YOGYAKARTA - Cape Verde or Cabo Verde has become the focus of the world after holding Spain in a 2026 World Cup Group H match at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, United States, Monday, June 15. This result surprised the world, considering that Spain is one of the giant teams, while the name of Cape Verde may still sound strange to some football fans.
Well, this article will invite you to get to know Cape Verde more closely. Starting from the geographical location, history, to the culture and uniqueness of its residents that make this country special.
Cape Verde ProfileCape Verde is one of the debutant teams at the 2026 World Cup. They managed to qualify after successfully becoming champions in the African World Cup qualification Group D.
With a population of less than 500 thousand people, Cape Verde is one of the smallest countries to ever appear in the World Cup. In fact, in terms of land area, they are also the smallest country to ever participate in this event.
As reported by Britannica, Cape Verde is an archipelago located about 620 kilometers off the west coast of Africa. Geographically, its position is west of Senegal and Mauritania. The country consists of nine inhabited islands spread across the Atlantic Ocean.
Although its territory is small, Cape Verde has a strategic position in the sea trade routes. This also affects the economic and historical development of the country. Its largest port is in Mindelo, Sao Vicente, can accommodate large-sized ships and has been used as a refueling station since the 19th century.
Cape Verde has a history closely related to European colonialism. The archipelago was initially uninhabited until it was finally discovered and colonized by Portugal in the 15th century.
Since then, Cape Verde has been part of Portuguese power. After a long struggle, Cape Verde finally achieved full independence on July 5, 1975. The city of Praia on the island of Santiago was designated as the capital of the country.
This colonial history left a strong influence, especially in language and culture. To this day, Portuguese is still used as an official language. However, in everyday life, people use more Crioulo.
Crioulo is one of the oldest Portuguese creole languages in the world. Crioulo has various different dialects on each island. In general, the dialects are divided into two large groups, namely Sotavento and Barlavento.
Cape Verdeans are mostly of mixed European and African descent. They are often referred to as mestico or Crioulo. In addition, there are also African ethnic groups such as Fulani, Balante, and Mandyako.
Interestingly, there is also a small minority of residents who have roots in Sephardic Jews. They are descendants of the Jewish community expelled from the Iberian Peninsula during the Inquisition.
From an economic perspective, Cape Verde is largely based on the service sector. Trade, transportation, and public services are the backbone of the country's economy. In addition, remittances from citizens living abroad are also an important source of income for them.
In addition, the tourism sector continues to grow rapidly. The unique natural and cultural beauty attracts tourists from various countries. In the future, tourism is predicted to be the main key to their economic growth.
That's the profile of the country of Cape Verde. If you haven't heard the name of this country before, now is the time to start getting to know and seeing them more closely. Who knows, Cape Verde's journey in the 2026 World Cup has just begun.
In addition to the discussion above, follow other interesting articles at VOI.ID. So as not to miss the latest news, follow and monitor our social media accounts!
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
