, national_anthem =
()

, official_languages =

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

, national_languages =

Cape Verdean Creole Cape Verdean Creole is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken on the islands of Cape Verde. It is also called or by its native speakers. It is the native creole language of virtually all Cape Verdeans and is used as a second language by t ...

, capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym = Cape Verdean or Cabo Verdean , ethnic_groups_year = 2017 , government_type =

Unitary Unitary may refer to: Mathematics * Unitary divisor * Unitary element * Unitary group * Unitary matrix * Unitary morphism * Unitary operator * Unitary transformation * Unitary representation * Unitarity (physics) * ''E''-unitary inverse semigrou ...

semi-presidential A semi-presidential republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliamentary republic in that it has a ...

republic , leader_title1 =

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

, leader_name1 =

José Maria Neves José Maria Pereira Neves (; born 28 March 1960) is a Cape Verdean politician who is currently the president of Cape Verde, having previously served as the Prime Minister of Cape Verde from 2001 to 2016. He is a member of the African Party for th ...

, leader_title2 =

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

, leader_name2 =

Ulisses Correia e Silva José Ulisses de Pina Correia e Silva () (born 4 June 1962) is a Cape Verdean businessman and politician who has been Prime Minister of Cape Verde since 22 April 2016. He took office after his party, the Movement for Democracy, won the 20 March ...

, legislature =

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

, area_rank = 166th , area_km2 = 4033 , area_sq_mi = 1,557 , percent_water = negligible , population_census = 561,901 , population_census_rank = 172nd , population_census_year = 2021 , population_density_km2 = 123.7 , population_density_sq_mi = 325.0 , population_density_rank = 89th , GDP_PPP = $4.413 billion , GDP_PPP_year = 2022 , GDP_PPP_per_capita = $7,740 , GDP_nominal = $1.997 billion , GDP_nominal_year = 2022 , GDP_nominal_per_capita = $3,502 , sovereignty_type = Independence , established_event1 = Granted , established_date1 = 5 July 1975 , Gini_year = 2015 , Gini_change = decrease , Gini = 42.4 , Gini_ref = , Gini_rank = , HDI_year = 2021 , HDI_change = increase , HDI = 0.662 , HDI_ref = , HDI_rank = 128th , currency = Cape Verdean escudo , currency_code = CVE , time_zone = CVT , utc_offset = –1 , date_format = dd/mm/yyyy , drives_on = right , calling_code = +238 , cctld =

.cv .cv is the country code top-level domain A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to c ...

, religion = , religion_year = , religion_ref = , today = Cape Verde () or Cabo Verde (, ; ), officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...

and

island country An island country, island state or an island nation is a country whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands. Approximately 25% of all independent countries are island countries. Island countries are historically ...

in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten

volcanic islands Geologically, a high island or volcanic island is an island of volcanic origin. The term can be used to distinguish such islands from low islands, which are formed from sedimentation or the uplifting of coral reefs (which have often formed ...

with a combined land area of about . These islands lie between west of

Cap-Vert Cap-Vert, or the Cape Verde Peninsula, is a peninsula in Senegal and the westernmost point of the continent of Africa and of the Afro-Eurasia mainland. Portuguese explorers called it Cabo Verde or "Green Cape". The Cape Verde islands, further ...

, the westernmost point of continental Africa. The Cape Verde islands form part of the

Macaronesia Macaronesia (Portuguese: ''Macaronésia,'' Spanish: ''Macaronesia'') is a collection of four volcanic archipelagos in the North Atlantic, off the coasts of Africa and Europe. Each archipelago is made up of a number of Atlantic oceanic islands ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

, along with the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

, the Canary Islands, Madeira, and the Savage Isles. The Cape Verde archipelago was uninhabited until the 15th century, when

explorers discovered and

colonized Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...

the islands, thus establishing the first European settlement in the tropics. Because the Cape Verde islands were located in a convenient location to play a role in the Atlantic slave trade, Cape Verde became economically prosperous during the 16th and 17th centuries, attracting merchants,

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

s, and pirates. It declined economically in the 19th century after the suppression of the Atlantic slave trade, and many of its inhabitants emigrated during that period. However, Cape Verde gradually recovered economically by becoming an important commercial center and useful stopover point along major shipping routes. In 1951, Cape Verde was incorporated as an overseas department of Portugal, but its inhabitants continued to campaign for independence, which they achieved in 1975. Since the early 1990s, Cape Verde has been a stable

representative democracy Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy, is a type of democracy where elected people represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies function as some type of represe ...

and has remained one of the most developed and democratic countries in Africa. Lacking natural resources, its developing economy is mostly service-oriented, with a growing focus on

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

and foreign investment. Its population of around 483,628 () is mostly of mixed African and European heritage, and predominantly

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

, reflecting the legacy of Portuguese rule. A sizeable

Cape Verdean diaspora The Cabo Verdean diaspora refers to both historical and present emigration from Cape Verde. Today, more Cabo Verdeans live abroad than in Cape Verde itself. The country with the largest number of Cape Verdeans living abroad is the United States. ...

community exists across the world, especially in the United States and Portugal, considerably outnumbering the inhabitants on the islands. Cape Verde is a member state of the African Union. Cape Verde's official language is Portuguese. It is the language of instruction and government. It is also used in newspapers, television, and radio. The recognized national language is

, which is spoken by the vast majority of the population.

Etymology

The country is named after the

peninsula, on the

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

ese coast. The name ''Cap-Vert'', in turn, comes from the

Portuguese language Portuguese ( or, in full, ) is a western Romance language of the Indo-European language family, originating in the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is an official language of Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau and ...

('green cape'), the name that Portuguese explorers gave the cape in 1444, a few years before they came across the islands. On 24 October 2013, the country's delegation to the United Nations informed it that other countries should no longer use ''Cape Verde'' or any other translations of ''Cabo Verde'' as part of its official name: all countries should use ''Republic of Cabo Verde'' as the country's official name. Speakers of English have used the name ''Cape Verde'' for the archipelago and, since independence in 1975, for the country. In 2013, the Cape Verdean government determined that it would thenceforth use the Portuguese name for official purposes, including at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

, even when speaking or writing in English.

History

The archipelago of modern-day Cape Verde was formed approximately 40–50 million years ago during the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

era. Before the arrival of Europeans, the Cape Verde Islands were uninhabited. They were discovered by Genoese and Portuguese

navigator A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primar ...

s around 1456. According to Portuguese official records, the first discoveries were made by Genoa-born

António de Noli Antonio de Noli (born 1415 or possibly 1419) was a 15th-century Genoese nobleman and navigator, and the first governor of the earliest European overseas colony in Subsaharan Africa. He discovered some of the Cape Verde islands on behalf of Henry ...

, who was afterwards appointed governor of Cape Verde by the Portuguese king

Afonso V Afonso V () (15 January 1432 – 28 August 1481), known by the sobriquet the African (), was King of Portugal from 1438 until his death in 1481, with a brief interruption in 1477. His sobriquet refers to his military conquests in Northern Africa ...

