Cape Verde (Cabo Verde)

Full name of country: Republic of Cabo Verde

Region: Africa

Official language: Portuguese

Population: 611,014 (2024 est.)

Nationality: Cabo Verdean(s) (noun), Cabo Verdean (adjective)

Land area: 4,033 sq km (1,557 sq miles)

Capital: Praia

National anthem: "Cantico da Liberdade" (Song of Freedom), by Amilcar Spencer Lopes/Adalberto Higino Tavares Silva

National holiday: Independence Day, July 5 (1975)

Population growth: 1.16% (2024 est.)

Time zone: UTC –1

Flag: The flag of Cape Verde is blue and features three horizontal bars in the flag’s lower section: two white and one red. The white represents peace and the red represents the road to development. An off-center circle of ten gold stars represents the country’s ten main islands.

Motto: “Unity, Work, Progress”

Independence: July 5, 1975 (from Portugal)

Government type: parliamentary republic

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Legal system: civil law system of Portugal

Though the Republic of Cabo Verde—known internationally as Cape Verde until 2013—began as a Portuguese slave-trading colony, it is now a stable democracy that maintains friendly, open relations with all countries. The relationship between Cabo Verde and the United States has been cordial since the early eighteenth century, when Cabo Verdeans joined US whaling crews. Poor land and lack of water have hampered efforts to boost the economy of this archipelago of volcanic islands.

Note: unless otherwise indicated, statistical data in this article is sourced from the CIA World Factbook, as cited in the bibliography.

People and Culture

Population: A little larger than the US state of Rhode Island, Cabo Verde has two major cities: the capital, Praia, on the island of São Tiago, with an estimated population of 168,000 (as of 2018), and Mindelo, on São Vicente. About half the population lives on São Tiago Island. Cabo Verdeans commonly immigrate to the United States, Senegal, and Europe.

Major ethnic groups include Creole, or mixed African and Portuguese descent (71 percent); African (28 percent); and European (1 percent). While the official language is Portuguese, many of the people speak Krioulo, a Creole dialect based on old Portuguese that includes elements of African and other European languages.

At the time of the 2021 census, an estimated 72.5 percent of Cabo Verdeans were Roman Catholic, often in combination with elements of indigenous beliefs. Protestants made up 4 percent of the population, and 4.3 percent practiced other forms of Christianity, including Christian Rationalism and Jehovah’s Witness. About 1.3 percent were Muslim, 1.2 percent identified as “other,” and 15.6 percent claimed no religion. There are small communities of Mormons, Jews, and Baha'is. Although Cabo Verde’s constitution does not recognize any state religion, the Catholic Church does enjoy a privileged status; the church receives free television time, and several Catholic religious days are observed as national holidays.

Cabo Verde is a country with a medium level of human development, ranking 131 out of 193 countries on the 2022 United Nations Human Development Index.

Indigenous People: Cabo Verde has no native peoples. The islands were uninhabited when the Portuguese arrived in 1456 CE and began transporting enslaved people from West Africa to work on plantations there. Cabo Verde won its independence in 1975, after a bloody war of liberation. Today, the population is largely mixed, and Cabo Verde has friendly relations with Portugal.

Education: Primary school, which officially begins at age six in Cabo Verde and lasts for six years, is free and compulsory. Secondary school lasts for another six years and is divided into two cycles of three years each.

The estimated adult literacy rate as of 2021 is 90.8 percent. School life expectany was about thirteen years in 2018. Education expenditures accounted for 7.6 percent of the 2020 gross domestic product (GDP).

Until the twenty-first century, Cabo Verde had no universities. The first, Jean Piaget University of Cabo Verde, began operating in May 2001. The University of Cabo Verde was the nation’s second university, established in November 2006. A number of other postsecondary institutions operate in the country as well.

Health Care: The average life expectancy at birth in Cabo Verde was an estimated 74.3 years in 2024. Also in 2024, the average infant mortality rate was an estimated 22.4 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Health care expenditures were 6 percent of GDP in 2020. In 2018, Cabo Verde had 0.83 physicians for every 1,000 people.

