on 27 April 1960, and a deep-water port was built in 1969.
Universalis: after the 1920 partition of Togoland, Lomé was a border town and the capital of a French colony; the French built railways, a wharf and roads; the city spread outward rather than upward, crossing the lagoon onto the Tokoin plateau from the 1950s; after independence in 1960, public land for the university, the airport and other state uses sped up its spread; the deep-water port dates from 1969 and an industrial and port free zone from 1989.
The independence date, 27 April 1960, is carved on the city's Independence Monument (Commons photo, 26 June 2021).
- Togoland divided between France and Britain
- 1920
- Togo's independence proclaimed
- 27 April 1960
- Deep-water port built
- 1969
Port, coast road and airport
Ships come to Lomé's port. A long road runs along the coast to other countries, and planes land at the airport.
Lomé's deep-water port, built in 1969, lies about 7 kilometers east-northeast of the Grand Market, Wikidata says. Universalis says Lomé sits where a sea outlet for the landlocked countries of West Africa meets the coast road linking Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire.
The airport lies about 5.5 kilometers northeast of the Grand Market.
Universalis: the free industrial and port zone created in 1989 could benefit from Lomé's position at the crossroads of a sea outlet for West Africa's landlocked states and the coastal route between Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire; the port zone, marked out after the deep-water port was built in 1969, blocks the city's spread to the east.
Wikidata: Autonomous Port of Lomé 6.8 km ENE of the Grand Market; Lomé-Tokoin Airport 5.5 km NE.
- Autonomous Port of Lomé
- about 7 km east-northeast of the Grand Market
- Lomé-Tokoin Airport
- about 5.5 km northeast of the Grand Market
- On the coast road
- between Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire
Two rainy seasons
Lomé is warm all year. Lots of rain falls in May and June, and there is a smaller rainy time in September and October.
December and January are very dry.
The World Meteorological Organization's averages for Lomé give about 877 millimeters of rain in a year (1960–1989). June is the wettest month, with 252 millimeters; a smaller rainy season follows in September and October. December and January get less than 9 millimeters each.
It is warm all year: highs of about 28 to 32.5 °C, and lows of about 22 to 24.5 °C.
WMO World Weather Information Service, Lomé: rainfall (1960–1989) 877.2 mm, from 251.8 mm in June and 152.7 mm in May to 7.8 mm in December and 8.9 mm in January; September and October 139.3 mm. Temperatures (1961–1990): average highs 28.0 °C (August) to 32.5 °C (March); lows 22.3 °C (August) to 24.5 °C (March); monthly means 25.2 to 28.5 °C.
- June rainfall (WMO, 1960–1989)
- 251.8 mm
- December rainfall (same table)
- 7.8 mm
- Average highs (1961–1990)
- 28.0 °C (August) to 32.5 °C (March)
Markets, a university and the lagoon
Lomé has a large market where people buy and sell things. It also has a university.
Lomé Grand Market is a large market place in the city, Wikidata says. The University of Lomé lies about 5.5 kilometers north of it. Universalis says land set aside after independence for the university, the airport and other public uses helped the city spread quickly.
Universalis says the city grew outward rather than upward, with few tall buildings, so it spread over a wide area.
Wikidata: Lomé Grand Market, 'a large market place in the city of Lomé'; University of Lomé (1965) 5.45 km N of the market.
Universalis: Lomé's area grew faster than its population because buildings did not rise in height; under French rule, Ewe chiefs and Mina traders were big landowners, influential in the city councils of the colonial period.
- Lomé Grand Market
- a large market place in the city
- University of Lomé
- about 5.5 km north of the Grand Market
- Tokoin plateau
- across the lagoon, built up from the 1950s
Lomé on the map
Find Africa on the globe. Togo is in the west, on the coast. Lomé is in its southwest corner, by the sea.
Lomé lies at about 6.1° north, on Togo's Atlantic coast, with Ghana just to the west. Measured from the Grand Market, the Palais des Congrès is about 1 kilometer west-northwest, the airport about 5.5 kilometers northeast, the university about 5.5 kilometers north and the port about 7 kilometers east-northeast.
The city reaches up to 20 kilometers inland.
Lomé lies at about 6.13° N and 1.22° E. From Lomé Grand Market (Wikidata points): Palais des Congrès 1.05 km WNW, Lomé's own point 1.2 km WNW, University of Lomé 5.45 km N, Lomé-Tokoin Airport 5.5 km NE, Autonomous Port 6.8 km ENE.