. Other navigators mentioned as contributing to discoveries on the Cape Verde archipelago are

Diogo Dias Diogo Dias, also known as Diogo Gomes, was a 15th-century Portuguese explorer. He was the brother of Bartolomeu Dias and discovered some of the Cape Verde islands together with António Noli. Serving with da Gama In 1497 on the first Portugu ...

, Diogo Afonso, Venetian

Alvise Cadamosto Alvise Cadamosto or Alvise da Ca' da Mosto (, also known in Portuguese as ''Luís Cadamosto''; c. 1432 – 18 July 1488) was a Venetian explorer and slave trader, who was hired by the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator and undertook two known ...

, and

Diogo Gomes Diogo Gomes () was a Portuguese navigator, explorer and writer. Diogo Gomes was a servant and explorer of Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator. His memoirs were dictated late in his life to Martin Behaim. They are an invaluable (if sometimes in ...

(who had accompanied António de Noli on his voyage of discovery, and who claimed to have been the first to land on the Cape Verdean island of Santiago, and the first to name that island). In 1462, Portuguese settlers arrived at

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

and founded a settlement they called Ribeira Grande. Today it is called

Cidade Velha Cidade Velha (Portuguese for "old city", also: ''Santiago de Cabo Verde'') is a cityRibeira Grande on the island of Santo Antão). The original Ribeira Grande was the first permanent European settlement in the

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referr ...

.Cape Verde background note
.

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

(July 2008). In the 16th century, the archipelago prospered from the Atlantic slave trade. Pirates occasionally attacked the Portuguese settlements. Francis Drake, an English

, twice sacked the (then) capital Ribeira Grande in 1585 when it was a part of the

Iberian Union pt, União Ibérica , conventional_long_name =Iberian Union , common_name = , year_start = 1580 , date_start = 25 August , life_span = 1580–1640 , event_start = War of the Portuguese Succession , event_end = Portuguese Restoration War , ...

. After a French attack in 1712, the town declined in importance relative to nearby Praia, which became the capital in 1770. The decline in the slave trade in the 19th century resulted in an economic crisis. Cape Verde's early prosperity slowly vanished. However, the islands' position astride mid-Atlantic shipping lanes made Cape Verde an ideal location for re-supplying ships. Because of its excellent harbour, the city of

Mindelo Mindelo is a port cityCabo Verde, Statistical Yearbook ...

, located on the island of São Vicente, became an important commercial centre during the 19th century. Diplomat Edmund Roberts visited Cape Verde in 1832. Cape Verde was the first stop of

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

's voyage with in 1832. With few natural resources and inadequate sustainable investment from the Portuguese, the citizens grew increasingly discontented with the colonial masters, who nevertheless refused to provide the local authorities with more autonomy. In 1951, Portugal changed Cape Verde's status from a colony to an overseas province in an attempt to blunt growing

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

. In 1956,

Amílcar Cabral Amílcar Lopes da Costa Cabral (; – ) was a Bissau-Guinean and Cape Verdean agricultural engineer, pan-Africanist, intellectual, poet, theoretician, revolutionary, political organizer, nationalist and diplomat. He was one of Africa's foremo ...

and a group of fellow Cape Verdeans and Guineans organized (in

Portuguese Guinea Portuguese Guinea ( pt, Guiné), called the Overseas Province of Guinea from 1951 until 1972 and then State of Guinea from 1972 until 1974, was a West African colony of Portugal from 1588 until 10 September 1974, when it gained independence as Gu ...

) the clandestine African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC). It demanded improvement in economic, social and political conditions in Cape Verde and Portuguese Guinea and formed the basis of the two nations' independence movement. Moving its headquarters to Conakry, Guinea in 1960, the PAIGC began an armed rebellion against Portugal in 1961. Acts of sabotage eventually grew into a war in Portuguese Guinea that pitted 10,000 Soviet Bloc-supported PAIGC soldiers against 35,000 Portuguese and African troops. By 1972, the PAIGC controlled much of Portuguese Guinea despite the presence of the Portuguese troops, but the organization did not attempt to disrupt Portuguese control in Cape Verde. Portuguese Guinea declared independence in 1973 and was granted

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...

independence in 1974. A budding independence movement – originally led by Amílcar Cabral, assassinated in 1973 – passed on to his half-brother Luís Cabral and culminated in independence for the archipelago in 1975.

Independence (1975)

Following the April 1974 revolution in Portugal, the PAIGC became an active political movement in Cape Verde. In December 1974, the PAIGC and Portugal signed an agreement providing for a transitional government composed of Portuguese and Cape Verdeans. On 30 June 1975, Cape Verdeans elected a National Assembly which received the instruments of independence from Portugal on 5 July 1975. In the late 1970s and 1980s, most African countries prohibited South African Airways from overflights but Cape Verde allowed them and became a centre of activity for the airline's flights to Europe and the United States. Immediately following the November 1980 coup in Guinea-Bissau, relations between Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau became strained. Cape Verde abandoned its hope for unity with Guinea-Bissau and formed the

African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde The African Party of Independence of Cape Verde ( pt, Partido Africano da Independência de Cabo Verde, PAICV) is a democratic socialist political party in Cape Verde. It was formerly a Marxist–Leninist communist party and the sole legal p ...

(PAICV). Problems have since been resolved and relations between the countries are good. The PAICV and its predecessor established a one-party system and ruled Cape Verde from independence until 1990. Responding to growing pressure for pluralistic democracy, the PAICV called an emergency congress in February 1990 to discuss proposed constitutional changes to end one-party rule. Opposition groups came together to form the Movement for Democracy (MpD) in Praia in April 1990. Together, they campaigned for the right to contest the presidential election scheduled for December 1990. The one-party state was abolished on 28 September 1990, and the first multi-party elections were held in January 1991. The MpD won a majority of the seats in the National Assembly, and MpD presidential candidate

António Mascarenhas Monteiro António Manuel Mascarenhas Gomes Monteiro (; 16 February 1944 – 16 September 2016) was the first democratically elected President of Cape Verde from 22 March 1991 to 22 March 2001. Early life and education Born in Ribeira da Barca in 1944 ...

defeated the PAICV's candidate with 73.5% of the votes. Legislative elections in December 1995 increased the MpD majority in the National Assembly. The party won 50 of the National Assembly's 72 seats. A February 1996 presidential election returned President Monteiro to office. Legislative elections in January 2001 returned power to the PAICV, with the PAICV holding 40 of the National Assembly seats, MpD 30, and

Party for Democratic Convergence The Democratic Convergence Party ( pt, Partido da Convergência Democrática, PCD) was a political party in Cape Verde. History The PCD was formed in 1994, following a split in the Movement for Democracy.''Political Parties of the World'' (6th ed ...

(PCD) and

Labour and Solidarity Party The Labour and Solidarity Party ( pt, Partido de Trabalho e Solidariedade, PTS) is a social democratic political party in Cape Verde. It is based in São Vicente and led by Gilson Alves. History The party was founded by Onésimo Silveira in ...

