Historical Sketch

In 1884, the German Empire established a protectorate over what got called Togoland. During World War I, France and Great Britain occupied Cameroon, and in 1919, the territory got partitioned under a League of Nations mandate. French Togo was transformed into an overseas territory in 1946, and in preparation for the French Union it got constituted as autonomous republic in 1958. Two years later, after the failure of the French Union, it attained independence. In British Togoland a referendum had resulted in a majority for integration with neighboring Gold Coast (Ghana) rather than joining the French territory. This was done in March 1957.

Monetary History Overview

In pre-colonial times, various commodities were used for payment in trade, such as metal ingots and cowrie snails. The Maria Theresia Thaler entered via long-distance trade. In 1884, Germany established a protectorate over Togo. The Reichsmark accounting was introduced two years later, and German money began to circulate. British and French coins were demonetized in 1893, the import of Maria Theresia Thalers was outlawed in 1899. In 1911, also the import of cowrie snails was banned. All that had little effect, and part of the bans were revoked over time. In 1914, Great Britain and France occupied the German territory. In the post-war order, the two colonial powers divided Togo under a League of Nations mandate. British Togo was subordinated to the Gold Coast and took over the (British) West African common currency, while French Togo was integrated into the (French) West African currency area.

Since independence in 1960, Togo is a member of the West African Monetary Union and uses the West African CFA Franc instead of a national currency.

Togo joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 01.08.1962.

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