Countries of West Africa
We count 16 countries in West Africa, part of Africa.
Together they have about 476.9 million inhabitants, 6% of the population of all 195 countries, on 6,144,846 km².
The largest country is Niger, the smallest Cabo Verde.
The most populous country is Nigeria, the least populous Cabo Verde.
Cabo Verde has the highest GDP per person, Niger the lowest.
Niger has the youngest population (median age 15.7 years), Cabo Verde the oldest (29.5 years).
All 16 countries of West Africa
Sorted by population. Every country links to its own page.
| Country | Capital | Population | Areakm² |
|---|---|---|---|
 Nigeria | Abuja | 242.4M | 923,768 |
 Ghana | Accra | 35.7M | 238,537 |
 Côte d'Ivoire | Yamoussoukro | 33.5M | 322,462 |
 Niger | Niamey | 28.8M | 1,267,000 |
 Mali | Bamako | 25.9M | 1,240,192 |
 Burkina Faso | Ouagadougou | 24.6M | 272,969 |
 Senegal | Dakar | 19.4M | 196,712 |
 Guinea | Conakry | 15.4M | 245,836 |
 Benin | Porto-Novo | 15.2M | 114,763 |
 Togo | Lomé | 9.9M | 56,785 |
 Sierra Leone | Freetown | 9M | 72,300 |
 Liberia | Monrovia | 5.9M | 111,369 |
 Mauritania | Nouakchott | 5.5M | 1,030,700 |
 Gambia | Banjul | 2.9M | 11,295 |
 Guinea-Bissau | Bissau | 2.3M | 36,125 |
 Cabo Verde | Praia | 529,630 | 4,033 |
Test yourself
Questions about the countries of West Africa
How many countries are there in West Africa?
We count 16 countries in West Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
What is the largest country in West Africa?
The largest country in West Africa is Niger, with 1,267,000 km².
What is the smallest country in West Africa?
The smallest country in West Africa is Cabo Verde, with 4,033 km².
Which country in West Africa has the most inhabitants?
The most populous country in West Africa is Nigeria, with about 242.4 million inhabitants.
Each country is counted on one continent only, following Natural Earth: Russia, for example, is counted in Europe and Turkey in Asia. Regions are Natural Earth's subregions, which follow the UN's M49 standard. Capital, region, borders and country code: Natural Earth, capitals checked by hand. Flag: flag-icons. How we check our data →