(PTS) 1 each. In February 2001, the PAICV-supported presidential candidate

Pedro Pires Pedro de Verona Rodrigues Pires (; born 29 April 1934) is a Cape Verdean politician who served as Prime Minister of Cape Verde from 1975 to 1991, and later as President from 2001 to 2011. Life and career Pires was born in São Filipe, Fogo, Cape ...

defeated former MpD leader Carlos Veiga by only 13 votes. President Pedro Pires was narrowly re-elected in 2006

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative ...

. President

Jorge Carlos Fonseca Jorge Carlos de Almeida Fonseca (; born 20 October 1950)
is a 2011 Cape Verde presidential election and he was re-elected in the 2016 election. He was supported by the Movement for Democracy Party. MpD also won in the 2016 parliamentary

, taking back parliamentary majority after 15 year-rule of African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV). In April 2021, the ruling center-right Movement for Democracy (MpD) of Prime Minister

won the parliamentary

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

. In October 2021, opposition candidate and former prime minister, Jose Maria Neves of PAICV, won Cape Verde's presidential election. On 9 November 2021, Jose Maria Neves was sworn in as the new

President of Cape Verde President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

Government and politics

Cape Verde is a stable

representative democratic republic. It is among the most democratic nations in Africa, ranking 26th in the world, according to the ''2018

Democracy Index The ''Democracy Index'' is an index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the research division of the Economist Group, a UK-based private company which publishes the weekly newspaper ''The Economist''. Akin to a Human Development I ...

''. The constitution – adopted in 1980 and revised in 1992, 1995 and 1999 – defines the basic principles of its government. The

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

is the

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

and is elected by

popular vote Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...

for a five-year term. The

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

is the

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...

and proposes other ministers and secretaries of state. The prime minister is nominated by the

and appointed by the president. Members of the National Assembly are elected by popular vote for five-year terms. In 2016, three parties held seats in the National Assembly – MpD (36), PAICV (25), and the Cape Verdean Independent Democratic Union (UCID) (3). The two main political parties are PAICV and MpD. Movement for Democracy (MpD) ousted the ruling African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV) for the first time in 15 years in the 2016 parliamentary election, at which time its leader, Ulisses Correia e Silva, became prime minister. Jorge Carlos Almeida Fonseca was elected president in August 2011 and re-elected in October 2016. He is also supported by the MpD. In November 2021, Cape Verde opened its first embassy in Nigeria.

International recognition

Cape Verde is often praised as an example among African nations for its stability and developmental growth despite its lack of natural resources. In 2013 then United States President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

said Cape Verde is "a real success story". Among other achievements, it has been recognized with the following assessments:

Foreign relations

Cape Verde follows a policy of nonalignment and seeks cooperative relations with all friendly states. Angola, Brazil, China, Libya, Cuba, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Senegal, Russia, Luxembourg, and the United States maintain embassies in Praia. Cape Verde maintains a vigorously active foreign policy, especially in Africa. Cape Verde is a founding member state of the

Community of Portuguese Language Countries The Community of Portuguese Language Countries ( Portuguese: ''Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa''; abbreviated as the CPLP), also known as the Lusophone Commonwealth (''Comunidade Lusófona''), is an international organization and pol ...

(CPLP), also known as the Lusophone Commonwealth, an international organization and political association of Lusophone nations across four continents, where Portuguese is an official language. Cape Verde has bilateral relations with some Lusophone nations and holds membership in a number of international organizations. It also participates in most international conferences on economic and political issues. Since 2007, Cape Verde has a ''special partnership'' status with the EU, under the

Cotonou Agreement The Cotonou Agreement is a treaty between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States ("ACP countries"). It was signed in June 2000 in Cotonou, Benin's largest city, by 78 ACP countries (Cuba did not sign) and the t ...

, and might apply for special membership, in particular because the Cape Verdean escudo, the country's currency, is indexed to the

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

. In 2011 Cape Verde ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. In 2017 Cape Verde signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Judiciary

The judicial system consists of a Supreme Court of Justice – whose members are appointed by the president, the National Assembly, and the Board of the Judiciary – and regional courts. Separate courts hear civil, constitutional, and criminal cases. Appeals are to the Supreme Court.

Military

The military of Cape Verde consists of the National Guard and the Coast Guard; 0.7% of the country's GDP was spent on the military in 2005. Having fought their only battles in the war for independence against Portugal between 1974 and 1975, the efforts of the Cape Verdean armed forces have turned to combating international drug trafficking. In 2007, together with the Cape Verdean Police, they carried out Operation Flying Launch (), a successful operation to put an end to a drug trafficking group which smuggled cocaine from Colombia to the Netherlands and Germany using the country as a reorder point. The operation took more than three years, being a secret operation during the first two years, and ended in 2010. In 2016, Cape Verdean Armed Forces were involved in the

Monte Tchota massacre The Monte Tchota massacre was a mass shooting that occurred at the Monte Tchota army barracks in Cape Verde in the early hours of 25 April 2016. Massacre Between the hours of 9:30 and 10:00 in the morning, a rogue FACV soldier identified as ...

, a green-on-green incident that resulted in 11 deaths. Although located in Africa, Cape Verde has always had close relations with Europe. Because of this, some scholars argue that Cape Verde may be eligible to join the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, pro ...

(OSCE) and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Geography

The Cape Verde archipelago is in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately off the western coast of the African continent, near Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania as well as part of the

. It lies between latitudes 14° and 18°N, and longitudes 22° and 26°W. The country is a horseshoe-shaped cluster of ten islands (nine inhabited) and eight islets, ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

.'' that constitute an area of 4033 km² (1557 sq. mi.). The islands are spatially divided into two groups: * The

Barlavento Islands The Barlavento Islands ( Portuguese: ''Ilhas de Barlavento'', literally, the ''Windward Islands'') is the northern group of the Cape Verde archipelago.windward Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...

islands): Santo Antão, São Vicente, Santa Luzia, São Nicolau, Sal, Boa Vista; and * The

Sotavento Islands The Sotavento Islands ( Portuguese: ''Ilhas de Sotavento'', literally, the ''Leeward Islands'') is the southern island group of the Cape Verde archipelago.leeward): Maio,

, Fogo,

Brava Brava or La Brava may refer to: Geography *Brava, Cape Verde, a volcanic island *Brava, Costa Rica, an island of Costa Rica (Isla Brava) *Costa Brava, a coastal area Mediterranean of northeast Spain * Barawa, a town in Somalia commonly known as ' ...

. The largest island, both in size and population, is Santiago, which hosts the nation's capital, Praia, the principal urban agglomeration in the archipelago. Three of the Cape Verde islands, Sal, Boa Vista, and Maio, are fairly flat, sandy, and dry; the others are generally rockier with more vegetation.

