Background: The uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century; Cabo 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. Cabo 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 Cabo Verde's expatriate population is greater than its domestic one. Most Cabo Verdeans have both African and Portuguese antecedents.

Geographic coordinates: 16 00 N 24 00 W

Area
Rank: 176
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 highest point: Mt. Fogo 2,829 m (a volcano on Fogo Island)

Natural resources: salt basalt rock limestone kaolin fish clay gypsum

Land use
Permanent crops: 0.74%
Other: 87.59% (2011)

Irrigated land: 34.76 km² (2004)

Total renewable water resources: 0.3 km³ (2011)

Natural hazards: prolonged droughts; seasonal harmattan wind produces obscuring dust; volcanically and seismically active
Volcanism: Fogo (elev. 2,829 m) which last erupted in 1995 is Cabo 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: 531,046 (July 2013 est.)
Rank: 173
Growth rate: 1.41% (2013 est.)
Growth rate rank: 86
Below poverty line: 30% (2000)

Nationality
Adjective: Cabo 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
15-24 years: 21.8% (male 57,825/female 57,842)
25-54 years: 37.3% (male 95,970/female 102,217)
55-64 years: 4.5% (male 9,766/female 13,910)
65 years and over: 5.2% (male 10,416/female 17,242) (2013 est.)

Dependency ratios
Youth dependency ratio: 45.3 %
Elderly dependency ratio: 8.2 %
Potential support ratio: 12.2 (2013)

Median age
Male: 22.7 years
Female: 24.4 years (2013 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.41% (2013 est.)
Rank: 86

Birth rate: 20.96 births/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 81

Death rate: 6.22 deaths/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 159

Net migration rate: -0.65 migrant(s)/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 141

Urbanization
Rate of urbanization: 2.12% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: PRAIA (capital) 132,000 (2011)

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 signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.71 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2013 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 19.5

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 77
Male: 28.78 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 21.38 deaths/1000 live births (2013 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 146
Male: 69.05 years
Female: 73.58 years (2013 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.39 children born/woman (2013 est.)
Rank: 89

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 61.3% (2005)

Drinking water source:

Physicians density: 0.3 physicians/1000 population (2010)

Hospital bed density: 2.1 beds/1000 population (2010)

Sanitation facility access:

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.04% (2001 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 163
People living with hivaids: 775 (2001)
People living with hivaids rank: 147
Deaths: 225 (as of 2001)
Deaths rank: 100

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 10% (2008)
Rank: 131

Education expenditures: 5.6% of GDP (2010)
Rank: 54

Literacy
Total population: 84.9%
Male: 89.7%
Female: 80.3% (2011 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Male: 13 years
Female: 13 years (2011)

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

Government type: republic

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

Administrative divisions: 22 municipalities (concelhos singular - concelho); Boa Vista Brava Maio Mosteiros Paul Porto Novo Praia Ribeira Brava Ribeira Grande Ribeira Grande de Santiago Sal Santa Catarina Santa Catarina do Fogo Santa Cruz Sao Domingos Sao Filipe Sao Lourenco dos Orgaos Sao Miguel Sao Salvador do Mundo Sao Vicente Tarrafal Tarrafal de Sao Nicolau

Independence: 5 July 1975 (from Portugal)

National holiday: Independence Day 5 July (1975)

Constitution: previous 1981; latest effective 25 September 1992; revised 1995 1999 2010 (2010)

Legal system: civil law system of Portugal

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
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 7 August 2011 with a second round runoff on 21 August 2011; prime minister nominated by the National Assembly and appointed by the president
Election results: percent of vote (second round) - Jorge Carlos FONSECA 53.4% Manuel Inocencio SOUSA 46.6%

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (72 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
Elections: last held on 6 February 2011 (next to be held by 2016)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PAICV 38 MPD 32 UCID 2

Judicial branch
Judge selection and term of office: judges appointments - 1 by the president of the republic 1 elected by the National Assembly and the remainder by the Supreme Council of Magistrates a 9-member independent body presided over by the chief justice and includes the high judicial inspector 2 presidential appointees 3 elected by the National Assembly and 2 by their court peers; chief justice appointed by the president of the republic from among peers of the Supreme Court and in consultation with the Supreme Council of the Magistrates; judge tenure NA
Subordinate courts: first instance (municipal) courts; audit military and fiscal and customs courts

