Cape Verde Facts and Figures

The archipelago of Cape Verde is  a closely knit group of 10 islands and 8 islets in the Atlantic Ocean, some 400 miles west of Senegal. The islands all have their own characters, some volcanic and mountainous, others flat and sandy.

The northern group includes Santo Antao, Sao Vicente, Santa Lucia and San Nicolao. To the west are the sandy islands of Sal and Boa Vista, and to the south is  Brava with its abundance of flora, the volcanic Fogo, beautiful white sandy beaches of Maio and finally the largest island of Santiago with its white sandy coves and mountainous interior.

The capital Praia can be found on the south coast of Santiago.

Politics, Religion & Economics

• In 1975, after more than 500 years of union, the Cape Verdean people were given their independence from Portugal. Today, Cape Verde is a socially and politically stable country where all political parties are keen to attract foreign private investment, particularly in tourism.
• About 96% of Cape Verdeans are Catholic.
• The exchange rate of the Cape Verdean Escudo is fixed to the Euro. To find out the current exchange rate, visit XE.com's Universal Currency Converter.
• Over the last 5 years, average annual inflation has been contained to 1.4%, while GDP has grown by more than 6%.

Climate

• The climate as a whole on the islands is classed as dry tropical with an average temperature ranging between 22oC to 28oC with water temperatures between 22oC and 27oC.  
• There are 2 seasons, a dry season between November and July and a comparatively moderate humid season between August and October.
• Daily sunshine averages 6 to 7 hours between August and October  and 10 to 12 hours for the rest of the year.
• Wind speed averages 13 knots  between November and July, dropping to 9 knots in the summer and rainfall averages to around 10 inches, mostly falling over the higher ground.
• There is a significant contrast in climate between the mountainous regions which are cooler and wetter, to the warm, dry climate on the coast.

Tourism

Presently about 130,000 tourists visit Cape Verde each year, but the government’s tourist board believes that with the increase in the quality of tourist developments on the islands and the opening of Santiago’s new international airport, opening in December 2005, the total should rise to 500,000 by 2015.

When the demand is sufficient it is expected that direct flights from various airports in the UK will commence.