Sokodé

Sokodé
A mosque in Sokodé
Sokodé Location in Togo
Coordinates: 8°59′N 1°08′E / 8.983°N 1.133°E / 8.983; 1.133
Country	Togo
Region	Centrale Region
Prefecture	Tchaoudjo
Elevation	340 m (1,120 ft)
Population (2010)
• Total	113,000

Sokodé is the second largest city in Togo and seat of the Tchaoudjo and Centrale Region in the center of the country, 339 kilometres (211 mi) north of Lomé. With a population of 86,500 (2004), currently at around 113,000, the city is situated between the Mo and Mono rivers, and it is a commercial center for the surrounding agricultural areas. It is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious city, but is dominated by Islam.

Ancient indigenous stock of the region mixed with more recent migrants Gurma, from the eastern part of the Niger Bend, between Ouagadougou and Niamey, who brought the political system of chiefdoms with them. Added to this structure were Sudanese traders and craftsmen (the Mandinka, from historic Mali) and Hausa, a dynamic force since the 16th century. By choosing in late 1897, to establish an outpost at Sokodé, Germans entrenched the role of the now dominant Kotokoli chiefdoms.

The city developed in precolonial times as a commercial crossroads on the Kola nut route between Ghana and Benin. Currently it is center on the only north-south road in Togo, linking the capital Lomé to Burkina Faso. Urbanization accelerated during colonization. The city consists of older villages that have now become neighborhoods.

Sokodé continues to be governed by a system balanced between a municipal administration and traditional chiefs. Historically, the chiefs of various villages were included in a leadership council, the Tchaoudjo.

Sokodé's region is characterized by a dense network of rivers and hilly terrain. The two main rivers are the Kpondjo and Kpandi, which flow into the Na which in turn feeds the Mono River. The border between the Mono and the Volta River drainage basins is located a few kilometers north of the city. It is now in the catchment of the river Mô.