Cape Verde had a population of 491,233 in 2021. Cape Verdeans are descendants of Africans (free or enslaved) and Europeans of various origins. There are also Cape Verdeans who have Jewish ancestors from North Africa, mainly on Boa Vista, Santiago, and Santo Antão. The country's historical trajectory included, from the beginning, a process of social class formation. At this moment, the absence of a "bourgeoisie" can be seen, but the existence of several types of "petty bourgeoisie" is numerically significant. The majority of the population is, however, made up of the peasantry and some working class.
Languages The official language is
Portuguese. It is the language of instruction and government. It is also used in newspapers, television, and radio.
Cape Verdean Creole () is used colloquially and is the mother tongue of virtually all Cape Verdeans. The national constitution calls for measures to give it parity with Portuguese.
Religion The vast majority of Cape Verdeans are Christian; reflecting centuries of Portuguese rule,
Catholics make up the single largest religious community, at just under 80 percent, as of 2010 (slightly down from 85 percent of the population in 2007). Most other religious groups are
Protestant, with the evangelical
Church of the Nazarene forming the second largest community; other sizeable denominations are the
Seventh-day Adventist Church, the
Assemblies of God, the
Universal Church of the Kingdom of God and
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Atheists constitute less than 1 percent of the population. The islands have a long history of emigration, and Cape Verdeans are highly dispersed worldwide, from
Macau to
Haiti and
Argentina to
Sweden. The diaspora may be much larger than official statistics indicate, as, until independence in 1975, Cape Verdean immigrants had Portuguese passports. The majority live in the United States and Western Europe, with the former hosting the largest overseas population at 500,000. Most in the U.S. are concentrated in
New England, particularly
Boston,
New Bedford, and
Providence;
Brockton, Massachusetts, has the largest community of any American city (18,832). Cape Verdeans have been migrating to Massachusetts since the 1840s, but most of the current population arrived in the 1970s. They are now one of the top ten immigrant groups in Boston and the largest hailing from Africa. The first wave of immigrants came to Massachusetts to work in the
whaling industry. Due to centuries of colonial ties, the second largest number of Cape Verdeans live in Portugal (150,000), with sizeable communities in the former Portuguese colonies of Angola (45,000) and
São Tomé and Príncipe (25,000). Major populations exist in countries with cultural and linguistic similarities, such as Spain (65,500), France (25,000), Senegal (25,000), and Italy (20,000). Other large communities live in the United Kingdom (35,500), the Netherlands (20,000, of which 15,000 are concentrated in
Rotterdam), and Luxembourg and Scandinavia (7,000). Outside the U.S. and Europe, the biggest Cape Verdean populations are in Mexico (5,000) and Argentina (8,000). Over the years, Cape Verde has increasingly become a net recipient of migrants due to its relatively high per capita income, political and social stability, and civil freedom. Chinese make up a sizeable and important segment of the foreign population, while nearby West African countries account for most immigration. In the 21st century, a few thousand Europeans and Latin Americans have settled in the country, mostly professionals, entrepreneurs, and retirees. Over 22,000 foreign-born residents are naturalized, hailing from over 90 countries.
Health The infant mortality rate among children between 0 and 5 years old is 15 per 1,000 live births according to the latest (2017) data from the National Statistics Bureau, while the maternal mortality rate is 42 deaths per 100,000 live births. The HIV-AIDS prevalence rate among Cape Verdeans between 15 and 49 years old is 0.8%. According to the latest data (2017) from the National Statistics Bureau,), as of 2020 it was the
11th best ranked country in Africa in its
Human Development Index. The total expenditure on health was 7.1% of GDP (2015). Cabo Verde ranks 48th out of 127 countries with sufficient data, with a GHI score of 9.2, indicating low hunger.
Education Cape Verde has one of the best educational systems in Africa, ranked 8th by the World Education Forum in 2023. Although the educational system is similar to the Portuguese system, over the years the local universities have been increasingly adopting the American educational system; for instance, all ten existing universities offer four-year bachelor's degree programmes as opposed to five-year bachelor's degree programmes that existed before 2010. Primary school education is mandatory and free for children between ages 6–14. In 2011, the net enrolment ratio for primary school was 85%. Approximately 91% of the total population over 15 years of age is literate, and roughly 25% of the population holds a college degree; a significant number of these college graduates hold doctorate degrees in different academic fields. Textbooks have been made available to 90 percent of school children, and 98 percent of the teachers have attended in-service teacher training. Cape Verde was ranked 95th in the
Global Innovation Index in 2025. Cape Verde counted 25 researchers in 2011, a researcher density of 51 per million inhabitants. The world average was 1,083 per million in 2013. All 25 researchers were working in the government sector in 2011 and one in three were women (36%). There was no research being conducted in either medical or agricultural sciences. Of the eight engineers involved in research and development, one was a woman. Three of the five researchers working in natural sciences were women, as were three of the six social scientists and two of the five researchers from the humanities.. The project is funded by both the
African Development Bank and the government of Cape Verde. The goal of the endeavour, according to Minister of Finance
Olavo Correia, is "to attract large international companies to set up shop [in order] to help local companies and start-ups become more competitive". Cape Verde has a high rate of Internet penetration and a growing mobile phone market. The government has invested in improving ICT infrastructure and has created a number of initiatives to promote the development of the digital economy. The digital economy has the potential to create jobs, boost economic growth, and improve the quality of life.
Crime Theft and burglary are common, especially in crowded environments such as marketplaces, festivals, and celebrations. Murders are concentrated in the major population centres of Praia and Mindelo. == Culture ==