Physical geography and geology

Geologically, the islands, covering a combined area of slightly over , are principally composed of

igneous rock Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma o ...

s, with volcanic structures and pyroclastic debris comprising the majority of the archipelago's total volume. The

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

and plutonic rocks are distinctly basic; the archipelago is a soda-alkaline

petrographic Petrography is a branch of petrology that focuses on detailed descriptions of rocks. Someone who studies petrography is called a petrographer. The mineral content and the textural relationships within the rock are described in detail. The class ...

province, with a

petrologic Petrology () is the branch of geology that studies rocks and the conditions under which they form. Petrology has three subdivisions: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary petrology. Igneous and metamorphic petrology are commonly taught together ...

succession similar to that found in other Macaronesian islands. Magnetic anomalies identified in the vicinity of the archipelago indicate that the structures forming the islands date back 125–150 million years: the islands themselves date from 8 million (in the west) to 20 million years (in the east).Pim et al., 2008, p.422 The oldest exposed rocks occurred on Maio and the northern peninsula of Santiago and are 128–131 million-year-old pillow lavas. The first stage of volcanism in the islands began in the early

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

, and reached its peak at the end of this period when the islands reached their maximum sizes. Historical volcanism (within human settlement) has been restricted to the island of Fogo. The islands lie on a bathymetric swell known as the

Cape Verde Rise The Cape Verde Rise is an oceanic feature that includes the Cape Verde, Cape Verde Islands and the areas north and east of the islands and west of the African Continental Shelf as well as Mauritania and Senegal. Geography The rise are bounded by ...

. The Rise is one of the largest protuberances in the world's oceans, rising in a semi-circular region of 1200 km² (460 sq. mi.), associated with a rise of the

geoid The geoid () is the shape that the ocean surface would take under the influence of the gravity of Earth, including gravitational attraction and Earth's rotation, if other influences such as winds and tides were absent. This surface is extended ...

Pico do Fogo Pico do Fogo is the highest peak of Cape Verde and West Africa, rising to above sea level. It is an active stratovolcano lying on the island of Fogo. The main cone last erupted in 1680, causing mass emigration from the island. A subsidiary vent ...

, the largest active volcano in the region, erupted in 2014. It has an

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

, the rim of which is at an elevation of and an interior cone that rises to above sea level. The caldera resulted from subsidence, following the partial evacuation (eruption) of the

magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natural sa ...

chamber, along a cylindrical column from within the magma chamber (at a depth of ). Extensive

salt flats Salt flats, Salt flat, Salt Flats, or Salt Flat may refer to: Geology *Salt pan (geology), a flat expanse of ground covered with salt and other minerals *Dry lake, an ephemeral lakebed that consists of fine-grained sediments infused with alkali salt ...

are found on Sal and Maio. On Santiago, Santo Antão, and São Nicolau, arid slopes give way in places to sugarcane fields or banana plantations spread along the base of towering mountains. Ocean cliffs have been formed by catastrophic debris landslides. According to the president of Nauru, in 2011 Cape Verde was ranked the eighth most endangered nation due to flooding from

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

Climate

Cape Verde's climate is milder than that of the African mainland because the surrounding sea moderates temperatures on the islands and cold Atlantic currents produce an arid atmosphere around the archipelago. Conversely, the islands do not receive the

upwelling Upwelling is an oceanographic phenomenon that involves wind-driven motion of dense, cooler, and usually nutrient-rich water from deep water towards the ocean surface. It replaces the warmer and usually nutrient-depleted surface water. The nut ...

(cold streams) that affect the West African coast, so the air temperature is cooler than in Senegal, but the sea is warmer. Due to the relief of some islands, such as Santiago with its steep mountains, the islands can have orographically induced precipitation, allowing rich woods and luxuriant vegetation to grow where the humid air condenses soaking the plants, rocks, soil, logs, moss, etc. On the higher islands and somewhat wetter islands, exclusively in mountainous areas, like Santo Antão island, the climate is suitable for the development of dry monsoon forests, and laurel forests. Average temperatures range from in February to in September. Cape Verde is part of the Sahelian arid belt, with nothing like the rainfall levels of nearby

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

. It rains irregularly between August and October, with frequent brief heavy downpours. A desert is usually defined as terrain that receives less than of annual rainfall. Sal's total of confirms this classification. Most of the year's rain falls in September. Sal, Boa Vista, and Maio have a flat landscape and arid climate, whilst the other islands are generally rockier and have more vegetation. Because of the infrequent occurrence of rainfall, where not mountainous, the landscape is so arid that less than two percent of it is arable. The archipelago can be divided into four broad ecological zones — arid, semiarid, subhumid and humid, according to altitude and average annual rainfall ranging from less than in the arid areas of the coast as in the Deserto de Viana ( in Sal Rei) to more than in the humid mountain. Most rainfall precipitation is due to condensation of the ocean mist. In some islands, like Santiago, the wetter climate of the interior and the eastern coast contrasts with the drier one on the south/southwest coast. Praia, on the southeast coast, is the largest city on the island and the largest city and capital of the country. While most of Cape Verde receives little precipitation throughout the year, the northeastern slopes of high mountains see significant rainfall due to orographic lift, especially in areas far from the sea. In some such areas this precipitation is sufficient to support a rainforest habitat, albeit one significantly affected by the islands' human presence. These umbria areas are identified as cool and moist. Cape Verde lies in the Cape Verde Islands dry forests ecoregion. Western Hemisphere-bound hurricanes often have their early beginnings near the Cape Verde Islands. These are referred to as Cape Verde-type hurricanes. These hurricanes can become very intense as they cross warm Atlantic waters away from Cape Verde. The average hurricane season has about two Cape Verde-type hurricanes, which are usually the largest and most intense storms of the season because they often have plenty of warm open ocean over which to develop before encountering land. The five largest Atlantic tropical cyclones on record have been Cape Verde-type hurricanes. Most of the longest-lived tropical cyclones in the Atlantic basin are Cape Verde hurricanes. As of 2015, the islands themselves have only been struck by hurricanes twice in recorded history (since 1851): once in 1892, and again in 2015 by Hurricane Fred, the easternmost hurricane ever to form in the Atlantic.

Biodiversity

Cape Verde's isolation has resulted in the islands having several

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

, particularly birds and reptiles, many of which are

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

by human development. Endemic birds include

Alexander's swift The Cape Verde swift or Alexander's swift (''Apus alexandri'') is a small bird of the swift family found only in the Cape Verde Islands. It has been recorded from all the islands except Santa Luzia although it probably breeds only on Santiago, ...

(''Apus alexandri''), Bourne's heron (''Ardea purpurea bournei''), the

Raso lark The Raso lark (''Alauda razae'') is a small passerine bird with a highly restricted range, being found only on Raso islet in the Cape Verde Islands. This critically endangered member of the family Alaudidae lives in very arid terrain, and is co ...

(''Alauda razae''), the

Cape Verde warbler The Cape Verde warbler (''Acrocephalus brevipennis'') is an Old World warbler in the genus '' Acrocephalus''. It is also known as the Cape Verde cane warbler or Cape Verde swamp warbler, and in Creole as ''tchota-de-cana'' or ''chincherote'' (als ...

(''Acrocephalus brevipennis''), and the

Iago sparrow The Iago sparrow (''Passer iagoensis''), also known as the Cape Verde or rufous-backed sparrow, is a passerine bird of the sparrow family Passeridae. It is endemic to the Cape Verde archipelago, in the eastern Atlantic Ocean near western Africa ...

