Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Cape Verde fits inside Senegal 49 times
Cape Verde: 4,030 km² (2024) · Senegal: 196,710 km² (2024)
How much coast is there?
Cape Verde’s coastline is 82% longer than Senegal’s
Cape Verde: 965 km (2026 edition) · Senegal: 531 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Cape Verde’s highest peak towers 2,181 m above Senegal’s
Cape Verde: 2,829 m (2026 edition) · Senegal: 648 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Farmland covers 49% of Senegal, versus 25% of Cape Verde
Cape Verde: 24.8% (2024) · Senegal: 49.4% (2024)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Senegal has 36 times as many people as Cape Verde
Cape Verde: 527,326 (2025) · Senegal: 18.9 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Cape Verde is 33% more densely populated than Senegal
Cape Verde: 131 per km² (2025) · Senegal: 98 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Cape Verde and Senegal are practically level
Cape Verde: 176.3 cm (2019) · Senegal: 176.2 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Senegal are 0.8 cm taller than in Cape Verde
Cape Verde: 163.1 cm (2019) · Senegal: 163.9 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Cape Verde is 8.7 years older than in Senegal
Cape Verde: 27.9 years (2023) · Senegal: 19.1 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Senegal have 2.3 more children on average than in Cape Verde
Cape Verde: 1.51 children per woman (2024) · Senegal: 3.77 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
7.2% of people in Cape Verde are 65 or older, versus 3.6% in Senegal
Cape Verde: 7.2% (2025) · Senegal: 3.6% (2025)
How many refugees does it host?
Cape Verde: 0 per 1,000 (2025) · Senegal: 0.9 per 1,000 (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Cape Verde: no data · Senegal: 0 (2026)
How many official languages?
Cape Verde and Senegal are practically level
Cape Verde: 1 (2026) · Senegal: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Senegal’s economy is 12 times the size of Cape Verde’s
Cape Verde: $3.06 billion (2025) · Senegal: $37 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Cape Verde produces 2.2 times as much per person as Senegal
Cape Verde: Int$12,165 (2025) · Senegal: Int$5,463 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Cape Verde than in Senegal (Gini 6.2 points higher)
Cape Verde: 42.4 (2015) · Senegal: 36.2 (2021)
How many live on less than $3 a day?
Cape Verde: no data · Senegal: 17.9% (2021)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 12% in Cape Verde, versus 2.7% in Senegal
Cape Verde: 11.9% (2025) · Senegal: 2.7% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Senegal spends 1.6% of its GDP on the military, Cape Verde 0.7%
Cape Verde: 0.7% (2025) · Senegal: 1.6% (2025)
How much does the central government collect in tax?
Senegal’s central government collects 20% of GDP in tax, Cape Verde’s 18%
Cape Verde: 18.4% (2020) · Senegal: 19.5% (2023)
How expensive is it?
Cape Verde’s price level (US = 100) is 1.3× Senegal’s
Cape Verde: 48% (2025) · Senegal: 36% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Cape Verde spends 4 times as much on health per person as Senegal
Cape Verde: $290 (2023) · Senegal: $73 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Cape Verde live 7.3 years longer than in Senegal
Cape Verde: 76.2 years (2024) · Senegal: 68.9 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Senegal is 2.7 times as likely to die before turning one as in Cape Verde
Cape Verde: 10.6 per 1,000 (2024) · Senegal: 28.9 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Cape Verde has 6.7 times as many doctors per person as Senegal
Cape Verde: 0.7 per 1,000 (2023) · Senegal: 0.1 per 1,000 (2023)
How many hospital beds are there?
Cape Verde has 3.1 times as many hospital beds per person as Senegal
Cape Verde: 2.2 per 1,000 (2022) · Senegal: 0.7 per 1,000 (2019)
How common is suicide?
The suicide rate in Cape Verde is 22% higher than in Senegal
Cape Verde: 19.3 per 100k (2023) · Senegal: 15.8 per 100k (2023)
How common is obesity?
