The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was created by the Treaty of Lagos on May 28, 1975 in Lagos, Nigeria. ECOWAS was established to promote cooperation and integration in order to create an economic and monetary union for promoting economic growth and development in West Africa. ECOWAS has encountered many problems in the process of regionally integrating West Africa, including: political instability and lack of good governance that has plagued many member countries; the insufficient diversification of national economies; the absence of reliable infrastructure; and the multiplicity of organizations for regional integration with the same objectives. Several ECOWAS-member countries are currently part of the West African Monetary Union (UEMOA), a regional economic and monetary union which shares a common currency (the CFA franc). The Francophone-countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo, with Guinea Bissau (Lusophone), comprise UEMOA. The Economic Community of West African States is a regional group of fifteen countries, founded on May 28, 1975 when 15 West African countries signed the Treaty of Lagos. ... May 28 is the 148th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (149th in leap years). ... 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... Alternate uses: Lagos (disambiguation) Lagos is the largest city in Nigeria and, with its population of 13. ... West Africa is the region of western Africa generally considered to include these countries: Benin Burkina Faso Cameroon Côte dIvoire (Ivory Coast) Equatorial Guinea Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Liberia Mali Niger Nigeria Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) Senegal Sierra Leone Togo Chad, Mauritania, and... The countries using the CFA franc The CFA franc (in French: franc CFA, or just franc in everyday conversation if no ambiguity is possible) is a currency used in 12 formerly French-ruled African countries, as well as in Guinea-Bissau (former Portuguese colony) and in Equatorial Guinea (former Spanish... A Francophone is a person who speaks French natively or by adoption (i. ... The Republic of Benin is a nation of western Africa, formerly known as Dahomey. ... Burkina Faso is a landlocked nation of western Africa. ... Côte dIvoire (often called Ivory Coast in English; see below about the name) is a country in West Africa. ... See also the Empire of Mali and the town of Mali, Guinea. ... Niger is a landlocked sub-Saharan country in Western Africa situated north of Nigeria, east of Mali, and south of Algeria and Libya, named after the Niger river. ... The Republic of Senegal is a country south of the Senegal River in West Africa. ... The Togolese Republic is a country in West Africa, bordering Ghana in the west, Benin in the east and Burkina Faso in the north. ... The Republic of Guinea-Bissau (República da Guiné-Bissau) is a country in western Africa, and one the smallest countries in continental Africa. ... A lusophone is someone who speaks the Portuguese language natively or by adoption. ...