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Communications

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; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

3 major transport aircraft

Merchant marine [time series]

7 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 11,717 GRT/19,000 DWT

Ports [time series]

Mindelo, Praia

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

interisland radio relay system, high-frequency radio to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau; over 1,700 telephones; broadcast stations - 1 AM, 6 FM, 1 TV; 2 coaxial submarine cables; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

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

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49, 72,916; 43,010 fit for military service

Economy

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 (1970-89), $537 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $12 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $36 million

Electricity [time series]

15,000 kW capacity; 15 million kWh produced, 40 kWh per capita (1991)

Exchange rates [time series]

Cape Verdean escudos (CVEsc) per US$1 - 71.28 (March 1992), 71.41 (1991), 64.10 (November 1990), 74.86 (December 1989), 72.01 (1988), 72.5 (1987)

Exports [time series]

$10.9 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.) commodities: fish, bananas, salt partners: Portugal 40%, Algeria 31%, Angola, Netherlands (1990 est.)

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]

exchange rate conversion - $310 million, per capita $800; real growth rate 4% (1990 est.)

Imports [time series]

$107.8 million (c.i.f., 1989) commodities: petroleum, foodstuffs, consumer goods, industrial products partners: Sweden 33%, Spain 11%, Germany 5%, Portugal 3%, France 3%, Netherlands, US (1990 est.)

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

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

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

10% (1990 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. Economic reforms launched by the new democratic government in February 1991 are aimed at developing the private sector and attracting foreign investment to diversify the economy.

Unemployment rate [time series]

25% (1988)

Geography

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

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

none

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

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

Area (Land area) [time series]

4,030 km2

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

Government

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

Constitution [time series]

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

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

Ambassador Carlos Alberto Santos SILVA; 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 Hoji Ya Henda Yenna 81, Praia (mailing address is C. P. 201, Praia); telephone [238] 61-43-63 or 61-42-53; FAX [238] 61-13-55

Executive branch (Elections) [time series]

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 President: last held 17 February 1991 (next to be held February 1996); results - Antonio Monteiro MASCARENHAS (MPD) received 72.6% of vote

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)

Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]

Chief of State: President Antonio Monteiro MASCARENHAS (since 22 March 1991) Head of Government: Prime Minister Carlos VEIGA (since 13 January 1991)

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)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

Movement for Democracy (MPD), Prime Minister Carlos VEIGA, founder and chairman; African Party for Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV), Pedro Verona Rodrigues PIRES, chairman

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age 18

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

People

Birth rate [time series]

48 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate [time series]

10 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

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

Infant mortality rate [time series]

61 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

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 [time series]

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

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

60 years male, 64 years female (1992)

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 (1992)

Organized labor [time series]

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

Population [time series]

398,276 (July 1992), growth rate 3.0% (1992)

Religions [time series]

Roman Catholicism fused with indigenous beliefs

Total fertility rate [time series]

6.5 children born/woman (1992)

Cabo Verde