17% of adults in Cape Verde are obese, versus 10% in Senegal
Cape Verde: 16.5% (2024) · Senegal: 10.3% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
10% of adults in Cape Verde smoke, versus 5.4% in Senegal
Cape Verde: 10.4% (2024) · Senegal: 5.4% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
Cape Verde: no data · Senegal: 4.79 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Cape Verde drink 12 times as much alcohol as in Senegal
Cape Verde: 4.1 litres (2023) · Senegal: 0.3 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Cape Verde has 2.2 times as much meat per person as Senegal
Cape Verde: 43.8 kg (2023) · Senegal: 20 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Senegal has 54 kcal more food per person per day than Cape Verde
Cape Verde: 2,794 kcal (2023) · Senegal: 2,848 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Cape Verde: no data · Senegal: 2,335 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Cape Verde went to school 3.2 years longer than in Senegal
Cape Verde: 6.1 years (2023) · Senegal: 2.9 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Cape Verde welcomed 17 times as many tourists per resident as Senegal (2019)
Cape Verde: 1.51 (2022) · Senegal: 0.09 (2017)
How many World Heritage sites?
Senegal has 6 more World Heritage sites than Cape Verde (7 against 1)
Cape Verde: 1 (2026) · Senegal: 7 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
Cape Verde and Senegal are practically level
Cape Verde: 1 (2026 edition) · Senegal: 1 (2026 edition)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
75% of people in Cape Verde are online, versus 60% in Senegal
Cape Verde: 75% (2024) · Senegal: 60% (2024)
How fast is home internet?
Home internet in Senegal is 10% faster than in Cape Verde
Cape Verde: 64 Mbps (2026) · Senegal: 71 Mbps (2026)
Who has electricity at home?
98% of people in Cape Verde have electricity, versus 83% in Senegal
Cape Verde: 98.4% (2024) · Senegal: 82.9% (2024)
How many live in cities?
78% of people in Cape Verde live in cities, versus 56% in Senegal
Cape Verde: 78% (2025) · Senegal: 56% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Senegal has 124 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Cape Verde 112
Cape Verde: 112 (2024) · Senegal: 124 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Cape Verde: no data · Senegal: 906 km (2017)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Cape Verde fly 2.4 times as many passengers per resident as those from Senegal
Cape Verde: 0.14 (2023) · Senegal: 0.06 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 45% of Senegal, but only 13% of Cape Verde
Cape Verde: 12.5% (2024) · Senegal: 45% (2024)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Cape Verde emits 49% more CO₂ than someone in Senegal
Cape Verde: 1.1 t (2024) · Senegal: 0.8 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
31% of Cape Verde’s electricity is renewable, versus 20% in Senegal
Cape Verde: 30.8% (2024) · Senegal: 19.8% (2024)
How clean is the air?
The air in Senegal carries 2.1 times as much fine dust as in Cape Verde
Cape Verde: 17 µg/m³ (2024) · Senegal: 36.5 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
Cape Verde: 7 per 100k (2020) · Senegal: no data
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Senegal are 31% deadlier than in Cape Verde
Cape Verde: 24.2 per 100k (2023) · Senegal: 31.7 per 100k (2023)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Senegal is on average 6.1 °C warmer than Cape Verde
Cape Verde: 23°C (2016–2025 avg) · Senegal: 29.1°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Senegal gets 3 times as much rain as Cape Verde
Cape Verde: 171 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Senegal: 518 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Between them
People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other
Quick answers
Is Cape Verde bigger than Senegal?
Senegal is larger. Cape Verde fits inside Senegal 49 times.
Which has more people, Cape Verde or Senegal?
Senegal has 36 times as many people as Cape Verde (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Cape Verde or Senegal?
People in Cape Verde live 7.3 years longer than in Senegal. Life expectancy at birth is 76.2 years in Cape Verde and 68.9 in Senegal.
Are people taller in Cape Verde or Senegal?
Cape Verde and Senegal are practically level (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
