Cape Verde Standard Time (CVT)

UTC offset: -01:00
IANA identifier: Atlantic/Cape_Verde
Abbreviation: CVT
Population: approximately 590,000
DST observed: No

Cape Verde (officially Cabo Verde since 2013) sits at UTC-01:00 permanently, the same winter offset as the Azores (1,500 km to the north). No DST. The archipelago's equatorial-adjacent position (14-17N) provides minimal daylight variation across seasons, making clock changes unnecessary.

The islands lie about 600 km west of Senegal and Mauritania. Despite the African continental proximity, Cape Verde's history is thoroughly Atlantic: Portuguese colonization from the 1460s, a slave trade waypoint, transatlantic cable junction, and emigrant diaspora stretching to New England, Portugal, and the Netherlands.

The Islands

Ten main islands in two groups:

• Barlavento (Windward): Santo Antao, Sao Vicente (Mindelo), Santa Luzia (uninhabited), Sao Nicolau, Sal, Boa Vista
• Sotavento (Leeward): Maio, Santiago (Praia), Fogo (active volcano, 2,829 m), Brava

Volcanic origin, dramatic landscapes. Fogo's cone last erupted in 2014-15, destroying a village in the caldera where people had resettled after previous eruptions. Sal and Boa Vista are flat and arid with white sand beaches (tourism). Santo Antao has deep green valleys with terraced agriculture.

Praia

Population about 160,000. The capital, on Santiago island. A growing city on a plateau above a harbor. Government center, university, growing services economy. Less touristic than Sal or Boa Vista but the country's administrative and commercial heart.

Mindelo

Population about 70,000. On Sao Vicente island. The cultural capital. Birthplace of Cesaria Evora (the "barefoot diva") and the center of morna and coladeira music. A deepwater port that was historically a coaling station for transatlantic ships. The annual Carnival (February) is among the best in the Atlantic world.

Economy

• Tourism (beach resorts on Sal and Boa Vista, hiking on Santo Antao and Fogo)
• Remittances (the diaspora outnumbers the resident population; about 700,000 Cape Verdeans live abroad vs. 590,000 at home)
• Fishing
• Services and government
• Some agriculture (bananas, coffee on Fogo's volcanic slopes, grogue sugarcane rum)

Climate

Arid/semi-arid tropical:

• Temperature: 22-28C year-round (trade winds moderate heat)
• Rainfall: extremely low (150-300 mm, mostly August-October)
• Droughts: chronic, historically devastating (famines in 1940s killed tens of thousands)
• Trade winds: constant, supporting wind/kite sports tourism on Sal

Technical Identifiers

• Atlantic/Cape_Verde (IANA canonical)
• CVT (Cape Verde Time)
• Windows: "Cape Verde Standard Time"
• No DST
• Same offset as: Azores (winter only)

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