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where is cape verde located

Cape Verde (Cabo Verde) is an island country located in the Atlantic Ocean, off the west coast of Africa, roughly 570–650 km (about 350–400 miles) west of Senegal and Mauritania.

Quick Scoop: Where Is Cape Verde Located?

Cape Verde is an archipelago of 10 main volcanic islands in the North Atlantic Ocean. It lies just off Western Africa, forming part of the Macaronesia region along with the Canary Islands, Madeira, the Azores, and the Savage Isles.

Key Location Facts

  • Off the west coast of Africa, in the Atlantic Ocean.
  • About 570–650 km west of Dakar, Senegal (the nearest mainland point in Africa).
  • Geographical coordinates are around 16.5° N latitude and 23.0° W longitude, placing it in the Northern and Western Hemispheres.
  • Politically and geographically, Cape Verde is part of the African continent, even though it is entirely surrounded by water.

Mini Snapshot of the Islands

Cape Verde’s islands are scattered over the ocean but together cover just over 4,000 square kilometres in land area. The capital city, Praia, is on the island of Santiago, in the southern part of the archipelago.

If you imagine flying straight west from Senegal into the Atlantic for less than an hour, you’d “land” in Cape Verde — a small African island nation sitting alone in a wide stretch of ocean.

TL;DR: Cape Verde is a small African island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, about 600 km off the west coast of Senegal and Mauritania, part of the Macaronesia island group.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.