Political parties and leaders:

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

Diplomatic representation
In the us chancery: 3,415 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington DC 20,007
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 embassy: Rua Abilio Macedo 6 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
Lyrics and music: Amilcar Spencer LOPES/Adalberto Higino Tavares SILVA

Economy overview: The economy is service-oriented with commerce transport tourism and public services accounting for about three-fourths of GDP. 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. Although about 40% 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. Cabo 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 and mitigate high unemployment. Future prospects depend heavily on the maintenance of aid flows the encouragement of tourism remittances and the momentum of the government's development program. Cabo Verde became a member of the WTO in July 2008.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 191

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 124

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 165

Gross national saving:
Rank: 16

Gdp composition by end use
Government consumption: 18.4%
Investment in fixed capital: 43.2%
Investment in inventories: 2.5%
Exports of goods and services: 34%
Imports of goods and services: -54.1%: (2012 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Industry: 18.9%
Services: 71.7% (2012 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: -3% (2012 est.)
Rank: 165

Labor force: 196,100 (2007)
Rank: 171

Unemployment rate: 21% (2000 est.)
Rank: 163

Population below poverty line: 30% (2000)

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

Budget
Expenditures: $625.7 million (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit: -12.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 207

Taxes and other revenues: 22.7% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rank: 147

Public debt: 78.1% of GDP (2011 est.)
Rank: 21

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 4.5% (2011 est.)
Rank: 67

Central bank discount rate: 7.5% (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 34

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 9.81% (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 90

Stock of narrow money: $459.2 million (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 160

Stock of broad money: $1.322 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 160

Stock of domestic credit: $1.426 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 143

Current account balance: $-304.4 million (2011 est.)
Rank: 84

Exports: $196.6 million (2011 est.)
Rank: 185
Commodities: fuel shoes garments fish hides
Partners: Spain 66.9% Portugal 13.9% US 5% (2012)

Imports: $1.04 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 182
Commodities: foodstuffs industrial products transport equipment fuels
Partners: Portugal 38.1% Netherlands 21.5% China 7.9% Spain 7% (2012)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $339 million (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 150

Debt external: $1.025 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 155

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 287 million kWh (2010 est.)
Production rank: 174
Consumption: 266.9 million kWh (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 179
Exports: 0 kWh (2012 est.)
Exports rank: 185
Imports: 0 kWh (2012 est.)
Imports rank: 176
Installed generating capacity: 89,800 kW (2010 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 173
Generation sources fossil fuels: 96.9% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 63
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 71
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 163
Generation sources other renewable sources: 3.1% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 54

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 163
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 102
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 175
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2013 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 119

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products production rank: 166
Products consumption: 2,608 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 186
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products exports rank: 166
Products imports: 2,646 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products imports rank: 175

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Production rank: 119
Consumption: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 134
Exports: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Exports rank: 86
Imports: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Imports rank: 181
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2013 es)
Proven reserves rank: 127

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 430,000 Mt (2011 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 182

Telephones
Main lines in use: 70,200 (2012)
Main lines in use rank: 155
Mobile cellular: 425,300 (2012)
Mobile cellular rank: 171

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; 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) (2011)

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 available (2007)

Internet
Country code: .cv
Hosts: 38 (2012)
Hosts rank: 216
Users: 150,000 (2009)
Users rank: 148

Military expenditures: 0.4% of GDP (2011)
Rank: 164

Military service age and obligation: 18-35 years of age for male and female selective compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 2 years; 17 years of age for voluntary service (with parental consent) (2013)

Airports: 9 (2013)
Rank: 157
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 (2013)

Roadways
Rank: 179
Paved: 932 km
Unpaved: 418 km (2000)

Merchant marine
Rank: 104
By type: cargo 3 chemical tanker 2 passenger/cargo 7 petroleum tanker 1
Foreign owned: 3 (Greece 1 Spain 1 UK 1)
Registered in other countries: 1 (unknown 1) (2010)

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)