page_title: Cape Verde
section_title: Education
hierarchical_section_title: Cape Verde / Society / Education
caption_attribution_description: The kindergarten graduation in Santiago island, Cape Verde -- 500 guests, 13 kids.
context_page_description: Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country in the central Atlantic Ocean. The ten volcanic islands in its archipelago have a combined land area of about 4,033 square kilometres. The capital Praia, on the southern coast of Santiago island, lies approximately 650 kilometres west of Dakar, Senegal on the Cape Verde Peninsula, the westernmost point of continental Africa. Cape Verde forms part of the Macaronesia ecoregion, along with the Azores, Canary Islands, Madeira, and the Savage Isles.
  The archipelago remained uninhabited until the 15th century, when Portuguese explorers discovered and colonized the islands, establishing the first European settlement in the tropics. Ideally located for a role in the Atlantic slave-trade, the islands grew prosperous throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, attracting merchants, privateers, and pirates. The suppression of the Atlantic slave-trade in the 19th century led to economic decline and emigration. Cape Verde gradually recovered as an important commercial center and stopover for shipping routes.
context_section_description: Although the Cape Verdean educational system is similar to the Portuguese system, over the years the local universities have been increasingly adopting the American educational system; for instance, all 10 existing universities in the country offer 4-year bachelor's degree programs as opposed to 5-year bachelor's degree programs that existed before 2010. Cape Verde has the second best educational system in Africa, after South Africa.
  Primary school education in Cape Verde is mandatory and free for children between the ages of 6 and 14 years.
  In 2011, the net enrollment ratio for primary school was 85%. Approximately 90% of the total population over 15 years of age is literate, and roughly 25% of the population holds a college degree; a significant number of these college graduates hold doctorate degrees in different academic fields. Textbooks have been made available to 90 percent of school children, and 98 percent of the teachers have attended in-service teacher training. Although most children have access to education, some problems remain. For example, there is insufficient spending on school materials, lunches, and books.
  As of October 2016, there were 69 secondary schools throughout the archipelago (including 19 private secondary schools) and at least 10 universities in the country which are based on the two islands of Santiago and São Vicente.
  In 2015, 23% of the Cape Verdean population had either attended or graduated from secondary schools.
  When it came to higher education, 9% of Cape Verdean men and 8% of Cape Verdean women held a bachelor's degree or had attended universities. The overall college education rate (i.e., college graduates and undergraduate students) in Cape Verde is about 24%, in relation to the local college age population .
  The total expenditure on education was 5.6% of GDP (2010).
  The mean years of schooling of adults over 25 years is 12.
caption: A kindergarten graduation on Santiago Island
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