West Africa has major gold producers like Burkina Faso, Mali, and Ghana. Togo, which borders these countries, is a key transit point for traders exporting gold worth hundreds of millions of dollars, mainly to the United Arab Emirates.

Togo's low royalty rates attract gold from Burkina Faso, allowing it to pass through Togo for international sale. The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) reported in January 2025 that this gold comes from artisanal and small-scale mining.

However, not all gold entering Togo is exported through official channels. The Togolese Customs Department reported no gold exports in 2022. Yet, Comtrade data cited by EITI shows that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) imported about 20.6 tonnes of gold valued at $1.2 billion from Togo that same year.

Togo is a transit destination for gold coming from its neighbors. A 2018 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) study noted that high taxes in Burkina Faso and Niger lead to a "flight of gold to Togo," estimating that 12 to 20 tonnes from Burkina Faso and 2 to 3 tonnes from Niger are smuggled into Lomé annually.

Regional Cooperation Needed

Togo is not the only coastal West African country used as a transit point for artisanal mining players. Benin, another transit country, exported between 7.27 and 13.17 tonnes of gold annually from 2012 to 2021, despite producing only a few kilograms yearly. Weak cooperation between States and porous borders hinder effective national control measures and spur the passing of gold from top producers in the region.

This is not an issue that West African countries can efficiently tackle individually. The 2018 OECD report called for a regional policy to oversee artisanal mining and harmonize gold export taxes to reduce smuggling. A 2024 ECOWAS report echoed these recommendations, advocating for better information-sharing among national and regional stakeholders.

This article was initially published in French by Emiliano Tossou

Edited in English by Ola Schad Akinocho