Location:
Western Africa
Capital City:
Praia
Area:
total: 4,033 sq km
land: 4,033 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
965 km

Cabo Verde Cape Verde


Climate:
temperate; warm, dry summer; precipitation meager and erratic
Terrain:
steep, rugged, rocky, volcanic
Elevation:
mean elevation: NA
elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mt. Fogo 2,829 m (a volcano on Fogo Island)
Natural resources:
salt, basalt rock, limestone, kaolin, fish, clay, gypsum
Land use:
agricultural land: 18.6%
arable land 11.7%; permanent crops 0.7%; permanent pasture 6.2%
forest: 21%
other: 60.4% (2011 est.)
Irrigated land:
35 sq km (2012)
Population – distribution:
Among the nine inhabited islands, population distribution is variable; islands in the east are very dry and are only sparsely settled to exploit their extensive salt deposits; the more southerly islands receive more precipitation and support larger populations, but agriculture and livestock grazing have damaged the soil fertility and vegetation; approximately half of the population lives on Sao Tiago Island, which is the location of the capital of Praia; Mindelo, on the northern island of Sao Vicente, also has a large urban population.
Natural hazards:
prolonged droughts;
seasonal harmattan wind produces obscuring dust;
volcanically and seismically active

People and Society
The population of Cape Verde in 2017 was estimated by the United Nations (CIA Factbook) at 560,899, which placed it at number 173 in population among the 193 nations of the world. In 2017, approximately 8% of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 42% of the population under 15 years of age. There were 92 males for every 100 females in the country. According to the UN, the annual population growth rate for 2005–2010 was expected to be 2.3%, a rate the government viewed as too high. The government is focusing its concerns on adolescent fertility. The projected population for the year 2025 was 692,000.
Cabo Verde’s population descends from its first permanent inhabitants in the late 15th-century – a preponderance of West African slaves, a small share of Portuguese colonists, and even fewer Italians, Spaniards, and Portuguese Jews. Over the centuries, the country’s overall population size has fluctuated significantly, as recurring periods of famine and epidemics have caused high death tolls and emigration. Labor migration historically reduced Cabo Verde’s population growth and still provides a key source of income through remittances. Expatriates probably outnumber Cabo Verde’s resident population, with most families having a member abroad. Cabo Verdeans have settled in the US, Europe, Africa, and South America.
Emigration has declined in more recent decades due to the adoption of more restrictive migration policies in destination countries. Reduced emigration along with a large youth population, decreased mortality rates, and increased life expectancies, has boosted population growth, putting further pressure on domestic employment and resources. In addition, Cabo Verde has attracted increasing numbers of migrants in recent decades, consisting primarily of people from West Africa, Portuguese-speaking African countries, Portugal, and China. Since the 1990s, some West African migrants have used Cabo Verde as a stepping stone for illegal migration to Europe.
Population:
560,899 (July 2017 est.)
Nationality:
Cabo Verdean(s)
Ethnic groups:
Creole (mulatto) 71%, African 28%, European 1%
Languages:
Portuguese (official), Crioulo (a blend of Portuguese and West African words)
Religions:
Roman Catholic 77.3%, Protestant 4.6% (includes Church of the Nazarene 1.7%, Adventist 1.5%, Assembly of God 0.9%, Universal Kingdom of God 0.4%, and God and Love 0.1%), other Christian 3.4% (includes Christian Rationalism 1.9%, Jehovah’s Witness 1%, and New Apostolic 0.5%), Muslim 1.8%, other 1.3%, none 10.8%, unspecified 0.7% (2010 est.)
