Cabo Verde

The Republic of Cabo Verde is a developing country which consists of nine inhabited volcanic islands and several uninhabited islets off the western coast of Africa. Most islands (Santiago, São Vicente, Santo Antão, São Nicolau, Fogo, and Brava) are rugged and mountainous; three (Sal, Maio, and Boa Vista) are flat, desert islands with vast white sand beaches. Cabo Verde enjoys a stable, democratic parliamentary government. Praia, the capital and largest city (with a population of 140,000), is on the island of Santiago. Cabo Verde’s major shipping port and second-largest city, Mindelo (population 75,000), is on the island of São Vicente. Two languages are spoken widely in Cabo Verde: Portuguese (the official language, spoken by many but not all Cabo Verdeans) and Cabo Verdean Crioulo (a mixture of Portuguese and African languages). While the tourist industry brings an ever-growing number of visitors, tourist facilities on most of the islands remain limited. Sal and Boa Vista islands, however, each have a well-developed tourism infrastructure and extensive nonstop charter flight connections to various European airports. See “SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES” below regarding issues which impact inter-island transport.

Read the Department of State’s Fact Sheet on Cabo Verde for additional information on U.S.- Cabo Verdean relations. You may also follow the U.S. Embassy in Praia on Facebook for current news and activities.