how many countries are in west africa

West Africa is the region that makes up the westernmost part of Africa. Benin covers an area of around 115,000 sq km. But there are 54 countries in Africa. Africa is also the world's second most populous continent. Global Ranking: 53rd. How Many Countries Are In Africa? The nation’s economic structure centers on agriculture and fishing. About half the population of Mali lives below the international poverty line. This book argues that development strategies have thus far failed in Western Africa because the many challenges afflicting the area have yet to be explored and understood from the perspective of institutional resources. Finally, the book identifies possible policy and programmatic responses and directions for policy dialogue at the national and international levels. Ushuaia. Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject Business economics - Economic Policy, grade: A, ESCP Europe, language: English, abstract: Development in Africa has been an issue for many years now. A history of West Africa, from the explorations of eighteenth-century Europeans to the present day. Let’s test your knowledge and expand your understanding of these countries in West Africa. The Ebola virus soon spread to Guinea’s capital city of Conakry, and on March 13, 2014, the Ministry of Health in Guinea issued an alert for an unidentified illness. Similar to most areas in West Africa, Mali tends to lean toward the humid side of things in terms of weather conditions. In a recent report published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), 50 African countries were considered (with the exception of South Sudan, Seychelles, Somalia, and Sao Tome and Principe), and the state of democracy in the continent was measured. Three centuries earlier the Arabs had completed their conquest of Africa north of the Sahara and so came into possession of the northern termini of trade routes reaching across the desert to western Africa. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is made up of fifteen member countries that are located in the Western African region. Senegal, country in western Africa. Located at the westernmost point of the continent and served by multiple air and maritime travel routes, Senegal is known as the "Gateway to Africa." The Niger River as well as the Senegal River both flow through the southeastern and southwestern regions of Mali as well, respectively. As a small African country on the westernmost coastline of the continent, Gambia is often referred to more officially as The Gambia. A history of America's tangled involvement in the transition of British and French West African territories to statehood. To put the physical size of Niger into perspective for you, the country is about as large as the state of Texas in North America. six . Officials from West African countries attend the 56th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in Abuja, Nigeria, Dec. 21, 2019. Africa stretches well south of the equator to cover more than 12 million square miles making Africa the world's second largest continent. Take extreme precautions to protect yourself. The countries of West Africa have a population of 245 million. According to the World Bank, 65 percent of the population are living in rural areas. West Africa consists of 15 nations. Greene has written a series of books, examining the nature of slavery in West Africa—how it operated and what forms it took. Western Africa , region of the western African continent comprising the countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. This introductory book covers West Africa's history, social organization, and contemporary setting. So here is the official United Nations 54 African countries , I’ve noted which countries are on the continent proper (of which there are 47), but also nearby island countries too which are also included within the 54 countries (there are 7 of those), just to be clear: Algeria. In comparison to the global population, Senegal is home to a mere 0.22% of people on Earth. The Atlantic Ocean is to the west and the Indian Ocean is to the Southeast. It originated as a language of commerce between British and African slave traders during the period of the Atlantic slave trade. The Gambia River is a noteworthy internal water source for the country of Gambia, especially because it flows throughout Gambia and makes its way to the Atlantic Ocean. French is an official language of the country. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo, as well as the United Kingdom Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Rather than diving into all eighteen countries, let’s focus on five West African countries that you might not know a lot about. The West African country of Mauritania is mostly located in the Sahara Desert. The Capitals are in bold letters to allow for visual clarity. According to the Central Intelligence Agency, this finding is due to the fact that there is a seemingly apparent emphasis on birthing children and creating families for women in Gambia. 4 Culture. The land is very flat and there is not much change in tune with the cycling of seasons either. As of 2017, about 75 million people in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana and Equatorial Guinea use the language. With land surrounding Mali on all possible sides, the country shares its borders with six other countries. Question: How many countries are in East Africa? Your email address will not be published. For example, Cairo, the largest city in Africa , has a population of about 9.1 million people, but more than 20 million people live in its metropolitan area. Since Africa is such a large landmass, it helps to refer to countries as belonging to a region of Africa rather than using the blanket statement of Africa in general. One of the most challenging issues West African countries are facing at the beginning of the 21st Century is their common security. Who Is on The United Nations List of Countries? Landlocked nation Mali covers over 1,240,000 sq km, and has a population of 14.5 million. Libya, officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, is a country located in North Africa. 