Cape Verde, officially the Republic of Cape Verde, is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres (350 miles) off the coast of Western Africa. The islands, covering a combined area of slightly over 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi), are of volcanic origin and while three of them (Sal, Boa Vista and Maio) are fairly flat, sandy and dry, the remaining ones are generally rockier and have more vegetation.
The name of the country stems from the nearby Cap Vert, on the Senegalese coast, which in its turn was originally named “Cabo Verde” when it was sighted by Portuguese explorers in 1444, a few years before the islands were discovered (Verde is Portuguese for “green”).
Cape Verde Country Information:
Capital
(and largest city) Praia
14°55′N 23°31′W
Official languages Portuguese
Recognised regional languages Cape Verdean Creole
Ethnic groups (Sep 2012)
75% Creole (mulatto)
20% African
5% European
Demonym Cape Verdean
Government Parliamentary republic
– President Jorge Carlos Fonseca
– Prime Minister José Maria Neves
Legislature National Assembly
Independence
– from Portugal July 5, 1975
Area
– Total 4,033 km2 (172nd)
1,557 sq mi
– Water (%) negligible
Population
– 2010 estimate 567,000 (165th)
– 2009 census 509,000
– Density 125.5/km2 (89th)
325.0/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2012 estimate
– Total $2.167 billion
– Per capita $4,112.256
GDP (nominal) 2012 estimate
– Total $1.941 billion
– Per capita $3,682.006
HDI (2011) Increase 0.568 (medium) (133rd)
Currency Cape Verdean escudo (CVE)
Time zone CVT (UTC-1)
– Summer (DST) not observed (UTC-1)
Drives on the right
Calling code +238
ISO 3166 code CV
Internet TLD .cv