In 2020, an estimated 85.6 percent of Cabo Verdeans had access to improved sanitation facilities, and 96.7 percent had access to clean, treated drinking water.

Food: Cabo Verdean cuisine is rooted in the country’s colonial heritage. The Portuguese used their colony on the Cabo Verde archipelago to experiment with crops from the Americas, including corn, hot peppers, pumpkins, and cassava. They also raised livestock and grew tropical crops brought from Asia, such as sugar, bananas, mangoes, and papayas. The Africans brought to the islands as slaves added their knowledge of tropical agriculture and cooking.

Today, dried corn is an important ingredient in many traditional Cabo Verdean foods. The corn may be used as whole kernels, called hominy or samp, or they may be ground. The national dish is catchupa, a fish or meat stew made with hominy and beans.

Xerem, or cherem, is dried corn pounded in a mortar to the size of rice grains. This is a staple used in the many Cabo Verdean dishes. Kuskus, or couscous, is steamed in a binde, or ceramic pot. It may be served with butter and milk as kuskus ku leite, or with molasses as kuskus ku mel.

Other common foods and ingredients include beans, sweet potatoes, cassava, fish, and meats flavored with liqueurs and sweets.

Arts & Entertainment: Cabo Verde has a long and multifaceted musical tradition. Music accompanies almost every celebration, private or public.

The funaná is both an accordion-based music genre and a dance with a heavy beat, popular in cities and towns. Coladeira music is notable for its variable tempo and is associated with a fast, light ballroom-style dance. In contrast, the national song form is the minor-key morna, which is slow and moody. This music, evoking sodade (nostalgia), is often popular with Cabo Verdeans living in other countries. Other distinctive Cabo Verdean musical forms, influenced by African styles, include pilão, unique to the island of Fogo; tabanka, from São Tiago; and finaçon.

Stringed instruments, such as the viola, guitar, cavaquinho (a small guitar), and violin, and various types of drums and percussion instruments are common in Cabo Verdean music. Cesária Évora was the country’s most famous musician. Other well-known musicians include Bana (real name Adriano Gonçalves), Dany Silva, Tito Paris, Paulino Vieira, Ramiro Mendes, Ildo Lobo, and the band Finaçon.

Cabo Verde’s most influential literary movement began in 1936 as part of the opposition to colonial rule. Writers of this movement included Baltasar Lopes da Silva, Manuel Lopes, Jorge Barbosa, Félix Monteiro, António Aurélio Gonçalves, Gabriel Mariano, Jaime Figueiredo, Henrique Teixeira de Sousa, Arnaldo França, and Germano Almeida.

Among Cabo Verde’s prominent painters were Manuel Figueira, Tchalé Figueira, Barbieo Barros Gizzi, Leão Lopes (also a writer and filmmaker), Maria-Luísa Queirós, Maria Alice Fernandes, Kiki Lima, and David Levy Lima.

Traditional arts include basket and tapestry weaving and coconut-shell crafts for decorative and utilitarian use.

Holidays: Official holidays celebrated in Cabo Verde include Democracy and Liberty Day (January 13); National Heroes' Day (January 20), honoring freedom fighters of the independence movement; Labor Day (May 1); Children's Day (June 1); and Independence Day (July 5), commemorating independence from Portugal in 1975. Christian holidays include Carnaval and Ash Wednesday in February, Good Friday and Easter in March or April, Assumption Day on August 15, All Saints’ Day on November 1, and Christmas on December 25.

Environment and Geography

Topography: The Cabo Verde archipelago consists of ten islands and five islets in the Atlantic Ocean, about 570 kilometers (354 miles) off the west coast of Dakar, Senegal.

The islands are arranged in two groups: the barlavento (windward) islands and the sotavento (leeward) islands. The main barlavento islands are Santo Antão, São Vicente, Santa Luzia, São Nicolau, Sal, and Boa Vista. The major sotavento islands are Maio, São Tiago, Fogo, and Brava. Santa Luzia is the only large island that is uninhabited.

