Demographics of Cape Verde

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Cape Verde, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Cape Verde has a population of more than 500,000 inhabitants, divided evenly of those who live in the islands and the ones who live abroad in the Cape Verdean diaspora in mainland Africa, Europe, U.S., Brazil, et cetera. A large proportion (236,000) of Cape Verdeans live on the main island, Santiago.

The archipelago of Cape Verde were first found and claimed by Portuguese sailors working for the Portuguese Crown in 1456. Subsequently, enslaved Africans and Portuguese convicts were brought to the islands to work as agricultural field hands. As a result of the intermingling and genetic liaison of the said populations, some of the present day Cape Verdeans are considered mulattoes, who have mixed black and white origins. European ancestors also include Spanish, Italian and French seamen who were granted land by the Portuguese Empire, followed by Portuguese settlers, exiles, and Portuguese Jews who were victims of the Inquisition yet perpetrated slavery. Many foreigners from other parts of the world settled in Cape Verde as their permanent country. Most of them were Dutch, French, British (English), Arab and Jewish (from Lebanon and Morocco). All of these have been absorbed into the mixed population.

The high degree of genetic mixture of individuals is a result of centuries of migration. It is not unusual to encounter persons with dark skin, blond hair, and blue eyes, and persons with seemingly light caucasian skin and textured curly hair.

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