West Africa / Sahel

  • map of west africa picWest Africa has been defined as including 17 countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, the island nation of Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, the islands of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo
  • Area: 1,974,103 sq mi (approx. 20x the size of the State of Michigan)
  • Population approx. 362 million in 2016
  • Climate:  In West Africa there are four different climate regions which consists of humid, tropical, savanna, desert, and steppe.

Fun fact: The West African nation of Ghana is the second largest producer of cocoa in the world. West Africa is also home to Lake Volta, the world's largest artificial lake.

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