Ethnicity, Language, and Religion
The modern population of Cape Verde descends from the mixture of European settlers and African slaves who were brought to the islands to work on Portuguese plantations. Most Cape Verdeans are therefore mulattos, also called mestiços in Portuguese. Another term is Creole, meaning those of mixed native-born African and native-born European descent. The Creole or Mulatto ethnic group boasts of comprising 71% of the total Cape Verdean population. 28% of Cabo Verdeans have predominately African ancestry and trace their roots to slavery and the settlement of other African groups. African groups in modern-day Cape Verde includes the Mandyako, Fulani, and Balante ethnic groups. Portuguese and other European makeup around 1% of Cape Verde’s population. Some of the European immigrants in Cape Verde are Italian and French.
Cape Verde’s official language is Portuguese. It is the language of instruction and government. It is also used in newspapers, television, and radio. Cape Verdean Creole is used colloquially and is the mother tongue of virtually all Cape Verdeans. The national constitution calls for the measures to give it parity with Portuguese. Cape Verdean Creole or Kriolu is a dialect continuum of a Portuguese-based creole. There is a substantial body of literature in Creole, especially in the Santiago Creole and the São Vicente Creole. Creole has been gaining prestige since the nation’s independence from Portugal.
About 77% of the population of Cape Verde are nominally Roman Catholic. Protestant churches account for five percent of the population with the largest denomination being the Church of the Nazarene. Other denominations include the Seventh-Day Adventists, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Assemblies of God, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, and various Pentecostal and evangelical groups. There are also small groups of Muslims and Baha’is. Several African traditional religions are practiced, especially on São Tiago, with some traditional elements infused in other religions. Though there is no state religion, the Catholic Church seems to enjoy a somewhat privileged status, including officially observed religious holidays. The constitutional right of freedom of religion is generally respected in practice. All associations, religious and secular, must register with the Ministry of Justice in accordance with the Law of Associations.

Education
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 6 and 14 years. According to official policy, compulsory primary education begins at age six or seven and lasts for six years. It is followed by secondary schooling, which is divided into two phases of three and two years, respectively. In 2011, the net enrollment ratio for primary school was 85%. Approximately 90% of the total populationSecondary education consists of six more years divided into three cycles of two years each. At the second and third cycles, students may choose to switch to a technical or vocational school program.
The curriculum of secondary education is nominally divided into 3 years of lower and 2 years of higher respectively, the academic curriculum is seamless and the differentiation relatively meaningless. Students who wish to apply to the university must complete both phases though. Others often leave after the first. As of October 2016, 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
The first college in the nation was Escola de Formação de Professores opened on June 28, 1979. The National Technological Investigation Institute opened in 1980. INAG (Instituto Nacional de Administração e Gestão, National Administration, and Management Institute) opened on October 21, 1998. Centro de Formação Náutica (CFN – Nautical Formation Centre) opened on June 19, 1982. The first three would become part of the University of Cape Verde which was the country’s first public university opened on November 21, 2006, the latter joined in 2007. All of the predecessor schools would be eliminated and fully became campuses on October 9, 2008. Uni-CV’s university campuses are under development which started construction in 2014.
The first college in the nation was Escola de Formação de Professores (EFPES) opened on June 28, 1979. On October 2, 1995, EFPAS became ISE, the High Education Institute. Later, the National Technological Investigation Institute opened in 1980, it became INIDA (Instituto Nacionai de Investigação e Desenvolvimento Agrário) in 1997. About 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 in Cape Verde is about 24%, in relation to the local college-age population.
Although approximately two-thirds of Cabo Verdeans were illiterate at independence, literacy was greatly improved in the decades that followed. By the early 2000s, almost four-fifths of the population was literate, although there was an appreciable disparity between male and female literacy levels. Even if most children have access to education, some problems remain. There is insufficient spending on school materials, lunches, and books; and there is a high repetition rate for certain grades.

Economy
Cabo Verde witnessed spectacular social and economic progress between 1990 and 2008, driven mainly by the rapid development of inclusive tourist resorts. During this period, its gross national income (GNI) per capita grew six-fold to US$3200, and it was the only non-extractive economy in Sub-Saharan Africa to reach a middle-income status in a short time. The country’s small population spread across a large water area constitutes a major constraint to growth and development. It limits economies of scale and creates significant connectivity issues, as well as challenges for service delivery (energy, water, education, etc.).
