Britannica
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Which modern countries were once part of French West Africa?
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Western Africa
The countries of western Africa.
French West Africa was an administrative federation established by France that existed from 1895 until 1958. Throughout its history, the federation included the territories that correspond to the following modern-day countries:
- Benin (formerly Dahomey)
- Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta)
- CĂŽte dâIvoire
- Guinea
- Mali (formerly French Sudan)
- Mauritania
- Niger
- Senegal12
The federation was governed from Saint-Louis until 1902, after which the capital was moved to Dakar. Following a 1958 referendum on the French constitution, these territories moved toward independence, with most achieving it in 1960.13