Which European powers controlled most of western Africa during the colonial period?

During the colonial period, France and Britain were the primary imperial powers in western Africa, having established control over the vast majority of the region by 1898.1

France claimed the largest share of territory, encompassing nearly 1.8 million square miles. This included the federation of French West Africa, which consolidated several colonies—including modern-day Senegal, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Benin, Guinea, Mauritania, and Côte d’Ivoire—under a single administrative structure.12

Britain controlled approximately 450,000 square miles, organized as British West Africa. This included Nigeria, the Gold Coast (modern Ghana), Sierra Leone, and The Gambia.13

Other European involvement was significantly more limited. Germany held Togo, while Portugal maintained a small presence in Portuguese Guinea. Following World War I, the German colonies were partitioned and placed under British and French administration as mandates.13