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Flag of Cape Verde

Africa

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Quick Facts

Capital
Praia
Flag adopted
1992
Population
491,233
Area
4,033 km²
Languages
Portuguese
Currency
Cape Verdean escudo (Esc) — CVE
Demonym
Cape Verdian
Government
parliamentary republic
Subregion
Western Africa
Driving side
Right
Timezones
UTC-01:00
Independence
1975

Religions

  • Roman Catholic 72.5%
  • None 15.6%
  • Protestant 5.3%
  • Christian Rationalism 1.7%
  • Muslim 1.3%
  • Jehovah's Witness 1.2%
  • Other 1.2%
  • Latter-day Saint 1%
  • Unspecified 0.4%

About This Flag

A deep blue field representing the Atlantic Ocean and sky, with a horizontal band of white and red near the bottom — two thin white stripes flanking a central red stripe. A circle of ten yellow five-pointed stars is arranged on the left side of the flag, offset toward the hoist, positioned across the blue field and the stripe band.

The ten stars represent the ten main islands of the Cape Verdean archipelago. The blue evokes the vast sea and sky surrounding the islands, the white stripes symbolize peace, and the red stripe represents effort and the struggle of the people.

Adopted on September 22, 1992, this flag replaced the original independence-era design, which was similar to the flag of Guinea-Bissau.

What the colors & design mean

Deep blue represents the Atlantic Ocean and sky surrounding the islands. The ten yellow stars symbolize the ten major islands of the archipelago. White stripes stand for peace. The red stripe signifies the effort, struggle, and determination of the people in building their nation.

blue white red

Pattern: Horizontal Stripes

Fun Facts

  • The 1992 flag redesign deliberately moved away from pan-African colors and symbolism to emphasize Cape Verde's unique Atlantic island identity.
  • The original post-independence flag (1975-1992) was nearly identical to Guinea-Bissau's, reflecting the two countries' shared liberation movement under Amilcar Cabral.
  • Cape Verde's star arrangement in an elliptical circle evokes the geographic scatter of the islands across the Atlantic, roughly 570 kilometers off the west coast of Africa.
  • Despite being a small island nation with few natural resources, Cape Verde is considered one of Africa's most stable democracies and has never experienced a coup or civil conflict.

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