definition for: #WestOfAfrica

West of Africa and Western Africa, also called West Africa, is the westernmost region of the African continent. The region includes 16 countries and one overseas territory: 1) Mauritania lies in the Maghreb, the northwestern region of Africa that has been traditionally inhabited by the Arab-Berber Maghrebis people. 2)Mali, 3)Burkina Faso and 4)Niger are mostly in the Sahel, a transition zone between the Sahara desert and the Sudanian Savanna. 5)Benin, 6)Cote d'Ivoire, 7)Gambia, 8)Ghana, 9)Guinea, 10)Guinea-Bissau, 11)Liberia, 12)Senegal, 13)Sierra Leone, 14)Togo, and 15)Nigeria comprise Guinea, the traditional name for the area near the Gulf of Guinea. 16)Cape Verde is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean, and Saint Helena is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom.