São Vicente (Portuguese for "Saint Vincent") is one of the Barlavento Islands, the northern group within the Cape Verde archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, off the West African coast.

Its highest point is Monte Verde, located in the eastern part with an altitude of 744 metres (2,441 feet).

92.6% of the island population lives in the urban area of Mindelo,[1] on the Porto Grande Bay, a caldera that is breached by the ocean.

[3] A small islet, Ilhéu dos Pássaros, is less than one nautical mile off the coast of Porto Grande Bay.

[4] São Vicente was discovered by the Portuguese discoverer Diogo Afonso on 22 January 1462 (Saint Vincent's Day).

[8]: 34  It was only in 1838, when a coal depot was established at Porto Grande Bay to supply ships on Atlantic routes, that the population started to grow rapidly.

This municipality consists of one freguesia (civil parish), Nossa Senhora da Luz, which also covers the whole island.

92.6% of the population live in urban areas, which is the highest proportion of all islands (average for Cape Verde: 61.8%).

It has a terminal of containers, silos, and refrigeration units that make handling load overflow possible.

There is also a modern seawater desalination plant, which provides water for public consumption and for naval shipyards.

According to the 2010 census, the island of São Vicente has the largest unemployment rate of the country—14.8%—while the national average is 10.7%.

The National Center of Workmanship of Mindelo supports local craftsmen in the production and commercialization of ceramic parts, articles made of coconut rinds, and necklaces of shells and rocks.

For these reasons, tourism has excellent growth potential on São Vicente and in the rest of the Cape Verde archipelago.

However, especially for places farthest from the city of the Mindelo, namely Baía das Gatas, Calhau, and São Pedro, van and bus leasing are the usual forms of transportation.

Several works, books and poems in the mid 20th century were related to the rise of nationalism and the independence struggle for the country, notably the review Claridade.