Country profile
Cabo Verde
Republica de Cabo Verde
Africa · Sub-Saharan Africa
CV · CPV
- Capital
- Praia
- Population
- 491,233
- Area
- 4,033 km²
- Democracy index
- 91
- Regime type
- Robust Democracy
Events
Ballots from Cabo Verde
The latest elections, referendums, and opinion polls from Cabo Verde. Community totals are not official results.
Live(1)1 published ballot
Classification
Democracy profile
The score and regime label are assigned by Porto Voto using our in-house democracy index and classification framework, not ratings from governments or external agencies.
Democracy index
91/100
Regime type
Robust Democracy
Cabo Verde remains a leading example of democratic stability in the Atlantic region, characterized by its mature multi-party system and peaceful rotations of power. The country recently entered a period of heightened political activity with the commencement of legislative campaigns in April 2026, leading toward the May parliamentary elections. The political environment is defined by a constructive cohabitation between President Jose Maria Neves of the PAICV and Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva of the MpD, illustrating institutional resilience despite partisan differences. While the electoral commission and judiciary operate with high degrees of independence and transparency, the nation faced a slight decrease in its press freedom ranking in early 2026 due to concerns regarding the financial sustainability of independent media outlets. Despite these challenges, civil liberties are broadly respected, and the government maintains a strong commitment to the rule of law. Some institutional strain exists regarding the slow pace of the judicial system and persistent gender inequities in political representation, yet Cabo Verde continues to outperform nearly all regional peers in maintaining a transparent and accountable democratic framework.
Last evaluation:
How we classify regimes →World Factbook
Country background
A concise introduction to Cabo Verde, together with notes on how power and law are organized, to put local ballots in context.
The Portuguese discovered and colonized the uninhabited islands of Cabo Verde in the 15th century; Cabo Verde subsequently became a trading center for African slaves and later an important coaling and resupply stop for whaling and transatlantic shipping. The fusing of European and various African cultural traditions is reflected in Cabo Verde’s Crioulo language, music, and pano textiles. After gaining independence in 1975, a one-party system was established and maintained until multi-party elections were held in 1990.
Cabo Verde continues to sustain one of Africa's most stable democratic governments and relatively stable economies, maintaining a currency pegged first to the Portuguese escudo and then to the euro since 1998. Repeated droughts during the second half of the 20th century caused significant hardship and prompted heavy emigration. As a result, Cabo Verde's expatriate population -- concentrated in Boston, Massachusetts and Western Europe -- is greater than its domestic one.
Most Cabo Verdeans have both African and Portuguese antecedents. Cabo Verde’s population descends from its first permanent inhabitants in the late 15th-century -- a preponderance of West African slaves, a small share of Portuguese colonists, and even fewer Italians and Spaniards. Among the nine inhabited islands, population distribution is varied.
The islands in the east are very dry and are home to the country's growing tourism industry. The more western islands receive more precipitation and support larger populations, but agriculture and livestock grazing have damaged their soil fertility and vegetation. For centuries, the country’s overall population size has fluctuated significantly, as recurring periods of famine and epidemics have caused high death tolls and emigration.