(''Passer iagoensis''). The islands are also an important breeding area for seabirds including the

Cape Verde shearwater The Cape Verde shearwater (''Calonectris edwardsii''), or cagarra locally, is a medium-large shearwater, a seabird in the petrel family Procellariidae. It is Endemism in birds, endemic to the Cape Verde archipelago of Macaronesia in the Atlantic ...

. Reptiles include the Cape Verde giant gecko ('' Tarentola gigas'').

Administrative divisions

Cape Verde is divided into 22

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

() and subdivided into 32 parishes ('' freguesias''), based on the religious parishes that existed during the colonial period:

Economy

Cape Verde's notable economic growth and improvement in living conditions despite a lack of natural resources have garnered

international recognition Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral declarative political act of a state that acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state (may be also a recognized state). Recognition can be accord ...

, with other countries and international organizations often providing

development aid Development aid is a type of foreign/international/overseas aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political development of developing countries. Closely-related concepts include: develop ...

. Since 2007, the UN has classified it as a

developing nation A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...

rather than a least developed country. Cape Verde has few

natural resource Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. ...

s. Only five of the ten main islands (Santiago, Santo Antão, São Nicolau, Fogo, and Brava) normally support significant agricultural production, and over 90% of all food consumed in Cape Verde is imported. Mineral resources include salt,

pozzolana Pozzolana or pozzuolana ( , ), also known as pozzolanic ash ( la, pulvis puteolanus), is a natural siliceous or siliceous- aluminous material which reacts with calcium hydroxide in the presence of water at room temperature (cf. pozzolanic reacti ...

(a volcanic rock used in cement production), and

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. Its small number of wineries making Portuguese-style wines have traditionally focused on the domestic market, but have recently met with some international acclaim. Several wine tours of Cape Verde's various microclimates began to be offered in spring 2010. The economy of Cape Verde is service-oriented, with commerce, transport, and public services accounting for more than 70% of GDP. Although nearly 35% of the population lives in rural areas, agriculture and fishing contribute only about 9% of GDP. Light manufacturing accounts for most of the remainder. Fish and shellfish are plentiful, and small quantities are exported. Cape Verde has cold storage and freezing facilities and

fish processing The term fish processing refers to the processes associated with fish and fish products between the time fish are caught or harvested, and the time the final product is delivered to the customer. Although the term refers specifically to fish, in ...

plants in Mindelo, Praia, and on Sal. Expatriate Cape Verdeans contribute an amount estimated at 20% of GDP to the domestic economy through remittances. Despite having few natural resources and being semi-desert, the country boasts the highest living standards in the region and has attracted thousands of immigrants of different nationalities. Since 1991, the government has pursued market-oriented economic policies, including an open welcome to

foreign investors Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing is ...

and a far-reaching

privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

programme. It established as top development priorities the promotion of a market economy and the private sector; the development of

, light manufacturing industries, and fisheries; and the development of

transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...

communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

, and energy facilities. From 1994 to 2000 about $407 million in foreign investments were made or planned, of which 58% were in tourism, 17% in industry, 4% in infrastructure, and 21% in fisheries and services. In 2011, on four islands a wind farm was built that supplies about 30% of the electricity of the country. As host to the

ECOWAS The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in ...

Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, inaugurated in 2010, Cape Verde plans to lead by example by becoming entirely reliant on renewable energy sources by 2025. This policy is consistent with the plethora of documents adopted in 2015 paving the way to more sustainable development, including Cape Verde's ''Transformational Agenda to 2030'', its ''National Renewable Energy Plan'' and its ''Low Carbon and Climate-resilient Development Strategy''. Two years later, these were followed by a ''Strategic Plan for Sustainable Development, 2017–2021''. Between 2000 and 2009,

real GDP Real gross domestic product (real GDP) is a macroeconomic measure of the value of economic output adjusted for price changes (i.e. inflation or deflation). This adjustment transforms the money-value measure, nominal GDP, into an index for quantit ...

increased on average by over seven percent a year, well above the average for Sub-Saharan countries and faster than most small island economies in the region. Strong economic performance was bolstered by one of the fastest growing tourism industries in the world, as well as by substantial capital inflows that allowed Cape Verde to build up national currency reserves to the current 3.5 months of imports. Unemployment has been falling rapidly, and the country is on track to achieve most of the UN Millennium Development Goals – including halving its 1990 poverty level. In 2007, Cape Verde joined the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and ...

(WTO) and in 2008 the country graduated from Least Developed Country (LDC) to Middle Income Country (MIC) status. Cape Verde has significant cooperation with Portugal at every level of the economy, which has led it to link its currency first to the

Portuguese escudo The Portuguese escudo was the currency of Portugal from May 22nd 1911 until the introduction of the euro on January 1st 2002. The escudo was subdivided into 100 . The word derives from the scutum shield. Amounts in escudos were written as w ...

and, in 1999, to the euro. On 23 June 2008 Cape Verde became the 153rd member of the WTO. In early January 2018, the government announced that the minimum wage would be raised to 13,000 CVE (US$140 or EUR 130) per month, from 11,000 CVE, which was effective in mid-January 2018.

Development

The

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

's total allocation for the period of 2008–2013 foreseen for Cape Verde to address "poverty reduction, in particular in rural and peri-urban areas where women are heading the households, as well as good governance" amounts to €54.1 million.

Tourism

Cape Verde's strategic location at the crossroads of mid-Atlantic air and sea lanes has been enhanced by significant improvements at Mindelo's harbour (

Porto Grande ''For São Vicente's main port, see Porto Grande, Cape Verde'' Porto Grande (Portuguese: ''Grand Harbor'', ) is a municipality located in the southeast of the state of Amapá in Brazil. Its population is 22,452 and its area is 4,425 km². ...

) and at Sal's and Praia's international airports. A new international airport was opened in Boa Vista in December 2007 and on the island of São Vicente, the newest international airport ( Cesária Évora Airport) in Cape Verde was opened in late 2009. Ship repair facilities at Mindelo were opened in 1983. The major ports are Mindelo and Praia, but all other islands have smaller port facilities. In addition to the international airport on Sal, airports have been built on all of the inhabited islands. All but the airports on Brava and Santo Antão enjoy scheduled air service. The archipelago has of roads, of which are paved, most using cobblestone. The country's future economic prospects depend heavily on the maintenance of aid flows, the encouragement of tourism, remittances, outsourcing labour to neighbouring African countries, and the momentum of the government's development programme.

Demographics

The official Census recorded that Cape Verde had a population of 512,096 in 2013. A large proportion (236,000) of Cape Verdeans live on the main island, Santiago. Cape Verdeans are descendants of Africans (free or slaves) and Europeans of various origins. There are also Cape Verdeans who have Jewish ancestors from North Africa, mainly on the islands of Boa Vista, Santiago and Santo Antão. A large part of Cape Verdeans emigrated abroad, mainly to the United States, Portugal and France, so that there are more Cape Verdeans residing abroad than at home. Unlike countries on the African continent, there are no tribes in Cape Verde. On the other hand, the country's historical trajectory included, from the beginning, a process of social class formation. At this moment, the absence of a "bourgeoisie" can be seen, but the existence of several types of "petty bourgeoisie", numerically significant. The majority of the population is, however, made up of the peasantry and some working class.

