West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Gui
Representations of West African hunter-gatherers from the Dahomey region of Benin
Round Head figure wearing a Barbary sheep-styled mask
A rhinoceros in Bandia Nature Reserve, Senegal
African bush elephants in Yankari National Park, Nigeria
Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state bordered by Libya to the northeast, Chad to the east, Nigeria to the south, Benin and Burkina
Rock engraving showing herds of giraffe, ibex, and other animals in the southern Sahara near Tiguidit, Niger
The Grand Mosque of Agadez
Overlooking the town of Zinder and the Sultan's Palace from the French fort (1906). The arrival of the French spelled an end for precolonial states like the Sultanate of Damagaram which carried on only as ceremonial "chiefs" appointed by the colonial government.
French West Africa in 1949