The highest point in Cabo Verde, Pico de Cano (2,829 meters/9,281 feet), the only remaining active volcano in the archipelago, is on Fogo Island. There are no major rivers or lakes on the islands, and very little freshwater of any kind.

The islands, formed by volcanoes, are rugged and inhospitable to agriculture. They are composed mainly of basalt and phonolite, a volcanic rock. The islands nearest the mainland (Sal, Boa Vista, and Maio) are level, dry, and covered with sand dunes. São Tiago, Fogo, Santo Antão, and São Nicolau are mountainous, with sheer, rugged cliffs. Blowing sand has carved many rocks into unique formations.

Natural Resources: Among Cabo Verde’s few natural resources are salt, limestone, basalt, and fish and shellfish. The islands are also a source of pozzolana, a volcanic ash that is used to make cement.

Modern environmental issues include soil erosion, caused by overgrazing and the growing of crops on steep slopes; deforestation; desertification; and overfishing. This environmental damage has also threatened Cabo Verde’s bird and reptile species.

Plants & Animals: Most of Cabo Verde’s native vegetation has been destroyed by improper land use. While some protected valleys still support lush growth, most surviving plants are those that have adapted to dry conditions, such as thorn bushes and aloe. As part of reforestation efforts, eucalyptus and acacia trees have been planted in areas where forests once stood.

Only a small number of wild animal species live on the islands. These include rodents, lizards, and wild goats.

Climate: The climate of Cabo Verde is overwhelmingly dry. The archipelago receives little rainfall and has only a small amount of freshwater. Severe droughts brought by the northeast trade winds are common and often result in food shortages. A drought may last for years.

Average annual precipitation in Praia is 24 centimeters (9.5 inches). Most rain occurs from the end of July to early November. These rains are brought by the southwest monsoon season.

The sun shines most of the year, although storms from the Sahara sometimes bring clouds in winter.

As it lies a little north of the equator, Cabo Verde is warm, with little variation in temperature. The average temperature during February is 20.8 degrees Celsius (69 degrees Fahrenheit); the average September temperature is 25.7 degrees Celsius (78 degrees Fahrenheit).

Economy

Cabo Verde had a GDP of $4.903 billion and a per capita GDP of $8,200 in 2023. The service sector is the largest part of Cabo Verde’s economy. According to World Bank figures, remittances from Cabo Verdeans living abroad contributed US$313.3 million in 2022.

Industry: Industry accounted for an estimated 17.5 percent of the 2017 GDP. Major industries include food and beverage processing, fishing and fish products, apparel, ship repair, and salt mining.

Cabo Verde’s primary exports include fish, shellfish, and apparel. In 2021 the country exported an estimated US$459.923 million worth of goods.

Cabo Verde is fortunate to be at the crossroads of shipping lanes in the Atlantic. Improvements made to Mindelo’s Porto Grande Bay and the international airport on Sal have allowed Cabo Verde to take full advantage of its strategic position.

Agriculture: Only about 11.7 percent of Cabo Verde’s land is arable, and that is primarily on four of the main islands: São Tiago, Santo Antão, Fogo, and Brava. An estimated 8.9 percent of the 2017 GDP came from agriculture.

Important agricultural products include bananas, corn, beans, sugarcane, sweet potatoes, peanuts, and coffee. Fish and shellfish, particularly tuna and lobster, are plentiful in the waters surrounding the islands. Small amounts of the annual catch are exported. Because of the lack of freshwater, however, nearly all of Cabo Verde’s food must be imported.

Tourism: In 2019, 758,000 international tourists visited Cabo Verde. Most of these tourists came from Europe, particularly the United Kingdom, Germany, and Portugal. The number of tourist arrivals dropped to 180,000 in 2020 following the global COVID-19 pandemic that began that year. In 2022, tourism contributed 32.8 percent of the national GDP.