Consolidating its achievements as a middle-income country and further strengthening the conditions for poverty reduction and boosting shared prosperity will be key challenges. With its small open economy, the country is vulnerable to the vagaries of global economic developments. Given the fixed exchange rate with the Euro, it will be vital for the country to rebuild fiscal buffers to absorb future shocks. Diversification within and beyond the tourism sector and more flexible labor markets can help to absorb shocks. Economic reforms are aimed at developing the private sector and attracting foreign investment to diversify the economy and mitigate high unemployment. The government’s elevated debt levels have limited its capacity to finance any shortfalls.
Cabo Verde’s economy is vulnerable to external shocks and depends on development aid, foreign investment, remittances, and tourism. The economy is service-oriented with commerce, transport, tourism, and public services accounting for about three-fourths of GDP. Tourism is the mainstay of the economy and depends on conditions in the euro-zone countries. Cabo Verde annually runs a high trade deficit financed by foreign aid and remittances from its large pool of emigrants; remittances as a share of GDP are one of the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. The fishing potential, mostly lobster and tuna, is not fully exploited.
Growth is projected to approximate 4% over the medium-term, as a foreign direct investment (FDI) continues to recover and inflation expectation remain subdued. The tourism sector is expected to strengthen reflecting a firming of economic conditions in Europe—which provides most of the country’s tourism receipts (47% of total exports of goods and services)—complemented by recent efforts by the government to improve the competitiveness of the sector. The ongoing construction of several hotels across the archipelago should help to create jobs and further stimulate economic growth. Leading indicators also suggest that domestic demand should strengthen reflecting efforts to bolster credit to the private sector.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$3.734 billion (2017 est.)
$3.591 billion (2016 est.)
$3.459 billion (2015 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$1.728 billion (2017 est.)
GDP – real growth rate:
4% (2017 est.)
3.8% (2016 est.)
1% (2015 est.)
GDP – per capita (PPP):
$6,900 (2017 est.)
$6,800 (2016 est.)
$6,600 (2015 est.)
Gross national saving:
33.8% of GDP (2017 est.)
33.3% of GDP (2016 est.)
33.8% of GDP (2015 est.)
GDP – composition, by sector of origin:
agriculture: 7.9%
industry: 17.9%
services: 74.2% (2017 est.)
Agriculture – products:
bananas, corn, beans, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, coffee, peanuts; fish
Industries:
food and beverages, fish processing, shoes and garments, salt mining, ship repair
Population below poverty line:
30% (2000 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $437.1 million
expenditures: $463.7 million (2017 est.)


Agriculture
The contribution of agriculture to GDP is less than 12 percent, but the sector is a key in today’s transformation in Cape Verde. The Government’s strategy includes the construction of 17 dams and more than 10 embankments and a dozen wells to mobilize water, especially rainwater, which will directly benefit agribusinesses. The construction of these dams will help expand the availability of arable land and overcome some constraints associated with water scarcity.
Agribusiness opportunities also exist in coffee, for which the island of Fogo is especially famous. Mid‐March 2013, company Coffee Spirit of Fogo in Mosteiros exported 180 kilograms to the Netherlands, which has already made another shipment request. Café Fama, a Cape Verdean coffee brand which is produced on the Island of São Vicente, is now sold in six Seabra’s supermarkets in Maine and Rhode Island and is exported under the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA). Besides coffee, the Island of Fogo also produces high-quality wine, which is exported to Europe and the United States is known as Vinho de Chã. The Fogo‐based wine cooperatives Chã and Sôdade produce about 150,000 bottles of wine. Production is expected to increase as viticulture and winemaking conditions improve. The wines are too expensive to qualify for export to the United States under AGOA.
