South of the Sahara, the bulge of Africa's west coast holds sixteen countries. Coming from North Africa, you cross the dry Sahel into greener land near the Gulf of Guinea.
Key idea
Three big inland countries, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, lie in the Sahel. Along the coast from northwest to east: Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa. Cabo Verde is an island country out at sea.
Why it works
Many West African borders were drawn by European colonial powers in the late 1800s, often along rivers or straight lines. That explains odd shapes such as The Gambia, a thin strip along the Gambia River almost surrounded by Senegal, and the narrow north-south strips of Togo and Benin.
Worked example: Three Guineas
Where are Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea?
- Guinea-Bissau is a small country on the west coast, south of Senegal.
- Guinea is right next to it, to the southeast.
- Equatorial Guinea is not in West Africa at all; it is far to the east, in Central Africa.
Answer: Guinea and Guinea-Bissau are neighbors in West Africa; Equatorial Guinea is in Central Africa.
Worked example: Niger or Nigeria?
Which one is on the coast?
- Nigeria is on the Gulf of Guinea, at the east end of West Africa.
- Niger is the large landlocked country north of it, in the Sahel and the Sahara.
Answer: Nigeria.
Common mistake
Three countries share the name Guinea. Guinea and Guinea-Bissau are neighbors on the west coast. Equatorial Guinea, as its name hints, is near the equator in Central Africa. Also keep Niger (inland) and Nigeria (on the coast) apart.