Popular tourist attractions include the scenic mountains of São Tiago, Santo Antão, Fogo, and Brava, as well as the extensive beaches of São Tiago, Sal, Boa Vista, and Maio. Another popular attraction is Cabo Verde’s oldest settlement, Cidade Velha (old city), located in southern São Tiago. It was founded in 1462 as Ribeira Grande (large river), the first permanent European city in the tropics.

Government

Cabo Verde’s road to democracy has been rocky. During the sixteenth century, the colony was a center of the slave trade. It was also occasionally attacked by pirates. When the slave trade declined in the eighteenth century, so did the prosperity of the colony. Cabo Verde was used as a ships’ supply station for Portuguese sailors during the nineteenth century.

A growing spirit of nationalism led Portugal to change the status of Cabo Verde from colony to overseas province in 1951. In the 1950s and 1960s, Cabo Verdeans such as Amílcar Cabral joined with Guinea-Bissauans in a bloody struggle for independence. Cabo Verde gained its independence on July 5, 1975.

The country was ruled under a one-party system until 1990. At that time, opposition groups formed the Movimento para Democracia (MPD), or Movement for Democracy, and claimed the right to oppose the scheduled December 1990 presidential election. The one-party state ended on September 28, 1990. Elections with candidates from multiple parties were held for the first time in January 1991.

The president serves as the head of state and is elected by popular vote to a five-year term; the president can be elected for a second term. The prime minister, who is the head of government, is nominated by the National Assembly and appointed by the president. A Council of Ministers assists the prime minister in governing.

The Assembleia Nacional, or National Assembly, consists of seventy-two deputies elected to five-year terms. The judicial branch consists of the Supremo Tribunal de Justiça, or Supreme Court of Justice, and various lower courts. For administrative purposes, the country is divided into twenty-two municipalities.

In addition to the MPD, political parties include the Partido Africano da Independência de Cabo Verde (PAICV), or the African Party for the Independence of Cabo Verde; the União Caboverdiana Independente e Democrática (UCID), or the Democratic and Independent Cabo Verdean Union; the Partido de Trabalho e Solidariedade (PTS), or the Party of Work and Solidarity; and the Partido Social Democrático (PSD), or the Social Democratic Party. While it is illegal to form political parties based on geography or religion, it is understood that the Roman Catholic Church approves of the MPD.

Centre-left opposition candidate Jose Maria Neves won the October 2021 election, ending a 10-year hold on the presidency by the centre-right MPD party.

Interesting Facts

• Boston, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island, boast the largest Cabo Verdean populations living in the United States.
• In 1585, Sir Francis Drake attacked and destroyed Ribeira Grande. After that, the city declined in importance as the influence of Praia grew.
• Cabo Verde was the second country in the history of the UN Human Development Index to leave the "least developed" category.
• In 2019 the Cabo Verdean musical style of morna was deemed a part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Bibliography

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"Cabo Verde." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 15 Jan. 2025, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/cabo-verde/. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

"Cape Verde: National Education Profile." Education Policy and Data Center, FHI 360, 2018, www.epdc.org/sites/default/files/documents/EPDC‗NEP‗2018‗CapeVerde.pdf. Accessed 2 Oct. 2020.

“Cape Verde (CPV) Exports, Imports, and Trade Partners.” OEC, Observatory of Economic Complexity, 2020, oec.world/en/profile/country/cpv. Accessed 2 Oct. 2020.

Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division. World Statistics Pocketbook. United Nations, series V, no. 43, 2019, unstats.un.org/unsd/publications/pocketbook/files/world-stats-pocketbook-2019.pdf. Accessed 2 Oct. 2020.

“Cape Verde—2023 Annual Research: Key Highlights.” World Travel and Tourism Council, 2023, researchhub.wttc.org/factsheets/cape-verde. Accessed 30 Oct. 2023.

"Human Development Insights." Human Development Reports, United Nations Development Programme, 2022, hdr.undp.org/data-center/country-insights#/ranks. Accessed 30 Oct. 2023.

“2019 Report on International Religious Freedom: Cabo Verde.” US Department of State, 2020, www.state.gov/reports/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom/cabo-verde. Accessed 2 Oct. 2020.