Cape Verde is a sovereign, unitary and democratic Republic, which guarantees the respect and dignity of the human being, recognizing the inviolability and inalienability of human rights as the foundation of the entire human community, of peace and justice.

The Republic of Cape Verde recognizes all citizens are equal before the law, with no distinction of social origin, economic situation, race, sex, religion, political or ideological convictions, as well as social status and it guarantees its citizens the full exercise of their fundamental freedoms.

The Republic of Cape Verde is based on the popular will and its main goal is the fulfillment of economic, political, social and cultural democracy and the building a society that is free, just and caring.

The Republic of Cape Verde is located in the Atlantic Ocean, more specifically in the Macaronesian volcanic archipelago of Cape Verde, off the Senegalese coast.

Its territory  comprises the islands of Santo Antao, Sao Vicente, Santa Luzia, Sao Nicolau, Sal, Boa Vista, Maio, Santiago, Fogo and Brava along with the islands and islets that historically have been part of the archipelago of Cape Verde.  The capital is the city of Praia, on the island of Santiago.

The islands, with an overall area of just over 4,033 km2, are of volcanic origin with a volcano still active in the Isle of Fogo where its last eruption took place in 2014. The climate is dry and hot, with an average temperature of 20/25 ° C.

In 2016 the total population was 553,432 inhabitants, their average age is 25 years and life expectancy is of 72.1 years.  In 2011 average density was 128 inhabitants / km².

The official language is Portuguese although the State promotes the conditions for the formalization of the mother tongue of Cape Verde, the Creole, along with Portuguese.

Cape Verde’s economic resources depend mainly on agriculture and marine wealth. Agriculture often suffers the effects of droughts. The most important crops are coffee, bananas, sugar cane, tropical fruits, corn, beans, sweet potatoes and cassava.

Industrialization is in full development and we can highlight the manufacture of clothing and footwear, paints and varnishes, tourism, fishing & canned fish, and salt extraction, as well as crafts.

Main exports are bananas, canned fish, frozen fish, lobsters, salt and garments.

Cape Verde´s currency is the Escudo, although in many places the Euro is also accepted. Remittances from emigrants, foreign aid along with careful management of payments of foreign debt preserve the stability of the Cape Verdean currency.

The Cape Verdean Escudo (CVE) is divided into 100 cents

Approximate change: 1 Euro = 110,270 Cape Verdean Escudos

• 1st January:  New Year´s Day
• 13 January: Freedom & Democracy Day
• 20 January: National Heroes Day
• 01 May: International Worker´s Day
• 05 July: Independence Day
• 01 November: All Saint´s day
• 25 December: Christmas Day

Country  code: +238

Important telephone numbers:

• Police: 102
• Firefighters: 131, 261 27 27
• Praia Airport: 263 10 10

Transportation:

There are four international airports and three aerodromes for domestic traffic in Cape Verde. The international airports are: Amílcar Cabral International Airport in the island of Sal; Nelson Mandela International Airport in Praia; Cesária Évora International Airport in São Vicente and Aristides Pereira International Airport in Boavista.

Also, each island has at least one port that connects it with the rest of the country, being the most important Porto Grande located in Mindelo, built in 1962.

Telecommunications & Media

Currently there are two companies that provide land, mobile and internet services: CV Movel and Unitel+.

Also there are several newspapers published in Cabo Verde, such as  “A Nação”, “A Semana”, “Expresso das Ilhas” y “O Liberal” along with different portugues and brazilian newspapers.

There are three public TV channels and 15 radio stations.

Music and cultura

The Cape Verdean culture is a mixture of European and African elements. It is known for its musical diversity, reflecting the different origins of its population. The country has its own musical genres such as morna, funaná, coladeira or batuque.

Cesária Évora is the most well known Cape Verdean singer at international level whose success opened the doors to other Cape Verdians singers or Cape Verdeans descendants born in Portugal such as Sara Tavares, Lura and Mayra Andrade.

Cape Verde also has a very rich literature. Salient figures are Baltasar Lopes da Silva, Manuel Lopes and Jorge Barbosa, founders of “Claridade” magazine, as well as other authors related to that same publication, such as António Aurélio Gonçalves, Jaime Figueiredo, Henrique Teixeira de Sousa and Joao Lopes. A very significant figure in recent years is Germano Almeida whose work, with a distinctive, subtle but biting humor, has been translated into several languages.

The term Crioulo is used within the country to refer to the residents, the typical culture of the country and to its language.