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Cape Verde

Republic of Cabo Verde · Western Africa

Position of Cape Verde on a world map

At a glance

CapitalPraia
Most common first languageCape Verdean Creole99% speak it as a mother tongue
Official languagePortuguese
CurrencyCape Verdean escudo
Drives on theright
Highest pointPico do Fogo2,829 m
Biggest category of goods exportedfood86% of goods exports, 2024
Services share of exports73.2%of everything sold abroad, 2025
TerritoryEntirely islandsno part on a continental mainland · archipelago
Internet domain.cv

Cape Verde by the numbers

Rank is out of the countries with data for that measure. Every figure is the latest year the source publishes.

MeasureValueRank
PopulationEveryone living in the country, all ages, counted mid-year.527k (2025)171st
of 209
GDPThe total value of everything the country produces in a year, at current prices.$3.06bn (2025)177th
of 203
Land areaTotal land area, excluding inland water and offshore territory.4.03k km² (2023)169th
of 209
Military spending, totalWhat the government spends on its armed forces in a year — pay, equipment and operations.$16.8m (2024)150th
of 151
Exports of goods & servicesThe value of everything the country sells abroad in a year, goods and services combined.$1.28bn (2025)155th
of 180
Mobile subscriptionsActive mobile phone subscriptions — NOT the same as people. Many people hold two, so a country can have more subscriptions than residents.587k (2024)169th
of 205
Forest areaLand under natural or planted trees, whether or not it is productive.466 km² (2023)167th
of 203
Agricultural landCropland, land under permanent crops, and permanent pasture.790 km² (2023)168th
of 206
COâ‚‚ emissionsCarbon dioxide released in a year, in millions of tonnes.1 Mt (2024)170th
of 198
Urban populationThe number of people living in urban areas, as each country defines them.409k (2025)163rd
of 209
Life expectancyHow long a baby born today would live if death rates never changed.76.2 years (2024)90th
of 209
GDP per personEverything the country produces in a year, divided by its population.$5,796 (2025)127th
of 205
Internet useThe share of people who have used the internet in the last three months.74.7% (2024)113th
of 191
InflationHow much prices rose over the year, measured on a basket of consumer goods.2.3% (2025)113th
of 182
UnemploymentThe share of people who want a job and are looking for one but do not have one.11.9% (2025)27th
of 185
Urban shareThe share of the population living in urban areas.77.6% (2025)62nd
of 209
Births per womanHow many children a woman would have across her life at current birth rates.1.51 (2024)147th
of 209
Military spending, share of GDPWhat the country spends on its armed forces, as a share of everything it produces.0.62% of GDP (2024)139th
of 155
Trade opennessImports plus exports as a share of GDP. Above 100% is normal for small trading economies.95.3% of GDP (2025)68th
of 183
COâ‚‚ per personCarbon dioxide from fuel and industry, divided by the population.1.28 t (2024)130th
of 198
Human Development IndexThe UN’s combined measure of health, education and income, on a scale from 0 to 1.0.668 (2023)135th
of 193

Land borders

None. Everything that leaves Cape Verde goes by sea or by air.

Cape Verde shares these with other countries

Drives on the right 149Is made up entirely of islands 58Shares no land border 51Is an archipelago 39Has portuguese as an official language 10Is a member of the african union 54Mainly exports food 47Earns most of its export income from services 48Is in western africa 16

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Country data from the World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and the UNDP Human Development Report (CC BY 3.0 IGO)
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