Maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea

The coastal area surrounding the Gulf of Guinea comprises 17 countries. Nine border the gulf on the Atlantic Ocean: Benin, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Togo and the archipelago of Sao Tome and Principe. Angola and the Republic of the Congo lie south, with Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia and Senegal to the north. The area covers 2.3 million square kilometers, with approximately 6,000 kilometers of coastline.