31 Facts About Cape Verde

Cape Verde archipelago was uninhabited until the 15th century, when Portuguese explorers discovered and colonized the islands, thus establishing the first European settlement in the tropics.

However, Cape Verde gradually recovered economically by becoming an important commercial center and useful stopover point along major shipping routes.

In 1951, Cape Verde was incorporated as an overseas department of Portugal, but its inhabitants continued to campaign for independence, which they achieved in 1975.

Since the early 1990s, Cape Verde has been a stable representative democracy and has remained one of the most developed and democratic countries in Africa.

Cape Verde abandoned its hope for unity with Guinea-Bissau and formed the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde .

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Cape Verde is often praised as an example among African nations for its stability and developmental growth despite its lack of natural resources.

In 2013 then United States President Barack Obama said Cape Verde is "a real success story".

Cape Verde follows a policy of nonalignment and seeks cooperative relations with all friendly states.

Cape Verde maintains a vigorously active foreign policy, especially in Africa.

Cape Verde is a founding member state of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, known as the Lusophone Commonwealth, an international organization and political association of Lusophone nations across four continents, where Portuguese is an official language.

Cape Verde has bilateral relations with some Lusophone nations and holds membership in a number of international organizations.

In 2011 Cape Verde ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

In 2017 Cape Verde signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Cape Verde archipelago is in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 570 kilometres off the western coast of the African continent, near Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania as well as part of the Macaronesia ecoregion.

Cape Verde's climate is milder than that of the African mainland because the surrounding sea moderates temperatures on the islands and cold Atlantic currents produce an arid atmosphere around the archipelago.

Cape Verde is part of the Sahelian arid belt, with nothing like the rainfall levels of nearby West Africa.

Cape Verde's isolation has resulted in the islands having several endemic species, particularly birds and reptiles, many of which are endangered by human development.

Cape Verde is divided into 22 municipalities and subdivided into 32 parishes, based on the religious parishes that existed during the colonial period:.

Cape Verde has cold storage and freezing facilities and fish processing plants in Mindelo, Praia, and on Sal.

Strong economic performance was bolstered by one of the fastest growing tourism industries in the world, as well as by substantial capital inflows that allowed Cape Verde to build up national currency reserves to the current 3.

In 2007, Cape Verde joined the World Trade Organization and in 2008 the country graduated from Least Developed Country to Middle Income Country status.

Cape Verde has significant cooperation with Portugal at every level of the economy, which has led it to link its currency first to the Portuguese escudo and, in 1999, to the euro.

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 six and fourteen years.

Cape Verde stands out in West Africa for the quality and inclusiveness of its higher education system.

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Cape Verde was ranked 89th in the Global Innovation Index in 2021.

Cape Verde counted 25 researchers in 2011, a researcher density of 51 per million inhabitants.

Culture of Cape Verde is characterized by a mixture of African and European elements.

In towns with electricity, television is available on three channels; one state-owned and three foreign-owned: RTI Cabo Cape Verde launched by the Portuguese-based RTI in 2005; Record Cabo Cape Verde, launched by the Brazilian-based Rede Record on 31 March 2007; and as of 2016, TV CPLP.

Cape Verde's was referred to as "The Queen of Morna" as opposed to her uncle Bana, who was referred to as "King of Morna".

Cape Verde diet is mostly based on fish and staple foods like corn and rice.