Centrale Region

Centrale Region occupies Togo's geographic middle, a transitional zone between the forested south and the savanna north. The capital Sokodé serves as a commercial crossroads on the north-south highway linking Lomé port to the Sahel—a corridor that has defined Togo's role as transit hub for landlocked neighbors since German colonial engineers built the first roads. The region's economy balances agriculture (cotton, sorghum, yams) with trade; merchants at Sokodé's market move goods between the cocoa-growing Plateaux and the pastoral Savanes. The Kotokoli (Tem) people dominate commercially, their Islamic trading networks extending across borders to Ghana and Benin. Centrale sits in the rainfall gradient between two Togos: the humid south with reliable agriculture and the drought-prone north facing Sahel pressures. Togo's 6.5% GDP growth (2024) reflects national success, but regional disparities persist—Centrale lacks the phosphate and port infrastructure of Maritime region. By 2026, the region's prospects depend on whether the Adétikopé industrial platform's success generates demand for Centrale's agricultural products and whether the north-south highway upgrade improves market access for farmers far from Lomé.