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Guide to Cape Verde

Introduction

Background: The uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century; Cape Verde subsequently became a trading center for African slaves and later an important coaling and resupply stop for whaling and transatlantic shipping. Following independence in 1975, and a tentative interest in unification with Guinea-Bissau, a one-party system was established and maintained until multi-party elections were held in 1990. Cape Verde continues to exhibit one of Africa's most stable democratic governments. Repeated droughts during the second half of the 20th century caused significant hardship and prompted heavy emigration. As a result, Cape Verde's expatriate population is greater than its domestic one. Most Cape Verdeans have both African and Portuguese antecedents.

Geography

Location: Western Africa, group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Senegal
Geographic coordinates: 16 00 N, 24 00 W
Map references: Political Map of the World
Area: total
Area - comparative: slightly larger than Rhode Island
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 965 km
Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines territorial sea
Climate: temperate; warm, dry summer; precipitation meager and very erratic
Terrain: steep, rugged, rocky, volcanic
Elevation extremes: lowest point
Natural resources: salt, basalt rock, limestone, kaolin, fish, clay, gypsum
Land use: arable land
Irrigated land: 30 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: prolonged droughts; seasonal harmattan wind produces obscuring dust; volcanically and seismically active
Environment - current issues: soil erosion; deforestation due to demand for wood used as fuel; desertification; environmental damage has threatened several species of birds and reptiles; illegal beach sand extraction; overfishing
Environment - international agreements: party to
Geography - note: strategic location 500 km from west coast of Africa near major north-south sea routes; important communications station; important sea and air refueling site

People

Population: 418,224 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years
Median age: total
Population growth rate: 0.67% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 25.33 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 6.62 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: -11.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth
Infant mortality rate: total
Life expectancy at birth: total population
Total fertility rate: 3.48 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.035% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 775 (2001)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 225 (as of 2001)
Nationality: noun
Ethnic groups: Creole (mulatto) 71%, African 28%, European 1%
Religions: Roman Catholic (infused with indigenous beliefs); Protestant (mostly Church of the Nazarene)
Languages: Portuguese, Crioulo (a blend of Portuguese and West African words)
Literacy: definition

Government

Country name: conventional long form
Government type: republic
Capital: Praia
Administrative divisions: 17 municipalities (concelhos, singular - concelho); Boa Vista, Brava, Maio, Mosteiros, Paul, Praia, Porto Novo, Ribeira Grande, Sal, Santa Catarina, Santa Cruz, Sao Domingos, Sao Filipe, Sao Miguel, Sao Nicolau, Sao Vicente, Tarrafal
Independence: 5 July 1975 (from Portugal)
National holiday: Independence Day, 5 July (1975)
Constitution: new constitution came into force 25 September 1992; underwent a major revision on 23 November 1995, substantially increasing the powers of the president, and a further revision in 1999, to create the position of national ombudsman (Provedor de Justica)
Legal system: derived from the legal system of Portugal
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (72 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections
Judicial branch: Supreme Tribunal of Justice or Supremo Tribunal de Justia
Political parties and leaders: African Party for Independence of Cape Verde or PAICV [Jose Maria Pereira NEVES, chairman]; Democratic Alliance for Change or ADM [Dr. Eurico MONTEIRO] (a coalition of PCD, PTS, and UCID); Democratic Christian Party or PDC [Manuel RODRIGUES, chairman]; Democratic Renovation Party or PRD [Jacinto SANTOS, president]; Movement for Democracy or MPD [Agostinho LOPES, president]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Dr. Eurico MONTEIRO, president]; Party of Work and Solidarity or PTS [Isaias RODRIGUES, president]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Joao ALEM, president]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission
Flag description: three horizontal bands of light blue (top, double width), white (with a horizontal red stripe in the middle third), and light blue; a circle of 10 yellow five-pointed stars is centered on the hoist end of the red stripe and extends into the upper and lower blue bands

Economy

Economy - overview: This island economy suffers from a poor natural resource base, including serious water shortages exacerbated by cycles of long-term drought. The economy is service-oriented, with commerce, transport, tourism, and public services accounting for 72% of GDP. Although nearly 70% of the population lives in rural areas, the share of agriculture in GDP in 2004 was only 12%, of which fishing accounted for 1.5%. About 82% of food must be imported. The fishing potential, mostly lobster and tuna, is not fully exploited. Cape Verde annually runs a high trade deficit, financed by foreign aid and remittances from emigrants; remittances supplement GDP by more than 20%. Economic reforms are aimed at developing the private sector and attracting foreign investment to diversify the economy. Future prospects depend heavily on the maintenance of aid flows, the encouragement of tourism, remittances, and the momentum of the government's development program.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $600 million (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 5% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,400 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture
Labor force: NA
Unemployment rate: 21% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: 30% (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 19.2% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget: revenues
Agriculture - products: bananas, corn, beans, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, coffee, peanuts; fish
Industries: food and beverages, fish processing, shoes and garments, salt mining, ship repair
Industrial production growth rate: NA
Electricity - production: 43.08 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel
Electricity - consumption: 40.06 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2002)
Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: 2,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: NA
Oil - imports: NA
Current account balance: $-93.76 million (2004 est.)
Exports: $61.11 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: fuel, shoes, garments, fish, hides
Exports - partners: Portugal 59.4%, US 17.2%, UK 11.4% (2004)
Imports: $387.3 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: foodstuffs, industrial products, transport equipment, fuels
Imports - partners: Portugal 41.8%, US 12.3%, Netherlands 8.4%, Spain 5.2%, Italy 4.2%, Brazil 4% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $112.7 million (2004 est.)
Debt - external: $325 million (2002)
Economic aid - recipient: $136 million (1999)
Currency (code): Cape Verdean escudo (CVE)
Currency code: CVE
Exchange rates: Cape Verdean escudos (CVE) per US dollar - 88.808 (2004), 97.703 (2003), 117.168 (2002), 123.228 (2001), 119.687 (2000)
Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 71,700 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 53,300 (2003)
Telephone system: general assessment
Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 22 (and 12 low power repeaters), shortwave 0 (2002)
Radios: 100,000 (2002 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (and 7 repeaters) (2002)
Televisions: 15,000 (2002 est.)
Internet country code: .cv
Internet hosts: 118 (2004)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2002)
Internet users: 20,400 (2003)

Transportation

Highways: total
Ports and harbors: Mindelo, Praia, Tarrafal
Merchant marine: total
Airports: 7 note
Airports - with paved runways: total
Airports - with unpaved runways: total

Military

Military branches: People's Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARP)
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $14.1 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.5% (2004)

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: used as a transshipment point for illicit drugs moving from Latin America and Asia destined for Western Europe; the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center
Last updated: 20 October, 2005