Languages

Cape Verde's official language is Portuguese. It is the language of instruction and government. It is also used in newspapers, television, and radio.

() is used colloquially throughout Cape Verde and is the mother tongue of virtually all Cape Verdeans. The national constitution calls for measures to give it parity with Portuguese. There is a substantial body of literature in Creole, especially in the Santiago Creole and the

São Vicente Creole São Vicente Creole is the name given to the variant of Cape Verdean Creole spoken mainly in the São Vicente Island of Cape Verde. It belongs to the Barlavento Creoles branch. This form of the Cape Verdean Creole has about 80,000 to 100,000 speak ...

. has been gaining prestige since the nation's independence from Portugal. The differences between the forms of the language within the islands have been a major obstacle in the way of standardization of the language. Some people have advocated the development of two standards: a North (Barlavento) standard, centred on the São Vicente Creole, and a South (Sotavento) standard, centred on the Santiago Creole. Manuel Veiga, Ph.D., a linguist and Minister of Culture of Cape Verde, is the premier proponent of '''s'' officialization and standardization.

Religion

The vast majority of Cape Verdeans are Christian; reflecting centuries of Portuguese rule, Roman Catholics make up the single largest religious community, at just under 80 percent, as of 2010 (slightly down from 85 percent of the population in 2007). Most other religious groups are

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

, with the evangelical

Church of the Nazarene The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelicalism, evangelical Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the 19th-century Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism. It is headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas, Lenexa within Johnson Cou ...

forming the second largest community; other sizeable denominations are the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Assemblies of God, the

Universal Church of the Kingdom of God The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG; pt, Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus, IURD) is an evangelical charismatic Christian denomination with its headquarters at the Temple of Solomon in São Paulo, Brazil. The church was founded in ...

and

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

. Islam is the largest minority religion.

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

had a historical presence during the colonial era.

Atheists Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...

constitute less than 1 percent of the population. Many Cape Verdeans syncretize Christianity with indigenous African beliefs and customs.

Emigration and immigration

Almost twice as many Cape Verdeans live abroad (nearly one million) than in the country itself. The islands have a long history of emigration and Cape Verdeans are highly dispersed worldwide, from

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...

to Haiti and Argentina to Sweden. The diaspora may be much larger than official statistics indicate, as, until independence in 1975, Cape Verdean immigrants had Portuguese passports. The majority of Cape Verdeans live in the United States and Western Europe, with the former hosting the largest overseas population at 500,000. Most Cape Verdeans in the U.S. are concentrated in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

, particularly the cities of Providence,

New Bedford New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...

, and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

;

Brockton, Massachusetts Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population is 105,643 as of the 2020 United States Census. Along with Plymouth, it is one of the two county seats of Plymouth County. It is the sixth-largest city in Mas ...

, has the largest community of any American city (18,832). Cape Verdean immigrants have a long history of enlistment in the U.S. military, with a presence in every major conflict from the Revolutionary War to the Vietnam War. Due to centuries of colonial ties, the second largest number of Cape Verdeans live in Portugal (150,000), with sizeable communities in the former Portuguese colonies of Angola (45,000) and São Tomé and Príncipe (25,000). Major populations exist in countries with cultural and linguistic similarities, such as Spain (65,500), France (25,000), Senegal (25,000), and Italy (20,000). Other large communities live in the United Kingdom (35,500), the Netherlands (20,000, of which 15,000 are concentrated in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

), and Luxembourg and Scandinavia (7,000). Outside the U.S. and Europe, the biggest Cape Verdean populations are in Mexico (5,000) and Argentina (8,000). Over the years, Cape Verde has increasingly become a net recipient of migrants, due to its relatively high per capita income, political and social stability, and civil freedom. Chinese make up a sizeable and important segment of the foreign population, while nearby West African countries account for most immigration. In the 21st century, a few thousand Europeans and Latin Americans have settled in the country, mostly professionals, entrepreneurs, and retirees. Over 22,000 foreign-born residents are naturalized, hailing from over 90 countries. The Cape Verdean diaspora experience is reflected in many artistic and cultural expressions, most famously the song '' Sodade'' by

Cesária Évora Cesária Évora GCIH (; 27 August 194117 December 2011), more commonly known as Cize, was a Cape Verdean singer-songwriter. She received a Grammy Award in 2004 for her album ''Voz d'Amor''. Nicknamed the "Barefoot Diva" for performing without ...

Health

The infant mortality rate among Cape Verdean children between 0 and 5 years old is 15 per 1,000 live births according to the latest (2017) data from the National Statistics Bureau, while the maternal mortality rate is 42 deaths per 100,000 live births. The HIV-AIDS prevalence rate among Cape Verdeans between 15 and 49 years old is 0.8%. According to the latest data (2017) from the National Statistics Bureau, life expectancy at birth in Cape Verde is 76.2 years; that is, 72.2 years for males and 80.2 years for females. There are six hospitals in the Cape Verde archipelago: two central hospitals (one in the capital city of Praia and one in Mindelo, São Vicente) and four regional hospitals (one in Santa Catarina (northern Santiago region), one on São Antão, one on Fogo, and one on Sal). In addition, there are 28 health centers, 35 sanitation centers, and a variety of private clinics located throughout the archipelago. Cape Verde's population is among the healthiest in Africa. Since its independence, it has greatly improved its health indicators. Besides having been promoted to the group of "medium development" countries in 2007, leaving the least developed countries category (becoming the second country to do so), as of 2020 it was the 11th best ranked country in Africa in its

Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators, wh ...

. The total expenditure on health was 7.1% of GDP (2015).

Education

Although the Cape Verdean educational system is similar to the Portuguese system, over the years the local universities have been increasingly adopting the American educational system; for instance, all ten existing universities in the country offer four-year bachelor's degree programs as opposed to five-year bachelor's degree programs that existed before 2010. Cape Verde has the second best educational system in Africa, after South Africa. Primary school education in Cape Verde is mandatory and free for children between the ages of six and fourteen years."Cape Verde"
. ''Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor (2001)''.

Bureau of International Labor Affairs The Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) is an operating unit of the United States Department of Labor which manages the department's international responsibilities. According to its mission statement: ''“The Bureau of International La ...

United States Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemploy ...

(2002). ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the

.'' In 2011, the net enrolment ratio for primary school was 85%. Approximately 90% of the total population over 15 years of age is literate, and roughly 25% of the population holds a college degree; a significant number of these college graduates hold doctorate degrees in different academic fields. Textbooks have been made available to 90 percent of school children, and 98 percent of the teachers have attended in-service teacher training. Although most children have access to education, some problems remain. For example, there is insufficient spending on school materials, lunches, and books. , there were 69 secondary schools throughout the archipelago (including 19 private secondary schools) and at least 10 universities in the country which are based on the two islands of Santiago and São Vicente. In 2015, 23% of the Cape Verdean population had either attended or graduated from secondary schools. When it came to higher education, 9% of Cape Verdean men and 8% of Cape Verdean women held a bachelor's degree or had attended universities. The overall college education rate (i.e., college graduates and undergraduate students) in Cape Verde is about 24%, of the local college-age population. The total expenditure on education was 5.6% of GDP (2010). The mean years of schooling of adults over 25 years is 12. These trends were held in 2017. Cape Verde stands out in West Africa for the quality and inclusiveness of its higher education system. As of 2017, one in four young people attended university and one-third of students opted for fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Women made up one-third of students but two-thirds of graduates in 2018.