'African & American' tells the story of the experience of West African immigrants and refugees in the United States during the last forty years. This book, by two leading experts on economics and Africa, makes a significant analytical contribution to the debates now under way about how ECOWAS could achieve and manage its currency union, and the ramifications for the African ... It is commonly referred to as the southernmost city in the world. Eastern Africa: 14: Ghana: 31,072,940: Western Africa: 15: Madagascar: 27,691,018: Eastern … Official language: Spanish. Senegal has a population size of approximately 16,641 people as of the year 2019. West African Countries: Countries with Sea access of West Africa: Benin, Cape Verde, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo; Landlocked Western African Countries: Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger; Distance and time estimations between (in nautical miles - Nm): According to the African Union, there are 55 Countries in Africa. The regions of Africa include Southern Africa, East Africa, West Africa, Equatorial Africa, and the African Transition Zone. So prosodic are the primarily tonal languages of West Africa, that most speech reverberates far, able to be beautifully mimicked, rhythmically reproduced, and literally “banged out” through the elaborate talking drum motifs inherent to this region of the world. Most people also use their ethnic languages. In the same way, the member countries of the East African community are looking forward to introducing the single currency i.e. The remaining 16 countries account for the other half of the West African population, with Ghana coming in at a distant second (7.5 percent of West Africa’s population). Describes the state of postwar development policy in Africa that has channeled billions of dollars in aid but failed to either reduce poverty or increase growth, offering a hopeful vision of how to address the problem. The UN subregion of East Africa consists of 20 countries in the eastern part of the continent. Senegal. For a complete overview, we compiled a list of West African countries and capitals. West Africa – Wikitravel. At a time when trade negotiations on cotton have been suspended, the publication contends that with 16 million people in West African being dependent on cotton production, the dialogue between developed and developing countries must ... With a population size of over two million people, four children per family starts to accumulate to the point where younger folks are the majority. It has been detected in 29 countries, while 32 countries have also reported the presence of a Covid-19 variant first identified in the UK, now named Alpha. The only other border that surrounds The Gambia besides the aquatic coast of the Atlantic Ocean is Senegal, which is the African country we just touched on that nearly completely encompasses Gambia. Algeria, Mali, Senegal, and the Western Sahara all encompass Mauritania. This is done by measuring and analysing the dynamic history of tax revenue, as a key measure of the capacity of the state, and development in four countries in francophone West Africa 2013 Benin, Côte d2019Ivoire, Niger and Senegal 2013 ... Other important West African languages are Yoruba , Igbo , Akan and Fula . Capital: Malabo. 55 States (September 2018) – Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau. Niger is ruled by a presidential government, with the current ruling president being Mahamadou Issoufou. What are the 55 countries in Africa? Many people wonder how many countries there are in Africa. Conditions in the country account for such a small median age. The average number of children per family is four kids. Chad , Mali , Mauritania and the Niger are by far the largest countries of West Africa, with a total land area accounting for almost 65 percent of the subregion, although mostly desert. Required fields are marked *. how many countries are in west africa is one of the most frequently asked questions. This book makes three major recommendations: 1) the development of a research agenda 2) enhancing research opportunity and implementation and 3) the translation of research findings. It also has some of the world's least developed infrastructure. The first book-length exploration of 'standard Englishes' with contributions by the leading experts on each major variety of English discussed. The West Africa UN subregion includes the following countries :Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte D’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Saint Helena, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo . List of countries in Africa. View of Makoko, a neighbourhood of Nigeria’s capital Lagos, a megalopolis and the most populous urban agglomeration on the African continent, ‘home’ to 22 million people. About Africa Map of Africa , the world’s second-largest and second-most-populous continent is located on the African continental plate. WARNING: Even after the Ebola outbreak has settled down, the region is generally infested with a lot of high risk diseases, like Malaria, HIV, Cholera, Lassa fever, Dengue fever and various other tropical diseases. The initial case, or index patient, was reported in December 2013. Having become an independent country only in 2011, Sudan is one of the world's youngest countries. The region of West Africa is located west of north-south axis lying close to 10° east longitude. The book provides fresh new answers to persistent development questions and sheds new light