Description
Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country spanning an archipelago of ten volcanic islands (nine inhabited) and eight islets in the central Atlantic Ocean. Located 570 kilometres (350 mi) west of the Cape Verde Peninsula off the coast of Northwest Africa, the islands cover a combined area of slightly over 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi). The islands are spatially divided into two groups: The Barlavento Islands (windward islands): Santo Antão, São Vicente, Santa Luzia, São Nicolau, Sal, Boa Vista; and The Sotavento Islands (leeward): Maio, Santiago, Fogo, Brava. The largest island, both in size and population, is Santiago, which hosts the nation’s capital, Praia, the principal urban agglomeration in the archipelago.
The National Flag of the Republic of Cabo Verde has five unequal horizontal bands of blue, white, and red, with a circle of ten yellow five-pointed stars. The topmost blue stripe is half the width of the flag. Each of the three stripes of white and red is one-twelfth of the width, and the bottom blue stripe is one-quarter. The circle of stars is centred on the red stripe and positioned three-eighths of the length of the flag from the hoist side. The 10 stars on the flag represent the main islands of the nation (a chain of islands off the coast of West Africa). The blue represents the ocean and the sky. The band of white and red represents the road toward the construction of the nation, and its colours stand for peace (white) and effort (red). The circle of yellow stars on a dark blue field is similar to the flag of Europe (which has 12 stars instead of 10).