| Cape Verde |
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| 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 and Environmental |
Capital: name: Praia
geographic coordinates: 14 55 N, 23 31 W
time difference: UTC-1 (4 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Area Total: 4,033 sq km |
| Area Land: 4,033 sq km |
| Area Water: 0 sq km |
| Area Comparative: slightly larger than Rhode Island |
| Coastline: 965 km |
| Climate: temperate; warm, dry summer; precipitation meager and very erratic |
| Terrain: steep, rugged, rocky, volcanic |
| Elevation Extremes Lowest Point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m |
| Elevation Extremes Highest Point: Mt. Fogo 2,829 m (a volcano on Fogo Island) |
| Natural Resources: salt, basalt rock, limestone, kaolin, fish, clay, gypsum |
| Land Use Arable Land: 11.41% |
| Land Use Permanent Crops: 0.74% |
| Land Use Other: 87.85% (2005) |
| Irrigated Land: 30 sq km (2003) |
| 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; water shortages; desertification; environmental damage has threatened several species of birds and reptiles; illegal beach sand extraction; overfishing |
| 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 |
| Population |
| Population: 423,613 (July 2007 est.) |
| Age Structure 0 to 14 Years: 36.9% (male 78,971/female 77,524) |
| Age Structure 15 to 64 Years: 56.4% (male 116,751/female 122,065) |
| Age Structure 65 Years And Over: 6.7% (male 10,423/female 17,879) (2007 est.) |
| Median Age Total: 20.2 years |
| Median Age Male: 19.4 years |
| Median Age Female: 21.1 years (2007 est.) |
| Population Growth Rate: 0.606% (2007 est.) |
| Birth Rate: 24.4 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Death Rate: 6.5 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Sex Ratio At Birth: 1.03 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Under 15 Years: 1.019 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 15 to 64 Years: 0.956 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 65 Years And Over: 0.583 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Total Population: 0.948 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Infant Mortality Rate Total: 45.27 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Male: 50.31 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Female: 40.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Life Expectancy At BirthTotalPopulation: 71.02 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Male: 67.69 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Female: 74.44 years (2007 est.) |
| Total Fertility Rate: 3.28 children born/woman (2007 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) |
| 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: age 15 and over can read and write |
| Literacy Total Population: 76.6% |
| Literacy Male: 85.8% |
| Literacy Female: 69.2% (2003 est.) |
| 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 |
| Legal System: derived from the legal system of Portugal |
| 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 66% of GDP. Although nearly 70% of the population lives in rural areas, the share of food production 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. Cape Verde has been exploring European Union membership in recent years. |
| GDP Purchasing Power Parity: $3.129 billion (2006 est.) |
| GDP Real Growth Rate: 5.5% (2005 est.) |
| GDP Composition By Sector Agriculture: 12.1% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Industry: 21.9% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Services: 66% (2004 est.) |
| Labor Force: 120,600 (1990) |
| Unemployment Rate: 21% (2000 est.) |
Household Income Or Consumption By Percentage Share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation Rate Consumer Prices: 4.7% (2006 est.) |
| Industries: food and beverages, fish processing, shoes and garments, salt mining, ship repair |
| Industrial Production Growth Rate: NA% |
| Energy |
| Electricity Production: 44 million kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Production By Source Fossil Fuel: 100% |
| Electricity Production By Source Hydro: 0% |
| Electricity Production By Source Nuclear: 0% |
| Electricity Production By Source Other: 0% (2001) |
| Electricity Consumption: 40.92 million kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Exports: 0 kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Imports: 0 kWh (2004) |
| Oil Production: 0 bbl/day (2004) |
| Oil Consumption: 1,150 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Production: 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Exports: $96.71 million f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
| Exports Commodities: fuel, shoes, garments, fish, hides |
| Exports Partners: Spain 38.2%, Portugal 33.3%, US 9.2%, Morocco 5.4% (2005) |
| Imports: $495.1 million f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
| Imports Commodities: foodstuffs, industrial products, transport equipment, fuels |
| Imports Partners: Portugal 40.8%, Italy 7.8%, Netherlands 7.2%, Spain 5.4%, Brazil 5.3%, France 4.7%, Belgium 4.6% (2005) |
| Debt External: $325 million (2002) |
| Economic Aid Recipient: $136 million (1999) |
| Communications |
| Telephones Main Lines In Use: 71,400 (2005) |
| TelephonesMobileCellular: 81,700 (2005) |
| Telephone System General Assessment: effective system, extensive modernization from 1996-2000 following partial privatization in 1995 |
| Telephone System Domestic: major service provider is Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT); fiber optic ring, completed in 2001, links all islands providing Internet access and ISDN services; cellular service introduced in 1998 |
| Telephone System International: country code - 238; 2 coaxial submarine cables; HF radiotelephone to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Radio Broadcast Stations: AM 0, FM 22 (plus 12 repeaters), shortwave 0 (2002) |
| Radios: 100,000 (2002 est.) |
| Television Broadcast Stations: 1 (plus 7 repeaters) (2002) |
| Televisions: 15,000 (2002 est.) |
| Internet Service Providers-ISPs: 1 (2002) |
| Internet Users: 25,000 (2005) |
| Transportation |
| Airports: 7 (2006) |
| Military Expenditures Percent Of GDP: 0.7% (2005) |
| Disputes International: none |
| IllicitDrugs: used as a transshipment point for Latin American cocaine destined for Western Europe; the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center |