Togo, or the Togolese Republic is situated in west Africa. It is a small narrow country with a small sea border with the Gulf of Guinea. To the west is Ghana, to the east Benin and to the north Burkina Faso. Its capital is Lomè. It is one of the smallest countries in Africa with a population of about 8 million.

In the 1880’s there were many German traders in Togo and by the beginning of the 1^st World War, there were 17 German post offices in the country. At first stamps of Germany were used with no overprint, and from 1897 the German stamps were overprinted “Togo”. Most German post offices closed before the 1^st World War. During this war the country was occupied by British and French troops. The country was divided into a French and a British zone. As a result overprinted British stamps of the Gold coast were used in the British zone and overprinted stamps of Dahomey were used in the French zone.

During the 2^nd World War, Togo leant towards the French and in 1955 it became an autonomous republic within the French community. The country became independent in 1960.