Airports [time series]

6 total, 6 usable; 6 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

5 major transport aircraft (4 owned, 1 leased)

Merchant marine [time series]

7 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 11,708 GRT/19,000 DWT

Ports [time series]

Mindelo and Praia

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

interisland radio relay system, high-frequency radio to mainland Portugal and Guinea-Bissau; 1,740 telephones; stations--5 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV; 2 coaxial submarine cables; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

People's Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARP)--Army and Navy are separate components of FARP; Militia, Security Service

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

$15 million, 11% of GDP (1981)

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49, 70,771; 41,844 fit for military service

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

accounts for 16% of GDP; largely subsistence farming; bananas are the only export crop; other crops--corn, beans, sweet potatoes, coffee; growth potential of agricultural sector limited by poor soils and limited rainfall; annual food imports required; fish catch provides for both domestic consumption and small exports

Budget [time series]

revenues $98.3 million; expenditures $138.4 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1988 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

Cape Verdean escudo (plural--escudos); 1 Cape Verdean escudo (CVEsc) = 100 centavos

Economic aid [time series]

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY75-89), $88 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $590 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $12 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $36 million

Electricity [time series]

13,000 kW capacity; 15 million kWh produced, 40 kWh per capita (1990)

Exchange rates [time series]

Cape Verdean escudos (CVEsc) per US$1--64.10 (November 1990), 74.86 (December 1989), 72.01 (1988), 72.5 (1987), 76.56 (1986), 85.38 (1985)

Exports [time series]

$10.9 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities--fish, bananas, salt; partners--Portugal, Angola, Algeria, France, Italy

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$150 million (December 1990 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

$262 million, per capita $740; real growth rate 3.2% (1988 est.)

Imports [time series]

$107.8 million (c.i.f., 1989); commodities--petroleum, foodstuffs, consumer goods, industrial products; partners--Portugal, Netherlands, Spain, France, Brazil, FRG

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate 18% (1988 est.); accounts for 7% of GDP

Industries (Industry) [time series]

fish processing, salt mining, clothing factories, ship repair, construction materials, food and beverage production

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

8.2% (1988 est.)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

Cape Verde's low per capita GDP reflects a poor natural resource base, a 17-year drought, and a high birthrate. The economy is service oriented, with commerce, transport, and public services accounting for 65% of GDP during the period 1985-88. Although nearly 70% of the population lives in rural areas, agriculture's share of GDP is only 16%; the fishing sector accounts for 4%. About 90% of food must be imported. The fishing potential, mostly lobster and tuna, is not fully exploited. In 1988 fishing represented only 3.5% of GDP. Cape Verde annually runs a high trade deficit, financed by remittances from emigrants and foreign aid.

Unemployment rate [time series]

25% (1988)

Climate [time series]

temperate; warm, dry, summer precipitation very erratic

Coastline [time series]

965 km

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly larger than Rhode Island

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

subject to prolonged droughts; harmattan wind can obscure visibility; volcanically and seismically active; deforestation; overgrazing

Land boundaries [time series]

none

Land use [time series]

arable land 9%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 6%; forest and woodland NEGL%; other 85%; includes irrigated 1%

Maritime claims [time series]

(measured from claimed archipelagic baselines); Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources [time series]

salt, basalt rock, pozzolana, limestone, kaolin, fish

Note [time series]

strategic location 500 km from African coast near major north-south sea routes; important communications station; important sea and air refueling site

Terrain [time series]

steep, rugged, rocky, volcanic

Area (Total area) [time series]

4,030 km2; land area: 4,030 km2

Administrative divisions [time series]

14 districts (concelhos, singular--concelho); Boa Vista, Brava, Fogo, Maio, Paul, Praia, Porto Novo, Ribeira Grande, Sal, Santa Catarina, Santa Cruz, Sao Nicolau, Sao Vicente, Tarrafal

Capital [time series]

Praia

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

no Communist party

Constitution [time series]

7 September 1980; amended 12 February 1981, NA December 1988, and 28 September 1990 (legalized opposition parties)

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

Ambassador Luis de Matos Monteiro da FONSECA; Chancery at 3415 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20007; telephone (202) 965-6820; there is a Cape Verdean Consulate General in Boston; US--Ambassador Francis T. (Terry) McNAMARA; Embassy at Rua Hojl Ya Yenna 81, Praia (mailing address is C. P. 201, Praia); telephone [238] 614-363 or 614-253

Executive branch [time series]

president, prime minister, deputy minister, secretaries of state, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Flag [time series]

two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; in the upper portion of the red band is a black five-pointed star framed by two corn stalks and a yellow clam shell; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Guinea-Bissau which is longer and has an unadorned black star centered in the red band

Independence [time series]

5 July 1975 (from Portugal)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Supremo Tribunal de Justia) Chief of State--President Antonio Mascarenhas MONTEIRO (since 22 March 1991); Head of Government--Prime Minister Carlos VEIGA (since 13 January 1991) Movement for Democracy (MPD), Prime Minister Carlos VEIGA, founder and chairman; African Party for Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV), Pedro Verona Rodrigues PIRES, chairman

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral People's National Assembly (Assembleia Nacional Popular)

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Republic of Cape Verde

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOM (observer), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WMO

National holiday [time series]

Independence Day, 5 July (1975)

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age 18 President--last held 17 February 1991 (next to be held February 1996); results--Antonio Mascarenhas MONTEIRO (MPD) received 72.6% of vote; People's National Assembly--last held 13 January 1991 (next to be held January 1996); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(79 total) MPD 56, PAICV 23; note--this multiparty Assembly election ended 15 years of single-party rule

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

Birth rate [time series]

48 births/1,000 population (1991)

Death rate [time series]

10 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

Creole (mulatto) about 71%, African 28%, European 1%

Infant mortality rate [time series]

63 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Labor force [time series]

102,000 (1985 est.); agriculture (mostly subsistence) 57%, services 29%, industry 14% (1981); 51% of population of working age (1985)

Languages (Language) [time series]

Portuguese and Crioulo, a blend of Portuguese and West African words

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

60 years male, 63 years female (1991)

Literacy [time series]

66% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1989 est.)

Nationality [time series]

noun--Cape Verdean(s); adjective--Cape Verdean

Net migration rate [time series]

- 8 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

Organized labor [time series]

Trade Unions of Cape Verde Unity Center (UNTC-CS)

Population [time series]

386,501 (July 1991), growth rate 3.0% (1991)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

Roman Catholicism fused with indigenous beliefs

Total fertility rate [time series]

6.6 children born/woman (1991)

Cabo Verde