Ethnonyms: Akposso, Akposo, Kposo, Ɩkpɔsɔ / Ikposo
Total population: 288,000
Ethnolinguistic classification: Niger-Congo → Atlantic-Congo → Volta-Congo → Kwa → Left Bank → Kposo-Ahlo-Bowili
Homeland: the Plateaux Region
Regions with significant populations: the Togolese Republic, Plateaux, Amou Prefecture, Wawa, Ogou, the Republic of Ghan, Volta Region, Jasikan Municipal District, Amlamé, Amou-Oblo, Atakpamé
Languages and dialects: Ikposo (Kposo), Amou oblou, Ikponu, Iwi (Uwi), Litime (Badou), Logbo, Uma, Ewe, French
Religion: Christianity, the Catholic Church
Kposo, also called Akposso or Ikposo, is a West African ethnic community concentrated in the Plateaux Region of southern Togo, especially the Amou, Wawa, and Ogou prefectures west of Atakpamé, with a smaller population across the border in Ghana. Their language, Ikposo, is a stable indigenous Niger-Congo language; Ethnologue places it in the Kposo-Ahlo-Bowili subgroup and notes that it is learned and used as a first language in the community, even though it is not widely taught in schools. In everyday social life, Akposso communities are described as rural and agriculture-centered, with subsistence farming, seasonal festivals, a five-day calendar, and the Ovazu harvest festival linked to fonio, alongside strong oral traditions. Their historical experience was also shaped by colonial partition after World War I, when German Togoland was divided between British and French administration, splitting communities that had previously been contiguous; that border logic still matters in the region today. More broadly, the Akposso sit within the Togo Hills borderland, an area known for ecological and cultural diversity and a long, dynamic socio-political history, which helps explain why their identity is both locally rooted and deeply connected to neighboring peoples and cross-border movement.
