Benin (317)

Located in West Africa, Benin stretches as a narrow strip from the Gulf of Guinea to the Niger River, bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its political capital is Porto-Novo, while Cotonou, on the coast, serves as the economic capital and main port. The country is divided into twelve departments. Formerly the Kingdom of Danxomè and later the French colony of Dahomey, it adopted its current name in 1975. Its population exceeds 13 million, comprising some sixty ethnic groups, including the Fon, Yoruba, Bariba and Adja. Benin is known for its Vodun heritage, the UNESCO-listed royal palaces of Abomey, and the Slave Route in Ouidah. 

Djibouti (359)

Located in the Horn of Africa, at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, Djibouti has been an independent state since 27 June 1977, bordered by Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. The country covers 23,200 km², with a population now above one million, two-thirds of whom live in Djibouti City, the capital. French and Arabic are official languages, alongside Afar and Somali, the national languages. A land of volcanic plateaus and extreme aridity, Djibouti holds Lake Assal, the lowest point in Africa (-153 m), and Mount Moussa Ali, its highest peak (2,028 m). Its strategic position on international shipping routes makes it a major commercial and military crossroads. 

Ghana (97)

Located in West Africa on the Gulf of Guinea, Ghana is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north and Togo to the east. Formerly the British colony known as the Gold Coast, it became sub-Saharan Africa's first independent nation in 1957, under President Kwame Nkrumah. The country covers about 238,500 km² and has a population of over 34 million; English is its official language. Accra, the capital, is the country's main political and economic hub. Ghana, the world's second-largest cocoa producer and a major gold producer, is divided into sixteen administrative regions and home to substantial ethnic diversity, including the Akan, Ewe, Ga-Dangme and Mole-Dagbon peoples. 

Mayotte (622)

Located in the Indian Ocean, within the Comoros archipelago, Mayotte has been a French overseas department and region since 2011. Since 1 January 2026, it has become a single collectivity, the "Department-Region of Mayotte," combining departmental and regional powers. The archipelago covers 374 km² and comprises 17 communes. According to the exhaustive census of January 2026, its population reached 323,153, up 26% since 2017. Mamoudzou, the capital, accounts for roughly 95,000 of them. Mayotte holds one of the largest closed lagoons in the world, ringed by sandy beaches and mangroves. The territory was severely hit by Cyclone Chido in late 2024, and reconstruction is still ongoing.