Cabo Verde
Cabo Verde is a western African country of roughly 520K people, covering 4,033 km² with its capital at Praia. Its economy is worth about $2.0B in nominal terms, anchored by tourism, fisheries, services.
- Population
- 520K
- Projected population, 2026
Source: UN World Population Prospects - Capital
- Praia
- GDP
- $2.0B
- Area
- 4,033 km²
- Currency
- Cape Verdean escudo
Map
Overview
Cabo Verde is a western African country of roughly 520K people, covering 4,033 km² with its capital at Praia. Its economy is worth about $2.0B in nominal terms, anchored by tourism, fisheries, services.
Government
Cabo Verde operates as a parliamentary republic. Independence: 1975. Executive, legislative and judicial functions are exercised from Praia.
Economy
Nominal GDP is approximately $2.0B, or around $3,849 per capita. The currency in circulation is the Cape Verdean escudo. Leading sectors are tourism, fisheries, services.
Population
Cabo Verde has a projected population, 2026 of 519,651 people (United Nations Population Division, World Population Prospects 2024 Revision, Online Edition — medium variant), a density of roughly 129 people per km². Values from 2024 onwards are medium-variant projections rather than live counts.
Cities
The largest urban centres are Praia, Mindelo, Espargos. Praia serves as the seat of government.
History
Modern Cabo Verde took shape through pre-colonial states, the colonial partition of the late nineteenth century, and independence in 1975. Our History section covers each period in depth.
Languages
Widely used languages include Portuguese, Cape Verdean Creole. Official-language policy shapes schooling, courts and broadcasting.
Culture
Music, cuisine, film, textiles and sport in Cabo Verde form part of a fast-growing creative economy with an expanding export footprint.
Education
Primary enrolment is near-universal in most of the region; the constraints sit at secondary completion, technical training and higher-education funding.
Healthcare
Health spending across Africa averages about 5.7% of GDP. Cabo Verde's system combines public facilities, private providers and donor-funded programmes.
Business
Company registration, tax administration and access to finance are the practical determinants of doing business in Cabo Verde. See our Business section for sector reporting.
Investment
Investors typically look at tourism, infrastructure and consumer services. Regulatory clarity and FX access are the recurring diligence questions.
Tourism
Visitors come for landscape, heritage and city life. Entry requirements, seasonality and internal transport are covered in our Travel guides.
Transportation
Road remains dominant; rail, ports and aviation capacity vary sharply and are the focus of most current infrastructure investment.
Infrastructure
Electricity access, broadband coverage and logistics quality are the three infrastructure metrics most closely tied to Cabo Verde's growth outlook.
Statistics
Full time series for population, GDP, trade, inflation, internet usage, education, health, tourism, agriculture and climate are published in The360Africa Data Center.
Frequently asked questions
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