Universalis: blocked by the border to the west and the port zone to the east, the city stretches north up to 20 km from the sea. Universalis (Togo): a narrow country with only 55 km of coast, from the border with Ghana in the west to Benin's in the east.
- Latitude
- about 6.1° north
- Longitude
- about 1.2° east
- Setting
- on the coast, with the border with Ghana to the west
Amazing facts
-
Lomé is so close to Ghana that the border is right at the edge of the city!
Universalis says Lomé cannot grow to the west because the border with Ghana is there, so it grew north instead.
Universalis: the city is blocked to the west by the border and to the east by the port zone, so it stretches north up to 20 km from the sea.
-
Lomé's Independence Monument has a date carved on it: 27 April 1960.
The Independence Monument in Lomé is carved with the date Togo's independence was proclaimed: 27 April 1960.
The inscription on the monument (Commons photo, 2021): 'Proclamation de l'indépendance du Togo, 27 avril 1960'.
-
In June, a lot of rain falls in Lomé. In December, almost none.
In the WMO table, June in Lomé averages 252 millimeters of rain and December less than 8.
WMO, 1960–1989: June 251.8 mm, December 7.8 mm, the year 877.2 mm.
-
Lomé grew wide instead of tall.
Universalis says Lomé spread over more and more land, faster than its population grew, because few buildings went up in height.
Universalis: the city's spatial growth was out of proportion to its population growth, because it did not grow denser by building upward.
Words to know
- capital
- the city where a country's government works
- border
- the line where one country ends and another begins
- lagoon
- a stretch of shallow water cut off from the sea by a strip of land
- independence
- when a country starts to govern itself
- wharf
- a platform built out into the water where ships load and unload
- monument
- a structure built to remember an important event or person
Discovery challenge
-
Lomé is the capital of which country?
Lomé is the capital of which West African country?
Lomé became the capital of a French colony in 1920 and is the capital of which country today?
- Togo
- Kenya
- Morocco
Show the answer
Togo
Togo!
Togo.
Togo.
-
Which country is right next to Lomé?
The border of which country runs right along the west side of Lomé?
Which neighboring country's border blocks Lomé's growth to the west?
- Ghana
- Egypt
- Brazil
Show the answer
Ghana
Ghana!
Ghana.
Ghana.
-
What date is carved on Lomé's Independence Monument?
On which date was Togo's independence proclaimed, as carved on the monument?
Which date does the inscription on Lomé's Independence Monument give for the proclamation of independence?
- 27 April 1960
- 1 January 1900
- 4 July 1776
Show the answer
27 April 1960
27 April 1960!
27 April 1960.
27 April 1960.
-
Which month is the rainiest in Lomé?
In the WMO table, which month is Lomé's wettest?
Which month averages 251.8 mm, the most in the WMO's Lomé table?
- December
- June
- February
Show the answer
June
June!
June.
June.
-
When was Lomé's big port for ships built?
In which year was Lomé's deep-water port built?
Universalis dates the deep-water port that marks out the eastern port zone to which year?
- 1869
- 1969
- 2019
Show the answer
1969
1969!
1969.
1969.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Lomé on the coast of West Africa, at the border with Ghana.
- Explain how a border and a port can shape the way a city grows.
- Read a rainfall table with two rainy seasons.
- Explain what a monument marking independence remembers.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Lomé cannot grow west or east, so it grew north. What else could a city do when it runs out of room?
- Lomé grew wide rather than tall. What are the good and bad sides of a city with few tall buildings?
- Why might a country build a monument for the day it became independent?
Try at home or in class
- City map: draw a coast, a border on one side and a port on the other, then show where a city could grow.
- Rain chart: plot Lomé's monthly rainfall and find its two rainy seasons.
- Design a monument: sketch a monument for an important date in your town's history.
Key vocabulary: capital, border, lagoon, independence, wharf, monument
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Togo: Regions and Cities , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from the Direction Générale de la Statistique et de la Comptabilité Nationale, Togo
- Lomé , Encyclopaedia Universalis
- Togo , Encyclopaedia Universalis
- Lomé: climatological information , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service (Togo)
- File:Monuments de l'indépendance et Palais des congrès de Lomé.jpg (Hermannkass, 26 June 2021) , Wikimedia Commons
- File:Plage de Lomé au Togo (Afrique de l'Ouest).jpg (Harmonide, 13 August 2016) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.