Which West African river has the largest delta in Africa?

The Niger River forms Africa’s largest coastal river delta: the Niger Delta in southern Nigeria. The river reaches the Gulf of Guinea after flowing through Guinea, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria, where its channels divide across a vast, low-lying wetland.

The delta covers roughly 70,000 square kilometres under Nigeria’s broad official definition and includes mangrove forests, tidal creeks, rivers, barrier islands, and freshwater wetlands. The Niger’s major tributary, the Benue, joins it at Lokoja before the combined river continues toward the coast.

A common mix-up is the Inner Niger Delta in Mali. That is a separate inland delta, where the Niger and Bani rivers spread across seasonal wetlands without immediately reaching the sea. The coastal Niger Delta is also famous for its “Oil Rivers” history and remains one of the world’s major petroleum-producing regions, although oil pollution has severely damaged many local ecosystems and livelihoods.