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.

Geographic coordinates: 16 00 N 24 00 W

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 4,033 km²
Rank: 175
Land: 4,033 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than Rhode Island

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 965 km

Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate: temperate; warm dry summer; precipitation meager and erratic

Terrain: steep rugged rocky volcanic

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
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%
Permanent crops: 0.74%
Other: 87.85% (2005)

Irrigated land: 30 km² (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 0.3 km³ (1990)

Natural hazards: prolonged droughts; seasonal harmattan wind produces obscuring dust; volcanically and seismically active
Volcanism: Fogo (elev. 2,829 m 9,281 ft) which last erupted in 1995 is Cape Verde's only active volcano

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: 508,659 (July 2010 est.)
Rank: 169
Growth rate: 1.459% (2010 est.)
Growth rate rank: 85
Below poverty line: 30% (2000)

Nationality
Noun: Cape Verdean
Adjective: Cape Verdean

Ethnic groups: Creole (mulatto) 71% African 28% European 1%

Languages: Portuguese (official) Crioulo (a blend of Portuguese and West African words)

Religions: Roman Catholic (infused with indigenous beliefs) Protestant (mostly Church of the Nazarene)

Age structure
0-14 years: 35.2%
15-64 years: 58.5% (male 123,376/female 127,653)
65 years and over: 6.4% (male 10,040/female 17,400) (2010 est.)

Median age
Total: 22.3 years
Male: 21.4 years
Female: 23.1 years (2010 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.459% (2010 est.)
Rank: 85

Birth rate: 21.67 births/1000 population (2010 est.)
Rank: 81

Death rate: 6.41 deaths/1000 population (July 2010 est.)
Rank: 153

Net migration rate: -0.67 migrant(s)/1000 population (2010 est.)
Rank: 148

Urbanization
Urban population: 60% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 3.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

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
International agreements party to: Biodiversity Climate Change Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification Endangered Species Environmental Modification Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea Marine Dumping Ozone Layer Protection Ship Pollution Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2010 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 27.89 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 78
Male: 31.86 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 23.79 deaths/1000 live births (2010 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 70.41 years
Rank: 144
Male: 68.24 years
Female: 72.64 years (2010 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.54 children born/woman (2010 est.)
Rank: 86

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.04% (2001 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 167
People living with hivaids: 775 (2001)
People living with hivaids rank: 144
Deaths: 225 (as of 2001)
Deaths rank: 103

Education expenditures: 5.7% of GDP (2008)
Rank: 39

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 76.6%
Male: 85.8%
Female: 69.2% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 12 years
Male: 11 years
Female: 12 years (2006)

Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Cape Verde
Conventional short form: Cape Verde
Local long form: Republica de Cabo Verde
Local short form: Cabo Verde

Government type: republic

Capital
Name: Praia
Geographic coordinates: 14 55 N 23 31 W
Time difference: UTC-1 (4 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)

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: 25 September 1992; a major revision on 23 November 1995 substantially increased the powers of the president; a 1999 revision created the position of national ombudsman (Provedor de Justica)

Legal system: based on the legal system of Portugal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Pedro Verona Rodrigues PIRES
Head of government: Prime Minister Jose Maria Pereira NEVES (since 1 February 2001)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 12 February 2006 (next to be held in 2011); prime minister nominated by the National Assembly and appointed by the president
Election results: Pedro PIRES reelected president; percent of vote - Pedro PIRES (PAICV) 51.2% Carlos VIEGA (MPD) 48.8%

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (72 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
Elections: last held on 22 January 2006 (next to be held on 6 February 2011)
Election results: percent of vote by party - PAICV 52.3% MPD 44% UCID 2.7%; seats by party - PAICV 41 MPD 29 UCID 2

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 and Independent Cape Verdean Union or UCID [Antonio MONTEIRO]; Democratic Christian Party or PDC [Manuel RODRIGUES]; Democratic Renovation Party or PRD [Victor FIDALGO]; Movement for Democracy or MPD [Jorge SANTOS]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Dr. Eurico MONTEIRO]; Party of Work and Solidarity or PTS [Isaias RODRIGUES]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Joao ALEM]

International organization participation: ACP AfDB AOSIS AU CD CPLP ECOWAS FAO G-77 IBRD ICAO ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ITSO ITU ITUC MIGA NAM OIF OPCW UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO Union Latina UNWTO UPU WCO WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Fatima Lima VEIGA
In the us chancery: 3,415 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 965-6,820
In the us fax: [1] (202) 965-1207
In the us consulate general: Boston
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador ; Charge d'Affaires Dana BROWN
From the us embassy: Rua Abilio Macedo n6 Praia
From the us mailing address: C. P. 201 Praia
From the us telephone: [238] 2-60-89-00
From the us fax: [238] 2-61-13-55

