List of Countries in West Africa

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There are 16 countries that make up West Africa. They are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.

1 Types

Great Britain and France were the major European countries to colonize West Africa. Most countries in the region have English or French as their national language.

2 Independence

Liberia is the only country to remain independent during the colonial era. Ghana was the first to gain independence in 1957, and all countries in the region had independence by 1974.

3 Government

Since gaining independence, many countries in West Africa were ruled by corrupt governments led by military dictators. In recent years, most of these nations are trying a democratic form of governance, but corruption still exists.

4 Culture

Islam and Christianity are the major religions in West Africa. Soccer is the most popular sport.

5 Considerations

Many slaves in the trans-Atlantic slave trade were captured from West Africa. Large populations of these descendants live in the United States, Brazil, the Caribbean and other parts of Latin America.

Cate Julia has been a freelance writer for over five years. She has a B.A. in English from the University of Maryland, a M.A. in liberal arts from Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Library and Information Science from Florida State University. Her work has appeared in the "Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Literature" and the "Encyclopedia of American Race Riots."

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