Science and technology

In 2011, Cape Verde devoted just 0.07% of its GDP to research and development, among the lowest rates in West Africa. The Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Culture plan to strengthen the research and academic sectors by emphasizing greater mobility, through exchange programmes and international cooperation agreements. As part of this strategy, Cape Verde is participating in the Ibero-American academic mobility programme that expects to mobilize 200,000 academics between 2015 and 2020. Cape Verde was ranked 89th in the

Global Innovation Index The Global Innovation Index is an annual ranking of countries by their capacity for, and success in, innovation, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization. It was started in 2007 by INSEAD and ''World Business'', a British ma ...

in 2021. Cape Verde counted 25 researchers in 2011, a researcher density of 51 per million inhabitants. The world average was 1,083 per million in 2013. All 25 researchers were working in the government sector in 2011 and one in three were women (36%). There was no research being conducted in either medical or agricultural sciences. Of the eight engineers involved in research and development, one was a woman. Three of the five researchers working in natural sciences were women, as were three of the six social scientists and two of the five researchers from the humanities. In 2015, the government announced a project to build a technology park for business, research, and development. As of late 2020, the project, now named TechPark Cabo Verde, is slated for completion in June 2022. The project is funded by both the

African Development Bank The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or (BAD) is a multilateral development finance institution headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and private companies ...

and the government of Cape Verde. The goal of the endeavour, according to Cape Verde Minister of Finance

Olavo Correia Dr. Olavo Avelino Garcia Correia commonly known as Olavo Correia, is a Cape Verdean politician. He currently serves as the deputy prime minister, and Minister of Finance of Cape Verde since May 2016. He was the governor of Bank of Cape Verde from 1 ...

, is "to attract large international companies to set up shop n orderto help local companies and start-ups become more competitive".

Crime

Theft and burglary are common in Cape Verde, especially in crowded environments such as marketplaces, festivals, and celebrations. Often the perpetrators of these crimes are gangs of street children."Cape Verde"
. United States

Bureau of Consular Affairs The Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) is a bureau of the United States Department of State reporting to the under secretary of state for management. The mission of the Bureau is to administer laws, formulate regulations and implement policies re ...

(5 May 2008). ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the

.'' Murders are concentrated in the major population centres of Praia and Mindelo.

Culture

The culture of Cape Verde is characterized by a mixture of African and European elements. This is not a sum of two cultures living side by side, but a new culture resulting from an exchange that began in the 15th century. Cape Verdean social and cultural patterns are unique. Football games and church activities are typical sources of social interaction and entertainment. The traditional walk around the (

town square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

) to meet friends is practised regularly in Cape Verde towns.

Media

In towns with electricity, television is available on three channels; one state-owned ( RTC – TCV) and three foreign-owned: RTI Cabo Verde launched by the Portuguese-based RTI in 2005; Record Cabo Verde, launched by the Brazilian-based

Rede Record RecordTV (), formerly known as Rede Record, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network. It is currently the second largest commercial TV station in Brazil, and the 28th largest in the 2012 world ranking. In 2010, it was elected by the adverti ...

on 31 March 2007; and as of 2016, TV CPLP. Premium channels available include the Cape Verdean versions of Boom TV and Zap Cabo Verde, two channels owned by Brazil's Record. Other premium channels are available in Cape Verde, especially satellite network channels which are common in hotels and villas, though availability is otherwise limited. One such channel is RDP África, the African version of the Portuguese radio station RDP. As of early 2017, about 19% of the Cape Verdean population own an active cellular phone, 70% have access to the Internet, 11% own a landline telephone, and 2% subscribe to local cable TV. In 2003, Cape Verde had 71,700 main line telephones with an additional 53,300 cellular phones in use throughout the country. In 2004, there were seven radio stations, six independent and one state-owned. The media is operated by the Cape-Verdean News Agency (secondarily as Inforpress). Nationwide radio stations include RCV, RCV+, Radio Kriola, and the religious station Radio Nova. Local radio stations include Rádio Praia, the first radio station in Cape Verde; Praia FM, the first FM station in the nation;

Rádio Barlavento Rádio Barlavento was a radio station in Cape Verde which broadcast in the Portuguese language from 1955 until 1974. It was a shortwave (CR4AC) station broadcasting on 3930 kHz. From 1947 until 1955 it was called Rádio Clube do Mindelo. In ...

, Rádio Clube do Mindelo and Radio Morabeza in Mindelo.

Music

The Cape Verdean people are known for their musicality, well expressed by popular manifestations such as the Carnival of Mindelo. Cape Verde music incorporates "African, Portuguese and Brazilian influences." Cape Verde's quintessential national music is the '' morna'', a melancholy and lyrical song form typically sung in

. The most popular music genre after ''morna'' is the ''

coladeira The ''coladeira'' (; Cape Verdean Creole: ''koladera,'' ) is a music genre from the Cape Verde islands in the central Atlantic Ocean. It is characterized by a variable tempo, a 2-beat bar, and (in its most traditional form) a harmonic structure ...

'', followed by '' funaná'' and '' batuque'' music.

was the best-known Cape Verdean singer in the world, known as the "barefoot diva," because she liked to perform barefooted on stage. She was also referred to as "The Queen of Morna" as opposed to her uncle Bana, who was referred to as "King of Morna". The international success of Cesária Évora has made other Cape Verdean artists, or descendants of Cape Verdeans born in Portugal, gain more space in the music market. Examples of this are singers Sara Tavares, Lura and Mayra Andrade. Another great exponent of traditional music from Cape Verde was Antonio Vicente Lopes, better known as Travadinha, and

Ildo Lobo Ildo Lobo (November 25, 1953 – October 20, 2004) was a Cape Verdean singer. His versatile and melodic voice, commanding stage presence and trademark berets made him one of the most recognizable performers in Cape Verde.Horace Silver Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s. After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sc ...

, Duke Ellington's saxophonist Paul Gonsalves, Teófilo Chantre,

Paul Pena Paul Jerrod Pena (January 26, 1950 – October 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist of Cape Verdean descent. His music from the first half of his career touched on Delta blues, jazz, morna, flamenco, folk and rock and r ...

, the

Tavares Tavares may refer to: Places Brazil *Tavares, Paraíba *Tavares, Rio Grande do Sul *Rodovia Raposo Tavares, the longest highway in São Paulo *Tavares Bastos (favela), a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil *Tavares River Jamaica *Tavares Garden ...

brothers and singer Lura.