on long-held views that are either incomplete or no longer true. A Sierra Leonean doctor's attack on Victorian ideas about race and his call for increased self-rule in West Africa. The country of Mauritania is not totally landlocked, for its westernmost border is situated along the coast of the Atlantic. West African economic growth rates have been insufficient in most countries to make significant reductions in poverty. Niger is landlocked and very far from any coastal region of Africa. More than half of the population of Gambia is made up of people who are twenty-five years old or younger. Despite the typically arid and desert-like conditions in Mali, the country's southern land regions are prime locations for well-to-do livestock and agriculture. In the north it is separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea, in the northeast, is separated from Asia by the Suez Canal and farther by the Red Sea. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 17 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo as well as Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Many countries in Northern Africa received Soviet military aid, while others in Central and Southern Africa were supported by the United States, France or both. Islam and Christianity are the major religions in West Africa. Found insideThe most recent Ebola epidemic that began in late 2013 alerted the entire world to the gaps in infectious disease emergency preparedness and response. In this region of Africa, the following countries are included Burkina Faso, Benin, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Cape Verde, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Guinea, Mauritania, Nigeria, Liberia, Niger, The Saint Helena Islands, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha, Senegal as well as Togo. Senegal's political and economic capital is Dakar, one of the biggest French-speaking cities in Africa. A notable feature of Mauritania is that it ranks as the eleventh largest country in all of Africa. The following is a list of all recognized countries in Africa and their capitals sorted out in alphabetical order. Major Horn of Africa languages are Somali, Amharic and Oromo . Tanzania Officially known as the Republic of Tanzania and has a total population of 57.31 million led by John Magufulli as the president. Bordering the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Libya lies between Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west. The list also shows the currencies and presidents of the sixteen West African nations. Read… As wild as it may sound to people who do not live in Africa, the average lifespan of people in Senegal is as short as 18.4 years on average. This reality is due entirely to the fact that the Senegal River and the Niger River provide a lot of nutrients and water accessibility to the lower end of the country. Angola. Your email address will not be published. After five additional cases of fatal diarrhea occurred in that area, an official medical alert was issued on January 24, 2014, to the district health officials. Answer: 21 1. List of West African Countries and Capitals . West Africa is a pioneer in both a good and a bad sense. This is reason enough to take a closer Iook at the history of moist tropical West Africa. List of … Africa is one of the largest continents in the world with over 50 different countries . It is subdivided into various regions: Northern Africa which is constituted by countries like Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya; the western region of Africa include countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Togo etc. Unique mud architecture and landscapes dominate Niger and Mali’s major sights. Ail social and political stakeholders agree that regional integration is a major challenge for development in West Africa. Yet the regional integration process has been affected by many delays, even failures. Since gaining independence, many countries in West Africa were ruled by corrupt governments led by military dictators. The West African country of Mali is situated amongst many other African countries. This calculation tells us that Senegal has a total area of 74,336 square miles. Benin. The book divides Africa into five sections: South, East, West, Central and North, each with its own introduction. This is followed by a page per country, containing a delightful mix of friendly, informative text and colourful illustrations. Central Africa (Middle Africa, or also Equatorial Africa) Kalandula water fall at the Lucala River in the … Some of West African countries that speak French are: 1. Officially it is Republic of Senegal. western Africa, region of the western African continent comprising the countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Located to the eastern portion of West Africa, the Republic of Niger is named after the ever-so-famous, freely flowing Niger River. For every square mile of land, there are a rough estimate of 255 people. However, all other borders of Mauritania are shared with other African countries. The list of West African countries and their currencies shows that eight of 16 countries in West Africa use the West African CFA Franc as their official currency. The poorest countries in Africa are also among the poorest countries in the world. West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. Senegal is partially situated along the western coastline of Africa, though its position in relation to Gambia keeps Senegal’s westernmost border from being completely water-based. These countries have both cultural and geopolitical ties and shared common economic interest. The continent of Africa borders the southern half of the Mediterranean Sea. ALGERIA (GDP: $172.781 Billion) GDP: $172.781 Billion (nominal, 2019 est.) 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