Which has higher population, Cape Verde or Western Sahara?

Western Sahara, at 579,734 people against 522,335 people in Cape Verde as of 2023.

What is the difference in population between Cape Verde and Western Sahara?

57,399 people, with Western Sahara ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Cape Verde and Western Sahara?

100 years are reported by both, from 1600 to 2023.

Where does this data come from?

HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Population. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Cape Verde vs Western Sahara: Population

Cape Verde

522,335 people

in 2023

Western Sahara

579,734 people

in 2023

Cape Verde rank

174th

Western Sahara rank

171st

Population over time

Cape Verde
Western Sahara

How they compare

Western Sahara currently reports 579,734 people against 522,335 people in Cape Verde, a difference of 57,399 people.

That makes Western Sahara's figure about 1.1 times Cape Verde's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 100 shared years of data; in 1600 it was Cape Verde ahead.

Cape Verde ranks 174th and Western Sahara ranks 171st of 238 countries.

Across the 34 decades both report, Cape Verde averaged higher in 33 and Western Sahara in 1.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Cape Verde	Western Sahara	Difference	Ahead
1600s	10,000 people	479 people	9,521 people	Cape Verde
1700s	20,000 people	718 people	19,282 people	Cape Verde
1710s	26,078 people	721 people	25,357 people	Cape Verde
1720s	28,252 people	723 people	27,529 people	Cape Verde
1730s	30,606 people	726 people	29,880 people	Cape Verde
1740s	33,157 people	728 people	32,429 people	Cape Verde
1750s	35,920 people	731 people	35,189 people	Cape Verde
1760s	38,913 people	733 people	38,180 people	Cape Verde
1770s	42,156 people	735 people	41,421 people	Cape Verde
1780s	45,669 people	738 people	44,931 people	Cape Verde
1790s	49,475 people	740 people	48,735 people	Cape Verde
1800s	55,716 people	743 people	54,973 people	Cape Verde
1810s	55,716 people	745 people	54,971 people	Cape Verde
1820s	56,072 people	752 people	55,320 people	Cape Verde
1830s	61,923 people	758 people	61,165 people	Cape Verde
1840s	68,813 people	764 people	68,049 people	Cape Verde
1850s	76,470 people	771 people	75,699 people	Cape Verde
1860s	87,833 people	777 people	87,056 people	Cape Verde
1870s	100,779 people	793 people	99,986 people	Cape Verde
1880s	115,517 people	809 people	114,708 people	Cape Verde
1890s	132,289 people	826 people	131,463 people	Cape Verde
1900s	151,362 people	843 people	150,519 people	Cape Verde
1910s	170,646 people	860 people	169,786 people	Cape Verde
1920s	158,084 people	1,720 people	156,364 people	Cape Verde
1930s	179,789 people	3,441 people	176,348 people	Cape Verde
1940s	217,206 people	6,883 people	210,323 people	Cape Verde
1950s	195,000 people	19,850 people	175,150 people	Cape Verde
1960s	242,215 people	43,536 people	198,680 people	Cape Verde
1970s	304,561 people	78,764 people	225,797 people	Cape Verde
1980s	345,123 people	147,995 people	197,128 people	Cape Verde
1990s	412,850 people	212,465 people	200,385 people	Cape Verde
2000s	481,301 people	332,663 people	148,639 people	Cape Verde
2010s	512,317 people	476,886 people	35,432 people	Cape Verde
2020s	518,356 people	564,120 people	45,764 people	Western Sahara

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher population, Cape Verde or Western Sahara?: Western Sahara, at 579,734 people against 522,335 people in Cape Verde as of 2023.
What is the difference in population between Cape Verde and Western Sahara?: 57,399 people, with Western Sahara ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Cape Verde and Western Sahara?: 100 years are reported by both, from 1600 to 2023.
How do Cape Verde and Western Sahara rank globally for population?: Cape Verde ranks 174th and Western Sahara ranks 171st of 238 countries.
Where does this data come from?: HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Population. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator: Population
Unit: people
Source: HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 239 places, 51,002 data points, 1000–2023
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Population by country, available from 10,000 BCE to 2023, based on data and estimates from different sources.