Dance

Dance forms include the soft dance ''morna'', the ''

'', the Cape Verdean version of the

zouk Zouk is a musical movement pioneered by the French Antillean band Kassav' in the early 1980s. It was originally characterized by a fast tempo (120–145 bpm), a percussion-driven rhythm and a loud horn section. The fast zouk béton of Martini ...

from Guadeloupe called '' Cabo love'', the ''funaná'' (a sensual African dance), the ''batuque'' dance, and the Cabo Zouk.

Literature

Cape Verdean literature is one of the richest of Lusophone Africa. Famous poets include Paulino Vieira, Manuel de Novas, Sergio Frusoni, Eugénio Tavares, and B. Léza, and famous authors include

Baltasar Lopes da Silva Baltasar Lopes da Silva ( Caleijão, São Nicolau, 23 April 1907 - Lisbon, Portugal, 28 May 1989) was a writer, poet and linguist from Cape Verde, who wrote in both Portuguese and Cape Verdean Creole. With Manuel Lopes and Jorge Barbosa, he w ...

, António Aurélio Gonçalves, Manuel Lopes, Orlanda Amarílis,

Henrique Teixeira de Sousa Henrique Teixeira de Sousa (September 19, 1919 in São Lourenço on the island of Fogo – March 3, 2006) was a doctor and author from Cape Verde. Biography Teixeira de Sousa graduated in 1945 in Lisbon with a degree in Medicine, having at ...

, Arménio Vieira, Kaoberdiano Dambará, Dr. Azágua, and

Germano Almeida Germano Almeida (; born 31 July 1945) is a Cape Verdean author and lawyer. Biography Born on the Cape Verdean island Boa Vista, Almeida studied law at the University of Lisbon and currently practices in Mindelo. His novels have been translat ...

. The first novel written by a woman from Cabo Verde was ''A Louca de Serrano'' by Dina Salústio; its translation, as ''The Madwoman of Serrano,'' was the first translation of any Cabo Verdean novel to English.

Cinema

The Carnival and the island of São Vicente are portrayed in the 2015 feature documentary ''

Tchindas ''Tchindas'' is a 2015 Spanish-Cape Verdean documentary film directed by Pablo García Pérez de Lara and Marc Serena. The film premiered at the Outfest Los Angeles 2015 where it received a Grand Jury Award. Plot In the Atlantic Ocean, the tin ...

'', nominated at the 12th Africa Movie Academy Awards.

Cuisine

The Cape Verde diet is mostly based on fish and staple foods like corn and rice. Vegetables available during most of the year are potatoes, onions, tomatoes,

manioc ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

, cabbage, kale, and dried beans. Fruits such as bananas and papayas are available year-round, while others like mangoes and

avocado The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family ( Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Then as now it was prized for ...

s are seasonal. A popular dish served in Cape Verde is '' cachupa'', a slow-cooked stew of corn (hominy), beans, and fish or meat. A common appetizer is the ''pastel'', a pastry shell filled with fish or meat which is then fried.

Sports

The country's most successful sports team is the Cape Verde national basketball team, which won the bronze medal at the

FIBA Africa Championship 2007 AfroBasket 2007 was the 24th FIBA Africa Championship, played under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Basketball, the basketball sport governing body, and the African zone thereof. The tournament was hosted by Angola, in the ci ...

, after beating

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

in its last game. The country's most well-known player is

Walter Tavares Walter Samuel "Edy" Tavares da Veiga (born 22 March 1992) is a Cape Verdean professional basketball player for Real Madrid of the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He was selected with the 43rd overall pick in 2014 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks an ...

, who plays for Real Madrid of Spain. Cape Verde is famous for wave sailing (a type of windsurfing) and

kiteboarding Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...

. Josh Angulo, a Hawaiian and 2009 PWA Wave World Champion, has done much to promote the archipelago as a

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

destination. Mitu Monteiro, a local kitesurfer, was the 2008 Kite Surfing World Champion in the wave discipline. The

Cape Verde national football team A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

, nicknamed the (Blue Sharks), is the national team of Cape Verde and is controlled by the Cape Verdean Football Federation. The team has played at three Africa Cup of Nations, in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, 2015, and

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

. The country has competed at every Summer Olympics since 1996. In 2016, Gracelino Barbosa became the first Cape Verdean to win a medal at the Paralympic Games.

Transport

Ports

There are four international ports:

Mindelo Mindelo is a port cityCabo Verde, Statistical Yearbook ...

, Praia, Palmeira and Sal Rei. Mindelo on São Vicente is the main port for cruise ships and the terminus for the ferry service to Santo Antão. Praia on Santiago is the main hub for local ferry services to other islands. Palmeira on Sal supplies fuel for the main airport on the island, Amílcar Cabral International Airport, and is important for the hotel construction taking place on the island.

Porto Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of G ...

on Santo Antão is the only source for imports and exports of produce from the island as well as passenger traffic since the closure of the airstrip at

Ponta do Sol Ponta do Sol (; en, "Cape of the Sun") is a municipality in the southwestern coast of the island of Madeira, in the archipelago of Madeira. The population in 2011 was 8,862, in an area of . History The settlement of Ponta do Sol began shortly af ...

. There are smaller harbours, essentially single jetties at Tarrafal on São Nicolau, Sal Rei on Boa Vista, Vila do Maio (Porto Inglês) on Maio, São Filipe on Fogo and

Furna Furna (Highest Alemannic: ''Furnä'') is a Swiss village in the Prättigau and a municipality in the political district Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden. History Furna is first mentioned in 1479 as ''Furnen''. Demographics ...

on Brava. These act as terminals for the inter-island ferry services, which carry both freight and passengers. The pier at Santa Maria on Sal used by both fishing and dive boats has been rehabilitated.

Airports

There were seven operational airports – four international and three domestic. Two others were non-operational, one on Brava and the other on Santo Antão closed for safety reasons. Due to its geographical location, Cape Verde is often flown over by transatlantic airliners. It is part of the conventional air traffic route from Europe to South America, which goes from southern Portugal via the Canary Islands and Cape Verde to northern Brazil.

International airports

Amílcar Cabral International Airport Amílcar Cabral International Airport , also known as Sal International Airport, is the main international airport of Cape Verde. The airport is named after the revolutionary leader Amílcar Cabral. It is located two km west-southwest from Espa ...

, Sal Island *

Nelson Mandela International Airport Nelson Mandela International Airport , also known as Praia International Airport, is the airport of Santiago Island in Cape Verde. It was opened in October 2005, replacing the old Francisco Mendes International Airport. It is located about 3&nb ...

, Santiago Island * Aristides Pereira International Airport, Boa Vista Island * Cesária Évora Airport, São Vicente Island

Aerial drones

Small unmanned flying drones able to carry up to 5kg were being used experimentally for tasks such as delivering medicines between the islands in 2021.

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

*
Official website of the Government of Cape Verde
*
Cape Verde
''

The World Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is availabl ...

''.

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

.
Cape Verde
from State.gov
Country Profile
from

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

Cape Verde
entry on ''Encyclopædia Britannica''

from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''
Key Development Forecasts for Cape Verde
from

International Futures International Futures (IFs) is a global integrated assessment model designed to help with thinking strategically and systematically about key global systems (economic, demographic, education, health, environment, technology, domestic governance, ...

Cape Verde 2016
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