AHILA 13 Congress

The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa.

The name of the country stems from the nearby Cap Vert, on the Senegalese coast, which in its turn was originally named "Cabo Verde" when it was sighted by Portuguese explorers in 1444, a few years before the islands were discovered (verde is Portuguese for "green").

With an area of about 4,033 Km2, Cape Verde is an archipelago of volcanic origin, composed of 10 Islands, 9 of which are inhabited. It lies in the northern hemisphere between the Parallels 17º12´ and 14º 22´ and the meridians 25°44´ and 25º 22´, about 455 Km from the western coast of Africa. These islands are divided into two groups: Windward and Leeward. To the North, the Windward Islands include Santo Antão, São Vicente, San Nicolau, Sal and Boa Vista. To the South, Santiago, Brava, Fogo and Maio form the Islands. The country's capital is the city of Praia, and is located on the island of Santiago, the largest in the archipelago with an area of 991 Km2, where the Congress will be held.

In 2011, the total population was about 516,100 inhabitants.

Cape Verdeans are largely a mestizo population, descendant of former African slaves and whites coming mainly from Portugal. Emigration is part of the reality of the archipelago, because more than half of the population lives outside the country.

Praia, the largest city in the country, located on the island of Santiago, constitute, along with Mindelo, on the island of Saint Vincent, the two main cities of the archipelago. Until 2005 Cape Verde had 17 counties. In the first half of 2005 new legislation was passed by the Cape Verdean National Assembly creating five new counties, resulting in the current 22 distributed by the 9 inhabited islands in the archipelago.

A decree of 1858 raised Praia to City status, becoming the capital of Cape Verde, and concentrating the functions of political, religious and economic centre. After independence, the city had a rapid population growth and in thirty years its population quadrupled.

One of the famous areas of the city of Praia is the "Plateau", where historical buildings are concentrated, such as the Presidential Palace, the Nossa Senhora da Graça Church, the Ethnographic Museum and the statue of Diogo Gomes, the Portuguese Navigator who discovered the island of Santiago in 1460.

The climate of Cape Verde is tropical dry, with average temperatures of 25° C, with extremes not exceeding 10°C due to the influence of the ocean. There are two seasons: the rainy season, which runs from July to October, and the dry or windy season, which runs from November to June.

Water is precious in Cape Verde, reason why it should not be misused. For consumption it is advisable to drink mineral water.

The official language is Portuguese, being Creole the most spoken in the country.