West Africa, also called Western Africa and the West of Africa, is the westernmost subregion of the African continent. West Africa has been defined in Africa as including the 18 countries Benin, Burkina Faso, the island of Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, the Island of Saint Helena, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sao Tome and Principe and Togo.
| Area: | 5,112,903 km2 (7th) |
| Population: | 340,000,000 (2013 est) (4th) |
| Density: | 49.2/km2 (127.5/sq mi) |
| Demonym: | West African Countries |
| Time Zones: | UTC+0 to UTC+1 |
| Major Regional Organizations: | Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS, established 1975) |
| Religion: | 49.2/km2 (127.5/sq mi) |
| Density: | 49.2/km2 (127.5/sq mi) |
| Density: | Islam, Christianity and African Traditional Practices |
Economy
| Total GDP (PPP) | $752,983 Billion (2013) (23rd) |
| GDP (PPP) per capita | $2,500 (2013) |
| Total GDP (Nominal) | $655,93485 Billion (2013) |
| Total GDP (Nominal) per capita | $1,929,22 (2013) |
- Abidjan, Ivory Coast
- Accra, Ghana
- Bamako, Mali
- Banjul, The Gambia
- Conakry, Guinea
- Cotonou, Benin
- Dakar, Senegal
- Freetown, Sierra Leone
- Lagos, Nigeria
- Lome, Togo
- Quagandougou, Burkina Faso
- Monrovia, Liberia
CityScapes of Some Big Cities in West Africa
Area
In the United Nations scheme of African regions, the regions includes 16 states and the island of Saint Helena, an overseas territory: Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Niger are mostly in Sachel, a transition zone between the Sahara desert and the Sudanian Savanna.
Benin, Cote d’voire, Gambia, Ghana Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Togo and Nigeria compose Guinea, the traditional name for the area near the Gulf of Guinea.
Cape Verde is an Island country in the Atlantic Ocean. Mauritania lies in the Maghreb, the northwestern region of Africa and has historically been inhabited by both traditionally West African groups such as the Fulani, Soninke and Wolof, along with Arab-Berber Meghrebi people. Due to its increasingly close ties to the Arab World and its 1999 withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), in modern times it is often considered, especially in Africa, as now part of western North Africa
Demographics
West Africans primarily speak Niger-Congo languages, belonging mostly, though not exclusively, to its non-Bantu branches, though some Nil-Saharan and Afro-Asiatic speaking groups are also found. The Niger-Congo-Speaking Yoruba, Igbo, Fulani, Akan and Wolof ethnic groups are the largest and most influential. In the central Sahara, Mandinka or Mande groups are most significant. Chadic-speaking groups, including the Hausa, are found in more notherly parts of the region nearest to the Sahara, and Nilo-Saharan communities, suc as the Songhai, Kanuri and Zarma, are found in the eastern parts of West Africa boarding Central. The Population of West Africa is estimated at 340 million people as of 2013.
Culture
Despite the wide variety of cultures in West Africa, from Nigeria through to Senegal, there are general similarities in dress, cuisine, music and culture that are not shared extensively with groups outside the geographic region. This long history of cultural exchange predates the colonization era of the region and can be approximately placed at the time of the Ghana Empire (proper: Wagadou Empire), Mali Empire or perhaps before such empires.
Air transport
The capitals airports include:
- Cadjehoun Airport (COO) International; Cotonou, Benin
- Ouagadougou Airport (OUA); Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
- Amiclar Cabral International Airport (SID); Praia, Cape Verde
- Banjul International Airport (BJL) International; Banjul, Gambia
- Kotoka International Airport (ACC); Accra, Ghana
- Conakry International Airport (CKY); Conakry, Guinea
- Osvaldo Vieira International Airport (OXB); Bissau, Guinea-Bissau
- Port Bouet Airport (ABJ); Abidjan, Ivory Coast
- Roberts International Airport (ROB); Monrovia, Liberia
- Bamako-Senou International Airport (BKO) Bamako, Mali
- Diori Hamani International Airport (NIM); Niamey, Niger
- Murtala Muhammad International Airport (LOS); Lagos, Nigeria
- Saint Helena Airport; Jamestown, Saint Helena
- Blaise Diagne International Airport (DSS), Dakar, Senegal
- Lungi International Airport (FNA); Freetown, Sierra Leone
- Lome-Tokoin Airport (LFW); Lome, Togo
Road Transport
The Trans-West African Coastal Highway is a transnational highway project to link 12 West African Coastal States, from Mauritania in the north-west of the region to Nigeria in the east, with feeder roads already existing to two landlocked countries, Mali and Burkina Faso.
The eastern end of the highway terminates at Lagos, Nigeria. Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) consider its western end to be Nouakchott, Mauritania or to be Dakar, Senegal, giving rise to these alternative names for the road:
- Nouakchott –Lagos Highway
- Lagos – Nouakchott Highway
- Dakar- Lagos Highway
- Lagos – Dakar Highway
- Trans – African Highway 7 in the Trans-African Highway Network
Rail Transport
ECOWAS Rail
A Trans-ECOWAS project, establish in 2007, plans to upgrade railway in this zone. One of the goals of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is the development of an integrated railroad network. Aims include the extension of railways in member countries, the interconnection of previously isolated railway and the standardization of gauge, brakes, couplings, and other parameters. The first line would connect the cities and ports of Lagos, Cotonou, Lome and Accra.