Lomé

City
	Coat of arms
	Coordinates: 6°7′55″N 1°13′22″E / 6.13194°N 1.22278°ECoordinates: 6°7′55″N 1°13′22″E / 6.13194°N 1.22278°E
Country	Togo
Region	Maritime Region
Prefecture	Golfe
Government
• Mayor	Aouissi Lodé
Area
• City	99.14 km2 (38.28 sq mi)
• Metro	280 km2 (110 sq mi)
Elevation	10 m (30 ft)
Population (2010 census)
• City	837,437
• Density	9,305/km2 (24,100/sq mi)
• Metro	1,477,660
• Metro density	5,608/km2 (14,520/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC
HDI (2017)	0.593; medium · 1st

Lomé is the capital city of Togo. Lomé is the administrative and industrial center of the country. The city is also the main port of Togo. The city exports coffee, cocoa, copra, and palm kernels. The population of the city was estimated as around 700,000 people in 1998. It is estimated that more than 1 million people live in Lomé area at that time.^[2]

Lomé is on the Gulf of Guinea. It is in the south west of Togo, on the border between Togo and Ghana. Things to see in the city include Lomé Grand Market, the Togo National Museum in the Palais de Congrés, a fetish (voodoo) market, Lomé Cathedral, beaches and the former wharf.

History

The city was founded in the eighteenth century by the Ewe people. In 1882, the village, known then as Bey Beach, became a major trading center for the British.

Bey Beach became the capital of Togo when the German rulers moved the capital from Aneho in 1897. The city then grew quickly until it was taken by the French Army in 1914 during World War I.