^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

Subnational flags of Cabo Verde

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Subdivisions of Cabo Verde
Municipal flags of Cabo Verde
Island flags?

See also:

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Municipal flags:

Clickable map of Cabo Verde
Mail dispatch signal flags systems in Cabo Verde (incl. flags for islands):
- 1889-1891
- 1891-…
Cabo Verde

External links:

Coats of arms of Cape Verdean Municipalities, in Wikimedia Commons
reported by António Martins, 31 Mar 2016

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Subdivisions of Cabo Verde

Cape Verde is divided in 22 municipalities.
António Martins, 05 Apr 2006

Two groups of islands compose the country: Barlavento (Windward) and Sotavento (Leeward).
Jorge Candeias, 29 Nov 2005

Those groups are composed of respectively 6 and 4 islands.
António Martins, 31 Mar 2016

Official codes for island groups, islands, municipalities, and communes, and colonial municipalities
Island group	Island	Municipality			Commune
Island group	Island	name	capital	(colonial )	Commune
B: Barlavento ⤵	1: Santo Antão	11: Ribeira Grande	Ponta do Sol	^RGV Vila Maria Pia	111: Nossa Senhora do Rosário 112: Nossa Senhora do Livramento 113: Santo Crucifixo 114: São Pedro Apóstolo
		12: Paul	Vila das Pombas ^PAU		121: Santo António das Pombas
		13: Porto Novo ^PTN			131: São João Baptista 132: Santo André
	2: São Vicente	21: São Vicente	Mindelo	Mindelo ^SVI	211: Nossa Senhora da Luz
	Santa Luzia	21: São Vicente	Mindelo	^SNI Ribeira Brava	211: Nossa Senhora da Luz
	3: São Nicolau	31: Ribeira Brava			311: Nossa Senhora da Lapa 312: Nossa Senhora do Rosário
	3: São Nicolau	32: Tarrafal de São Nicolau			321: São Francisco de Assis
	4: Sal	41: Sal	Espargos	^SALSanta Maria	411: Nossa Senhora das Dores
	5: Boa Vista	51: Boa Vista	Sal Rei ^BVI		511: São João Baptista 512: Santa Isabel
Island group	Island	Municipality			Commune
Island group	Island	name	capital	(colonial )	Commune
S: Sotavento ⤶	6: Maio	61: Maio	Maio^MIO		611: Nossa Senhora da Luz
	7: Santiago	71: Tarrafal	Tarrafal	Tarrafal ^TRR	711: Santo Amaro Abade
		76: São Miguel	Calheta	Tarrafal ^TRR	761: São Miguel Arcanjo
		72: Santa Catarina	Assomada	Assomada ^SCA	721: Santa Catarina
		77: São Salvador do Mundo	Picos	Assomada ^SCA	771: São Salvador do Mundo
		73: Santa Cruz	Pedra Badejo	^XCVPedra Badejo	731: Santiago Maior
		78: São Lourenço dos Órgãos	João Teves	^XCVPedra Badejo	781: São Lourenço dos Órgãos
		74: Praia		Praia ^PRA	741: Nossa Senhora da Graça
		75: São Domingos			751: Nossa Senhora da Luz 752: São Nicolau Tolentino
		79: Ribeira Grande de Santiago			791: Santíssimo Nome de Jesus 792: São João Baptista
	8: Fogo	81: Mosteiros		^FOG São Filipe	811: Nossa Senhora da Ajuda
		82: São Filipe			821: São Lourenço 821: Nossa Senhora da Conceição
		83: Santa Catarina do Fogo	Cova Figueira		831: Santa Catarina
	9: Brava	91: Brava	Nova Sintra ^BRV		911: São João Baptista 912: Nossa Senhora do Monte
Island group	Island	Municipality			Commune
Island group	Island	name	capital	(colonial )	Commune

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Municipal flags of Cabo Verde

This photo shows a national teacher’s meeting is held in the Mosteiros town hall, in a room decorated with small hanging triangular flags in different colors and each showing a (different) logo. Could these be the flags of the 22 municipalities Cape Verde is divided in?
António Martins, 05 Apr 2006

The online coverage of the 2016 municipal elections by the national television R.T.C. showed municipal emblems for all municipalities except Brava, Paul, Ribeira Grande de Santo Antão, and Santa Cruz — which are symbolized by the national emblem.
António Martins, 21 Dec 2016

Concerning the emblems of municipal flags, a few more are known to us than flags they are used on, for the same reasons of (paradoxally) less visibility of the latter. Likewise, we do know that flags for all of them exist, as the legal frame is the same for both kinds of symbols.
António Martins, 31 Mar 2016

So far have only accidental evidence of most of these emblems and some of the flags: They do exist and are in use, but we still need the general and specific laws and regulations.
António Martins, 08 Jul 2017

The article [c9v07] (about one specific municipal flag) refers to the national law that governs subnational emblems, «Decreto-Regulamentar nº 8/2000, de 28 de Agosto, publicado no B.O. nº 25-26 I Série», and quotes it obliquely concerning some interesting aspects, such as the need for the emblem to express simply, and yet powerfully, the uniqueness of each municipality within its island and the whole of the country. It specifies that, since it’s going to be used on a flag, such emblem should be adequately readable at a distance of at least 30 m, condemning an excessive «proliferation of small-sized graphic elements »that« would unavoidably weaken the aesthetic composition and the strength of expression sought from such a symbol». It is not clear, however, how much these guidelines come from this general law on local symbols, or from the conditions previously set by one specific municipality concerning the design of its own emblem, or from the designer’s own thought.
António Martins, 31 Mar 2016

