GEOGRAPHY

West Africa is made up of developing countries that are experiencing strong demographic and urban growth. The population (308 million inhabitants) is young and development is a challenge to be met. West Africa is a group of countries that share common influences and heritage. The joking kinship system that still binds West African ethnic groups and social groups together today is a striking example. Imperial authority was exercised through the control of trans-Saharan trade, gold and salt production. Its decline began in the 16th century with the development of maritime trade. Fragmented and weakened after the Battle of Tondibi, West Africa underwent European and American colonization4 at the end of the 19th century and during the first part of the 20th century.