The islands of Cape Verde were discovered uninhabited by Portuguese navigators in May 1460. However, colonization only began in 1462. Given its strategic position on the routes linking Europe, Africa and Brazil, the islands served as a commercial warehouse. During the first two centuries of colonization, slaves represented the most important “commodity” of Cape Verdean exports. With the abolition of the slave trade, Cape Verde fell into decadence and began to live on the basis of a subsistence economy. Free Europeans and slaves from the African coast merged into a single people, giving rise to the Cape Verdean, with a way of being and living very own, and Creole emerged as the language of the community, mostly mestizo.
Cape Verde became an independent and sovereign country on July 5, 1975.

The population living in Cape Verde is estimated at 491,683 inhabitants (2010), according to data released by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). The age structure of the population is markedly young, with 54.5% of the population aged 0-24 and only 6.4% above the age of 65, with a mean age of 24 years. That is, the active population in the medium term will be very significant and could contribute to a progressive improvement in economic activity and an increase in the standard of living.
The degree of education has improved at an appreciable rate: In the 2011/2012 school year, 96% of the children, aged between 6 and 14 years old, attended basic education and 78%, aged between 12 and 17 years, attended secondary education. The literacy rate of the population aged over 15 years was about 82.8%.

Cape Verde is a democratic, parliamentarian republic, and its democracy has been considered exemplary by international bodies, not only at Africa but also on a world scale. The country enjoys peace, social and political stability, without any internal or external conflict, with good prospects of economic development. Presidential and legislative elections are held every five years, and municipal elections are held every four years. The President of the Party with a majority in the National Assembly (Parliament) is sworn in as Prime Minister.