Cabo Verde Geography - 2024

Location

Western Africa, group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Senegal

Geographic coordinates

16 00 N, 24 00 W

Map references

Africa

Area

total: 4,033 sq km

land: 4,033 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly larger than Rhode Island

Land boundaries

total: 0 km

Coastline

965 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

measured from claimed archipelagic baselines

Climate

temperate; warm, dry summer; precipitation meager and erratic

Terrain

steep, rugged, rocky, volcanic

Elevation

highest point: Mt. Fogo (a volcano on Fogo Island) 2,829 m

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

Natural resources

salt, basalt rock, limestone, kaolin, fish, clay, gypsum

Land use

agricultural land: 18.6% (2018 est.)

arable land: 11.7% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.7% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 6.2% (2018 est.)

forest: 21% (2018 est.)

other: 60.4% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

35 sq km (2012)

Population distribution

among the nine inhabited islands, population distribution is variable; islands in the east are very dry and are only sparsely settled to exploit their extensive salt deposits; the more southerly islands receive more precipitation and support larger populations, but agriculture and livestock grazing have damaged the soil fertility and vegetation; approximately half of the population lives on Sao Tiago Island, which is the location of the capital of Praia; Mindelo, on the northern island of Sao Vicente, also has a large urban population as shown in this

Natural hazards

prolonged droughts; seasonal harmattan wind produces obscuring dust; volcanically and seismically active

volcanism: Fogo (2,829 m), which last erupted in 1995, is Cabo Verde's only active volcano

Geography - note

strategic location 500 km from west coast of Africa near major north-south sea routes; important communications station; important sea and air refueling site; one of four North Atlantic archipelagos that make up Macaronesia; the others are Azores (Portugal), Canary Islands (Spain), and Madeira (Portugal)