Countries in Western Africa

Western Africa is made up of 16 UN member states and 1 other that travelers count on their own: 17 in Globestamp’s list of 250. The region follows the UN’s geoscheme, as Natural Earth records it.

The 17, side by side

Country	UN member	Visitors a year	Stamp	Area
Nigeria	Yes	5.3 million (2016)	Colour-shift	911,217 km² (351,823 sq mi)
Ivory Coast	Yes	2.1 million (2019)	Colour-shift	322,039 km² (124,340 sq mi)
Senegal	Yes	1.4 million (2017)	Hologram	196,944 km² (76,040 sq mi)
Ghana	Yes	897,000 (2015)	Hologram	239,677 km² (92,540 sq mi)
Togo	Yes	876,000 (2019)	Hologram	57,100 km² (22,046 sq mi)
Cape Verde	Yes	758,000 (2019)	Hologram	3,940 km² (1,521 sq mi)
The Gambia	Yes	620,000 (2019)	Hologram	10,541 km² (4,070 sq mi)
Benin	Yes	337,000 (2019)	Prism	116,591 km² (45,016 sq mi)
Mali	Yes	217,000 (2019)	Prism	1,256,814 km² (485,258 sq mi)
Niger	Yes	192,000 (2019)	Prism	1,185,157 km² (457,591 sq mi)
Burkina Faso	Yes	143,000 (2019)	Prism	273,827 km² (105,725 sq mi)
Guinea	Yes	99,000 (2017)	Prism	245,288 km² (94,706 sq mi)
Sierra Leone	Yes	71,000 (2019)	Prism	71,914 km² (27,766 sq mi)
Guinea-Bissau	Yes	52,000 (2019)	Prism	32,959 km² (12,726 sq mi)
Liberia	Yes	no figure	Prism	95,710 km² (36,954 sq mi)
Mauritania	Yes	no figure	Prism	1,039,355 km² (401,297 sq mi)
Saint Helena	No	no figure	Mythic	367 km² (142 sq mi)

Questions people ask

How many countries are in Western Africa?

Western Africa is made up of 16 UN member states and 1 other that travelers count on their own: 17 in Globestamp’s list of 250. The region follows the UN’s geoscheme, as Natural Earth records it.

What is the largest country in Western Africa?

Mali, at 1,256,814 km² (485,258 sq mi); the smallest is Saint Helena, at 367 km² (142 sq mi).

Which country in Western Africa gets the most visitors?

Nigeria: 5,265,000 international arrivals in 2016, by UN Tourism’s count. The fewest among those with figures: Guinea-Bissau, with 52,400.