About Cape Verde:
Cape Verde (also referred to by its Portuguese name Cabo Verde) and known officially as the Republic of Cabo Verde (Portuguese: República de Cabo Verde) is a country in the central Atlantic Ocean off the coast of West Africa. Cape Verde consists of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about 1,557 square miles (4,033 square kilometers). These islands lie between 370 and 530 miles west of Cap-Vert, the westernmost point of continental Africa, after which they are named. Cape Verde forms part of the Macaronesia eco-region that includes the Azores and Madeira (Portugal) as well as the Canary Islands (Spain).
In 1462, Portuguese settlers arrived at Santiago and founded a settlement they called Ribeira Grande. Today it is called Cidade Velha (“Old City”), to distinguish it from Ribeira Grande. The original Ribeira Grande was the first permanent European settlement in the tropics.
Cape Verde became independent in 1975. Since the early 1990s, it has been a stable representative democracy 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 and foreign investment. With a population of around 530,000 (as of 2026), Cape Verde is among the least populous countries in Africa.
Historically, the name has been anglicized as Cape Verde. In 2013, the country’s delegation informed the United Nations that only Cabo Verde and not other translations should be used for official purposes.The official language is Portuguese, while the recognized national language is Cape Verdean Creole (Crioulo), which is spoken by the vast majority of the population.
As of the 2021 census, the most populous islands were Santiago (269,370)—which hosts the country’s capital and largest city, Praia. As of 2026, the population of Praia was estimated to be approximately 189,897. The city has experienced rapid urbanization and acts as the main economic, cultural, and political hub of the country, with over 90% of the nation’s population relying on its services
With few natural resources and inadequate sustainable investment from the Portuguese, citizens grew increasingly dissatisfied with their colonial masters, who 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. In 1956, Amílcar Cabral and a group of fellow Cape Verdeans and Guineans organized (in Portuguese Guinea) the clandestine African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde. 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 independence in 1974. A budding independence movement—originally led by Amílcar Cabral who was assassinated in 1973—passed on to his half-brother Luís Cabral and culminated in independence for the archipelago in 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 instruments of independence from Portugal on July 5, 1975.
Cape Verde is a stable semi-presidential representative democratic republic. On February 2, 2024, Cape Verde became the third African country to be free of malaria. In 2026, it was a joint second most democratic nation in Africa (alongside Mauritius and South Africa), ranking 40th in the world, according to the electoral democracy score of the V-Dem Democracy indices.
Cape Verde follows a policy of nonalignment and seeks cooperative relations with all friendly states. Angola, Brazil, China, Libya, Cuba, France, Guinea-Bissau, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Russia, Luxembourg, and the United States maintain embassies in Praia. Cape Verde maintains a vigorously active foreign policy especially in Africa.
Since 2007, Cape Verde has a special partnership status with the EU, under the Cotonou Agreement, and might apply for special membership, in particular because the Cape Verdean escudo, the country’s currency, is indexed to the euro.
In November 2021, Cape Verde opened its first embassy in Nigeria.
The Cape Verde archipelago is in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 350 miles (570 kilometers) off the western coast of the African continent, near Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania as well as part of the Macaronesia ecoregion. 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, that constitute an area of 1557 square miles (4,033 square kilometers), roughly 1/4 the size of the Hawaiian Islands.
Pico do Fogo, the largest active volcano in the region, erupted in 2014. It has an five-mile (eight-kilometer) diameter caldera, the rim of which is at an elevation of 5,249 feet (1600 meters) and an interior cone that rises to 9,281 feet (2,829 meters) above sea level. The caldera resulted from subsidence, following the partial evacuation (eruption) of the magma chamber, along a cylindrical column from within the magma chamber (at a depth of 8 kilometres (5 miles).
The islands are divided into two groups, windward and leeward:
The Barlavento Islands (windward islands): Santo Antão, São Vicente, Santa Luzia, São Nicolau, Sal, Boa Vista; and
The Sotavento Islands (leeward): Maio, Santiago, Fogo, Brava.
Santiago: is the largest island, both in size and population, and hosts the nation’s capital, Praia, the principal urban agglomeration in the archipelago.
Cape Verde’s climate is milder than that of the African mainland because the surrounding sea moderates temperatures, and cold Atlantic currents produce an arid atmosphere. Conversely, the islands do not receive the cold streams that affect the West African coast, so the air temperature is cooler than in Senegal, but the sea is warmer.
Western Hemisphere-bound hurricanes often have their early beginnings near the Cape Verde Islands. These Cape Verde hurricanes can become very intense as they cross warm Atlantic waters. 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.
Since 1851 the islands have been struck by hurricanes twice in recorded history: in 1892 and in 2015 (Hurricane Fred, the easternmost hurricane ever to form in the Atlantic).
Forest cover is around 11% of the total land area, equivalent to 112, 956 acres (45,720 hectares).
Cape Verde is divided into 22 municipalities (concelhos) and subdivided into 32 parishes (freguesias), based on the religious parishes that existed during the colonial period:
Catholic places of interest in Cape Verde:
Catholicism is the predominant religion in Cape Verde (Cabo Verde). The country is divided into two primary Roman Catholic dioceses—Santiago de Cabo Verde (southern islands) and Mindelo (northern islands). A few of the most prominent Catholic churches across the archipelago include:
Fogo Island
São Filipe: Our Lady of the Conception (Nossa Senhora da Conceição): this beautiful duck-egg blue church is situated in a square surrounded by traditional, historic homes.
Boa Vista Island
Sal Rei: Catholic Church Saint Elizabeth (Igreja de Santa Isabel): this is the main parish for the local community.
Santiago Island
Praia:
Praia is the capital of Cape Verde, and is considered the economic, tourist and cultural center of Cape Verde.
Pro-Cathedral of Our Lady of Grace (Nossa Senhora da Graça): Located in the main square (Praça Alexandre Albuquerque) in the capital city of Praia (SantiagoIsland), this neoclassical church was built between 1894 and 1902 and serves as Cathedral.
Cidade Velha:
Our Lady of the Rosary (Nossa Senhora do Rosário): Located in Cidade Velha, this is one of the oldest colonial churches in the tropics, dating back to 1495.
São Vicente Island:
Mindelo
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Light (Nossa Senhora da Luz): Historic 1862 church located in the city center of Mindelo.
Sal Island:
Santa Maria
Parish of Our Lady of Sorrows (Nossa Senhora das Dores): Located in the heart of , this distinctive white and blue church is popular among locals and visitors alike.
Traveling to Cape Verde:
By Air: Cape Verde is served by major international carriers and several European low-cost airlines, with most international flights arriving at Sal Island (SID), Praia (RAI), or Boa Vista (BVC). Top airlines servicing the archipelago include TAP Air Portugal, the primary European connector with frequent daily flights from Lisbon.
By Ship: Several major cruise lines offer itineraries that feature Cape Verde as a port of call, primarily stopping at Mindelo (São Vicente) and Praia (Santiago). Cape Verde serves as an excellent mid-Atlantic stopover for transatlantic crossings, African coastal voyages, and broader world cruises. Most voyages depart from international hubs like Lisbon, Barcelona, Southampton, or Fort Lauderdale. The most common embarkation ports for cruise tourists are Lisbon and Santa Cruz de Tenerife.