Africa · Western Africa · Sovereign state
Current time in Cape Verde
A single time zone at UTC-01:00.
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
About Cape Verde's time
A single time zone.
Cape Verde operates on a single timezone — Cape Verde Standard Time (CVT) — set at UTC-1, making it the only country in Africa that is behind UTC. Many countries near the Prime Meridian use UTC+0, but Cape Verde's island position far out in the Atlantic puts it distinctly behind the clock.
Major cities
Cities of Cape Verde.
History
How Cape Verde keeps time.
Under Portuguese rule, Cape Verde kept UTC-2 from 1912, apart from a wartime summer time at UTC-1 from 1942 to 1945. On November 25, 1975, a few months after independence from Portugal on July 5, 1975, it moved to UTC-1, which it has kept year-round ever since.
Interestingly, this means Cape Verde is an hour behind neighboring West African countries like Senegal, which use UTC+0. The choice of UTC-1 reflects Cape Verde's placement as a mid-Atlantic archipelago roughly 570 kilometers off the coast of Dakar, solidly in the UTC-1 longitudinal band. Cape Verde is the only country on UTC-1 all year: Portugal's Azores use it only in winter, and most of Greenland only in summer.
Did you know?
Things about Cape Verde's time.
Being set at UTC-1 makes Cape Verde's time unusual among African countries — most African nations use UTC+0 or higher. Cape Verde is essentially "behind" neighboring Senegal, which sits at the same latitude but uses Greenwich Mean Time. This means that when it's noon in Dakar, it's already 11:00 AM in Praia, Cape Verde's capital.
The single, unchanging timezone also simplifies life across Cape Verde's ten islands, which span a modest geographic range. There's no DST to worry about, no regional exceptions — everyone runs on the same clock all year. For international business, the gap with the U.S. East Coast changes with the seasons: Cape Verde is four hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time in winter and three hours ahead while the U.S. is on daylight saving time (March to November).
Cape Verde Time also means sunrise and sunset come relatively late by solar standards — in summer months, the sun may not set until around 7:00 PM or later in local time, which is typical of places whose timezone is set slightly ahead of their solar noon.
Convert
Cape Verde to the world's clocks.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about Cape Verde's time zone, daylight saving rules, and how to handle it in software. Can't find what you need? Email [email protected].
- What timezone is Cape Verde in?
- Cape Verde uses Cape Verde Standard Time (CVT), which is UTC-1. This is the only timezone in the country, and it observes no Daylight Saving Time changes throughout the year.
- Is Cape Verde ahead of or behind GMT?
- Cape Verde is one hour behind GMT (UTC-0). This is somewhat unusual for West Africa, where many countries use GMT. Cape Verde's position far out in the Atlantic is the reason for this western timezone.
- Does Cape Verde observe daylight saving time?
- No, Cape Verde does not observe Daylight Saving Time; its only summer time was during the Second World War (1942–1945). The country maintains its UTC-1 offset year-round, making it simple to calculate the time difference from other countries.
- How does Cape Verde time compare to Portugal?
- Portugal is one hour ahead of Cape Verde during most of the year. Since Cape Verde is UTC-1 and mainland Portugal is UTC+0 (UTC+1 during summer with DST), the time difference ranges from one to two hours depending on whether Portugal is observing summer time.
- Does all of Cape Verde use the same time?
- Yes, all ten islands of Cape Verde use the same timezone (UTC-1). There are no regional time zones or Daylight Saving Time exceptions anywhere in the archipelago.
- What is the best time to call Cape Verde from the US East Coast?
- Cape Verde is typically 4 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time. During U.S. Daylight Saving Time (March-November), it's only 3 hours ahead because Cape Verde doesn't change its clocks. Morning calls from the US East Coast (around 8–10 AM Eastern) land around midday in Cape Verde.
Source: IANA tzdb2026d · Reviewed
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