Alternate titles: Cape Verde; Republic of Cape Verde


Although Portuguese is the official language and is used in formal situations, Crioulo, one of the oldest of the Portuguese creole languages, is by far the most widely spoken. The different dialects of Crioulo that exist on the islands may be broadly divided into Sotavento and Barlavento groups. There has been a struggle to legitimate and regularize Crioulo orthography in a dictionary and in schools.


The majority of the population is Roman Catholic, but a flourishing Protestant mission is based in Praia with a publishing venture in Fogo. In practice, Catholicism is often enriched with African elements. The celebration of saints’ days, for example, may be accompanied by drumming, processionals, masks, and dancing in African styles, particularly on São Tiago. Although many Cabo Verdeans can trace Jewish ancestry, virtually none are practicing.

Settlement patterns

The proportion of Cabo Verdeans living in rural areas has declined consistently since the mid-20th century. By the early 2000s, the majority of the population was urban and concentrated particularly in the centres of Praia and Mindelo. Some two-fifths of the population remained rural, living in small villages and individual households in remote fertile valleys or in coastal towns and villages.

Demographic trends

Cabo Verde’s population-growth rate is below both the regional and world averages. A steady emigration of young males seeking employment abroad and one of the lowest birth rates in sub-Saharan Africa have been responsible for dampening Cabo Verde’s population growth. Life expectancy on average exceeds the regional and global averages for both genders. On the whole, the Cabo Verdean population is relatively young, with some two-fifths of the population under 15 years of age.

The group of diasporic Cabo Verdeans throughout the world exceeds the national population. The pattern of out-migration is very old, with many Cabo Verdeans having left the islands as a result of the slave trade or to work as seamen on whaling and sealing ships or serve as migrant labourers in either New England (where many attracted by whaling would settle) or the islands of Sao Tome and Principe. During the period of Portuguese colonialism, many Cabo Verdeans served throughout Lusophone Africa as middle-level colonial officials and workers. Many Cabo Verdeans work as merchant mariners or longshoremen in the major diasporic communities in Dakar, Senegal, southeastern New England, Rotterdam, and Lisbon. Some Cabo Verdean women have sought employment as domestic workers in countries such as Italy, Portugal, and Spain.


After independence, the government played a central role in Cabo Verde’s economy and created several state-owned businesses, which ultimately was a limiting factor in the country’s economic growth. Dramatic changes to the Cabo Verdean economic structure, especially from the mid-1990s, have since guided the country toward a market economy. As a result of these reforms, the number of state-owned businesses declined significantly; numerous interests such as utilities companies, banks, tourism-sector entities, and other enterprises had been privatized by the early 2000s.

Cabo Verde’s service-oriented economy is centred on commerce, trade, transport, and public services. The revenue from the country’s international airports, emigrants’ remittances, and, increasingly, tourism are all important and have enabled the balance of payments to stay generally positive despite imports’ far exceeding exports.

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

Agriculture in Cabo Verde is limited by the severe and recurrent droughts that affect the islands. The harsh conditions have long posed serious challenges to agricultural pursuits, resulting in irregular crop output and periodic bouts of large-scale famine. Poor grazing practices for sheep and goats and little effort toward reforestation and water conservation under the centuries of Portuguese colonialism only aggravated this poor ecological condition. The postcolonial governments have made a major effort to plant drought-resistant acacia trees and build dikes, retaining dams, and terracing in order to curb intense water erosion, improve water retention in the subsoil, and improve and expand the limited areas available for subsistence and small-scale commercial farming.

Crops grown for local consumption include corn (maize), sugarcane, castor beans, broad beans, potatoes, and peanuts (groundnuts). There is a heavy reliance on imported foodstuffs, however, and the importation of food has long been an absolute necessity. Although Cabo Verde’s fishing capabilities are not fully exploited, fish is important for both domestic consumption and export, and both tuna and lobster are caught.

Use of firewood as a source of fuel has placed a strain on Cabo Verde’s woodland resources. While the use of wood fuel continued to increase in the late 20th century, the level of forested area on the islands was simultaneously on the increase because of governmental reforestation efforts. At the beginning of the 21st century, about one-fifth of Cabo Verde was forested.

Resources and power

Cabo Verde has few natural resources. Supplies of sand, limestone, puzzolane (a cement or plaster additive), and salt are of some commercial and utilitarian value. The very limited water supply is a grave liability, and there are no domestic sources of energy except firewood, wind, and sunlight. The country on the whole relies on imported petroleum fuel; on the local level, most domestic energy needs are met by the use of firewood, although the resulting demand placed upon these resources poses an environmental threat. Experimental approaches toward energy supply are under investigation, and the potential of Cabo Verde’s renewable energy resources has been recognized.


Only a few small-scale industries exist in Cabo Verde. These include sewing, textiles, ceramics, mining, timber, beverages, and pharmaceuticals. Tuna fish canning takes place in some areas, and the processing of frozen seafood such as lobster has been profitable.



Cabo Verde Flag

1In English, previously called Republic of Cape Verde; official name was changed in October of 2013.

2Six members elected to represent Cabo Verdeans living abroad.

3Cabo Verdean Creole (Crioulo) is the national language.

Official nameRepública de Cabo Verde (Republic of Cabo Verde)1
Form of governmentmultiparty republic with one legislative house (National Assembly [722])
Head of statePresident: Jorge Carlos Fonseca
Head of governmentPrime Minister: José Maria Neves
Official languagePortuguese3
Official religionnone
Monetary unitescudo (C.V.Esc.)
Population(2013 est.) 511,000
Total area (sq mi)1,557
Total area (sq km)4,033
Urban-rural populationUrban: (2010) 61.8%
Rural: (2010) 38.2%
Life expectancy at birthMale: (2011) 68.5 years
Female: (2011) 73 years
Literacy: percentage of population age 15 and over literateMale: (2010) 89.3%
Female: (2010) 79.4%
GNI per capita (U.S.$)(2012) 3,810
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