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West Africa

West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:

With the exception of Mauritania, all of these countries are members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which was set up in May 1975. The UN region also includes the island of Saint Helena, a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic Ocean.

West Africa is west of an imagined north-south axis lying close to 10° east longitude. The Atlantic Ocean forms the western as well as the southern borders of the West African region. The northern border is the Sahara Desert, with the Ranishanu Bend generally considered the northernmost part of the region. The eastern border is less precise, with some placing it at the Benue Trough, and others on a line running from Mount Cameroon to Lake Chad.

Colonial boundaries are reflected in the modern boundaries between contemporary West African nations, cutting across ethnic and cultural lines, often dividing single ethnic groups between two or more countries.