Mountainous terrain, rocky soil and frequent droughts have made agricultural production difficult in Cape Verde, but these challenges are also opportunities for agribusinesses to fill needs in the following areas:
- Water mobilization and irrigation to increase productivity and diversify agriculture in rural areas
Sustainable land and water management
Installation of efficient technologies, such as drip irrigation and renewable energy in the agricultural sector
Food conservation and production focused on new technologies in goat cheese and other rural products, improving opportunities for women entrepreneurs
Modernization of the production of wine and rogue to increase production capacity and exports
The growth of the tourism in Cape Verde signals increases in demand for fresh goods and other biological products.
Electricity access:
population without electricity: 153,027
electrification – total population: 70.6%
electrification – urban areas: 84.4%
electrification – rural areas: 46.8% (2012)
Electricity – production:
469 million kWh (2015 est.)
Electricity – consumption:
436.2 million kWh (2015 est.)
Electricity – exports:
0 million kWh (2015 est.)
Electricity – imports:
0 kWh (2015 est.)
Electricity – installed generating capacity:
157,500 kW (2015 est.)
Electricity – from fossil fuels:
76.8% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Electricity – from nuclear fuels:
0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Telephones – fixed lines:
total subscriptions: 64,724
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 11 (July 2016 est.)
Telephones – mobile cellular:
total: 601,956
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 107 (July 2016 est.)
Internet country code:
.cv
Internet Users
total: 266,562
percent of population: 48.2% (July 2016 est.)
Industry and Mining
The mineral industry’s contribution to the economy of Cabo Verde, which is an archipelago of 10 islands and 8 islets that are located about 600 kilometers off the western coast of Africa, was minimal. Cabo Verde’s nominal gross domestic product was estimated to be $1.9 billion1 in 2013. Most of the country’s mineral commodity needs were satisfied by imports. In 2013, the provisional value of total exports from Cabo Verde was about $201 million and the value of total imports was about $833 million. The value of imports of mineral fuels accounted for about 19% of Cabo Verde’s total imports in 2013; cement, about 3%; and steel products, about 2%.
Most of the imported cement and steel products were sourced from Portugal. Compared with those of 2012, imports of building materials declined in 2013 and imports of cement declined for the first half of the year but increased in the second half. Salt was recovered from the Saline de Pedra Lume, which is located in the crater of an extinct volcano on the island of Sal, and from the salt marshes of Porto Ingles on Maio Island. In 2013, an area of 535 hectares of the Salinas de Porto Ingles was added to the Ramsar list of wetlands of international importance. Artisanal production of salt was expected to continue.
Historically, salt also had been produced at Curral Velho on the island of Boa Vista. Crude construction materials, such as aggregate and clay, were produced primarily to meet local demand. Outlook With four international airports and available nonagricultural land adjacent to sandy beaches, the archipelago is slowly making the transition to a tourist destination.
Domestic mineral production is not expected to change in the near future, although imports of cement and steel could increase with additional housing and infrastructure construction. The potential increase in the transient population is expected to increase demand for electrical power and potable water. The separation of the islands limits the economies of scale associated with centralized desalination and electrical powerplants but enhances the attractiveness of supplementing the local power supply with electrical power generated by wind farms.


Banking and Finance
Cape Verde has a small but relatively strong, efficient and well managed financial sector supervised and regulated by a single institution: the Central Bank of Cape Verde. The financial sector consists of; Credit institutions (banks and other institutions that are qualified by law); Special credit institutions (credit unions and savings banks); Nonbanking institutions; Insurance companies; and Stock Exchange. In the 1990s, the statute of International Financial Institutions (IFI) was created for institutions whose activities are directed primarily to non-residents. Most IFI banks in Cape Verde are “foreign branches” or subsidiaries of Portuguese banks, which were established in Cape Verde to benefit from tax advantages in their transactions with non-residents.