Cape Verde seems to be following basically Portuguese practice in municipal flags with a few changes: a style of municipal emblem that sets it apart from European heraldry (and good for them, because the emblems they are using are quite attractive, unlike most Portuguese coats of arms), and the possibility of having different backgrounds in the banner and the flag.
Jorge Candeias, 10 Mar 2007

Some municipal flags in Cabo Verde come in two forms (in what seems to be one more cumbersome burden from Portuguese colonialism), differently designed: One design for a regular flag, used for hoisting, where the municipal emblem shows on a plain color background, and another for rigid display flags (table flaglets, wall penants, parade guidons), which has instead a quartered background.
António Martins, 31 Mar 2016

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Design of the emblems

All emblems known to us share some features: They are all round, depicting non heraldic elements inside a disc, have a scroll with the name of the municipality in varying colors below the disc, are surrounded on the upper part of the disc by 10 yellow five-pointed upright regular stars, and, on a apical gap of the said said arc of stars, include a chain with a varying number of links. The links and the stars (standing for the islands) are also present in the national emblem.
António Martins, 07 Sep 2009

Common elements seem to be:

the round shape of the shield (so named as these emblems seem to be decreed to be heraldic in nature in the relevant legislation),
the presence below the shield of a scroll bearing the toponym, of variable shape and colors,
a chain segment above the shield, made of three, four, or five green chain links (standing for the importance/rank of the municipality?),
and the 10 golden stars of the national flag, set in two arcs.

These two last elements are also shared by other emblems of official governmental entities, such as the police (both the current P.N. and the previous POP), ultimately inspired in the national emblem itself.
António Martins, 31 Mar 2016

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Chain links

The color green in the chain links, though, albeit surely canting for the country name, seems to be found only in municipal emblems.
António Martins, 31 Mar 2016

I’m pretty sure that four links means city status for the municipal seat — an elegant transposition of the Portuguese system of visible towers in a mural crown.
António Martins, 25 Apr 2017

Chains in CV municipal emblems: colors and number of links
Round markers indicate special cases _u2ncrd_8212; *q.v.*.
color	V	B	R	W	N
5 links	74
4 links	13 21 72 76 78 79 83 91		32
3 links	31 41 51 61 71 73 77 81	12	75	81	11

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Banner version

This is a design for rigid display flags (table flaglets, wall penants, parade guidons), which has a quartered background in contrasting colors, one of them shared with the hoisting flag.
António Martins, 31 Mar 2016

The flag shape estandarte is used in small rigid hanging form. It is known to be shaped as a square or as an irregular pentagon, with one (vertical) symmetry axis, proportioned as a square with an right triangle extending from the bottom (edge line coordinates: (1;1), (1;3), (3;3), (4;2) and (3;1), closed). This seems to be the shape of Capeverdean municipal banners, differing from the respective flags (bandeiras) also by that the former have quartered backgrounds and the latter have them plain.
António Martins, 17 Sep 2007 and 07 Sep 2009

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Background colors and patterns

Caboverdean municipal flag backgrounds are known to be plain, quartered, horizontal bicolor, gyronny, and rayonny.
António Martins, 25 Apr 2017

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Background colors of CV municipal flags:
Round markers indicate the banner variant;
non-grey markers indicate minor additional color (3rd, if bicolor, or 2nd, if plain).
	W	B	R	Y	M
(plain)	12 51 74 75 76 77 79 91	41 71	82	13	72
B	11 21 32 41 61 71 73	_u2ncrd_8212;		83
V	31 78		81 81

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Flag use

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Town hall hoisting

On these three online photos of the Mosteiros town hall two of the three flag poles erected are bare, only the national flag being hoisted.
António Martins, 05 Apr 2006

According to the National T.V., the first ever use of both the national flag and the T.S.N. municipal flag on an official building was in 2015.02.09 (see photo), at the newly unveiled municipal office in Praia Branca town.
António Martins, 21 Dec 2016

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Colonial era

Some, not all, Portuguese overseas municipalities received arms and flag in the period 1940-1974, after all metropolitan municipalities got one. In Cape Verde Overseas Province all extant municipalities were granted a flag and a coat of arms in 1951-1955 (some confirmed/altered, other brand new); one municipality, created in the 1970s, remained seemingly flagless.
António Martins, 15 Jan 2003 and Nov 2025

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Island flags?

The relationship between the 10 islands and the 22 municipalities varies:

One municipality (São Vicente) covers two islands (plus a few islets, not counted to the 10),
four islands are divided in several municipalities,
and four other islands comprise a single municipality

— only the latter could be termed island flags in any capacity.
António Martins, 01 Apr 2017

There were island flags in Cabo Verde, in the late 19th century: Not tokens of local government of any sort, but rather signal flags, used ashore in post offices.
António Martins, 06 Jul 2017

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