Flag description: five unequal horizontal bands; the top-most band of blue - equal to one half the width of the flag - is followed by three bands of white red and white each equal to 1/12 of the width and a bottom stripe of blue equal to one quarter of the flag width; a circle of 10 yellow five-pointed stars is centered on the red stripe and positioned 3/8 of the length of the flag from the hoist side; blue stands for the sea and the sky the circle of stars represents the 10 major islands united into a nation the stripes symbolize the road to formation of the country through peace (white) and effort (red)

National anthem
Name: 'Cantico da Liberdade'
Lyricsmusic: Amilcar Spencer LOPES/Adalberto Higino Tavares SILVA
Note: adopted 1996

Economy overview: This island economy suffers from a poor natural resource base including serious water shortages exacerbated by cycles of long-term drought and poor soil for agriculture on several of the islands. The economy is service oriented with commerce transport tourism and public services accounting for about three-fourths of GDP. Although nearly 70% of the population lives in rural areas the share of food production in GDP is low. 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 its large pool of emigrants; remittances supplement GDP by more than 20%. Despite the lack of resources sound economic management has produced steadily improving incomes. Continued 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 became a member of the WTO in July 2008.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 186
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 68

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 160
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 9%
Industry: 16.2%
Services: 74.8% (2010 est.)

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: 4% (2010 est.)
Rank: 87

Labor force: 196,100 (2007)
Rank: 169

Unemployment rate: 21% (2000 est.)
Rank: 168

Population below poverty line: 30% (2000)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 1.9%
Highest 10: 40.6% (2000)

Inflation rate consumer prices: 1% (2009 est.)
Rank: 74

Central bank discount rate: 7.5% (31 December 2008)
Rank: 54

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 9.99% (31 December 2008 est.)
Rank: 92

Stock of narrow money: $628.4 million (31 December 2009 est)
Rank: 155

Stock of broad money: $1.399 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 151

Stock of domestic credit: $1.256 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 146

Current account balance: -$319 million (2009 est.)
Rank: 96

Exports: $105 million (2009 est.)
Rank: 190
Commodities: fuel shoes garments fish hides
Partners: Spain 53.98% Portugal 22.23% Morocco 7.13% (2009)

Imports: $835 million (2009 est.)
Rank: 175
Commodities: foodstuffs industrial products transport equipment fuels
Partners: Portugal 44.86% Netherlands 15.51% Spain 6.1% Italy 4.46% Brazil 4.21% (2009)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $284 million (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 124

Debt external: $325 million (2002)
Rank: 169

Exchange rates: Cape Verdean escudos (CVE) per US dollar - 88.58 (2010) 79.377 (2009) 73.84 (2008) 81.235 (2007) 87.946 (2006)

Electricity
Production: 250 million kWh (2007 est.)
Production rank: 173
Consumption: 232.5 million kWh (2007 est.)
Consumption rank: 172
Exports: 0 kWh (2008 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2008 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Production rank: 188
Consumption: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Consumption rank: 200
Exports: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Exports rank: 193
Imports: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Imports rank: 194
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2010 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 195

Telephones
Main lines in use: 72,200 (2009)
Main lines in use rank: 153
Mobile cellular: 392,000 (2009)
Mobile cellular rank: 165

Telephone system
General assessment: effective system extensive modernization from 1996-2000 following partial privatization in 1995
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; broadband services launched in 2004
International: country code - 238; landing point for the Atlantis-2 fiber-optic transatlantic telephone cable that provides links to South America Senegal and Europe; HF radiotelephone to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007)

Broadcast media: state-run TV and radio broadcast network plus a growing number of private broadcasters; Portuguese public TV and radio services for Africa are available; transmissions of a few international broadcasters are obtainable (2007)

Internet
Country code: .cv
Hosts: 26 (2010)
Hosts rank: 215
Users: 150,000 (2009)
Users rank: 148

Military expenditures: 0.5% of GDP (2009)
Rank: 165

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age (est.) for selective compulsory military service; 14-month conscript service obligation (2006)

Airports: 10 (2010)
Rank: 156
With paved runways total: 9
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 3
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3
With paved runways under 914 m: 2 (2010)
With unpaved runways total: 1
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 1 (2010)

Roadways
Total: 1350 km
Rank: 178
Paved: 932 km
Unpaved: 418 km (2000)

Merchant marine
Total: 13
Rank: 104
By type: cargo 3 chemical tanker 3 passenger/cargo 7
Foreign owned: 3 (Spain 1 UK 2) (2010)

Ports and terminals: Porto Grande

Disputes international: none

Illicit drugs: used as a transshipment point for Latin American cocaine destined for Western Europe particularly because of Lusophone links to Brazil Portugal and Guinea-Bissau; has taken steps to deter drug money laundering including a 2002 anti-money laundering reform that criminalizes laundering the proceeds of narcotics trafficking and other crimes and the establishment in 2008 of a Financial Intelligence Unit (2008)