The onshore segment contains eight banks (Banco Comercial do Atlântico; Caixa Económica de Cabo Verde; Banco Interatlântico; Banco Cabo-Verdiano de Negócios; Banco Angolano de Investimentos; Novo Banco; Ecobank-Cape Verde, and Banco Espírito Santo-Cape Verde). There are 10 non-bank institutions: a venture capital management company – A Promotora; three currency exchange offices – Cotacâmbios de Cabo Verde, Arisconta – Câmbios Lda. and Girassol – Câmbios Lda.; a company that issues credit cards and handles the payment system – SISP, a leasing company Promo leasing – Sociedade de Locação Financeira SA; three securities fund management companies – Innovation Box, Sociedade de Gestão de Fundos de Habitação de Interesse Social e Novagest SA; and a money transfer agency – Global Money Transfer-Cape Verde SA.
The offshore market is comprised of nine institutions licensed to operate, eight in banking activities (Banco Fiduciário Internacional, Banco Sul Atlântico, Banco Português de Negócios, Banco Montepio Geral, Banco Espírito Santo, Banco Privado Internacional, Caixa de Crédito Agrícola Mútua and Atlantic International Bank) and one acting as fund manager (CA Finance SA).
Overall, the banking sector is still relatively small, with a limited supply of financial products. However, it is well-managed and exhibits good performance indicators. Credit risk is mainly controlled through a limited exposure and strict compliance with prudential ratios. The Cape Verdean stock market, Bolsa de Valores de Cabo Verde (BVC), is fully operational. It has been most active in the issuance of Bonds. Foreign investors must open a bank account with a local bank in Cape Verde before buying stocks or bonds from BVC.
Tourism
Cape Verde is a natural enigma for tourists. Visitors are immediately struck by a mystic contrast in the landscape. The harsh majesty of the island’s mountains is matched large flat expanses of sun-drenched arid land as if nature wished to assign different molds to each of the ‘enchanted isles’ of the Atlantic while designing the archipelago. Uniting the entire mosaic, the sea, blue and warm all year round, forms the perfect backdrop to the white or black coastal sands. Magnificent long beaches and clear, calm waters await those who explore the islands.
Tourism first came to Cape Verde in the 60s, when a Belgian couple, Gaspard Vynckier and Marguerite Massart, built the first vacation homes on the Island of Sal, then little more than uninhabited desert. Up to then, the island had served only as a refueling stop for trans-Atlantic flights. Shortly afterward, South African Airways asked the couple to provide improved accommodation for its crew members, which is how the Hotel Morabeza, today one of the most luxurious and welcoming on the archipelago, came into existence.
Place of Attractions
Santo Antão is the northernmost of the islands and the most mountainous. It is also home to a small spit of land called Ponta do Sol, where the sun goes down on Africa. Beyond the horizon, the American continent is a vast mirage. Like this little spot, Cabo Verde hides numerous charming places ready to surprise the visitor.
Sal is home to some of the best beaches in Cape Verde, and Santa Maria is where you’ll find clean white sands stretching off to the horizon in either direction. There are good snorkeling opportunities offshore and a turtle hatchery near the Riu Funana hotel, where you can see the impossibly cute hatchlings make for the waves in the evenings during November-December.
The trade winds blow steadily from November to June, making Sal an ideal destination for surfing of all kinds. In particular, you’ll find the place crawling with windsurfers and kiteboarders in January and February, all keen to make the most of the winter breeze. Punto Preto is one of the main breaks, perfect for riding if you’re experienced, and gazing out onto if you’re more confident on the sand.
The town of Pedra Lume’s main claim to fame is a volcanic crater filled with what’s known as the ‘salt sea’. Sal means ‘salt’ in Portuguese, and the island was an important source of this precious mineral during colonial times. Nowadays, the salt sea is the perfect spot for a relaxing float – the warm pools are saltier than the Dead Sea, so it’s practically impossible to sink.