Cabo Verde

Airports

6 total, 6 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

2 major transport aircraft

Merchant marine

5 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 9,308 GRT/16,172 DWT

Ports

Mindelo and Praia

Telecommunications

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

Branches

People's Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARP); Army, Navy, and Air Force are separate components of FARP

Defense expenditures

11.8% of GDP (1981)

Military manpower

males 15-49, 68,776; 40,731 fit for military service

Agriculture

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

Aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY75-88), $83 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $540 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $12 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $36 million

Budget

revenues $80 million; expenditures $87 million, including capital expenditures of $45 million (1988 est.)

Currency

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

Electricity

14,000 kW capacity; 18 million kWh produced, 50 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates

Cape Verdean escudos (CVEsc) per US$1--72.31 (February 1990), 74.86 (December 1989), 72.01 (1988), 72.5 (1987), 76.56 (1986), 85.38 (1985)

Exports

$8.9 million (f.o.b., 1987); commodities--fish, bananas, salt; partners--Portugal, Angola, Algeria, Belgium/Luxembourg, Italy

External debt

$140 million (December 1988)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

$158 million, per capita $494; real growth rate 6.1% (1987)

Imports

$124 million (c.i.f., 1987); commodities--petroleum, foodstuffs, consumer goods, industrial products; partners--Portugal, Netherlands, Spain, France, US, FRG

Industrial production

growth rate 0% (1986 est.)

Industry

fish processing, salt mining, clothing factories, ship repair

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

3.8% (1987)

Overview

Cape Verde's low per capita GDP reflects a poor natural resource base, a 17-year drought, and a high birth rate. The economy is service oriented, with commerce, transport, and public services accounting for 60% of GDP during the period 1984-86. Although nearly 70% of the population lives in rural areas, agriculture's share of GDP is only 16%; the fishing and manufacturing sectors are 4% each. About 90% of food must be imported. The fishing potential of the islands is not fully exploited (the fish catch--mostly lobster and tuna--came to only 10,000 tons in 1985). Cape Verde annually runs a high trade deficit, financed by remittances from emigrants, cash grants, food aid, and foreign loans.

Unemployment rate

25% (1988)

Climate

temperate; warm, dry, summer precipitation very erratic

Coastline

965 km

Comparative area

slightly larger than Rhode Island

Environment

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

Extended economic zone

200 nm;

Land boundaries

none

Land use

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

Maritime claims

(measured from claimed archipelagic baselines);

Natural resources

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

Note

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

Terrain

steep, rugged, rocky, volcanic

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

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

Administrative divisions

12 districts (concelhos, singular--concelho); Boa Vista, Brava, Fogo, Maio, Paul, Praia, Ribeira Grande, Sal, Santa Catarina, Sao Nicolau, Sao Vicente, Tarrafal; there may be 2 new districts named Porto Novo and Santa Cruz

Capital

Praia

Communists

a few Communists and some sympathizers

Constitution

7 September 1980, amended 12 February 1981 and December 1988

Diplomatic representation

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

Executive branch

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

Flag

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

5 July 1975 (from Portugal)

Judicial branch

Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Supremo Tribunal de Justia) Chief of State--President Aristides Maria PEREIRA (since 5 July 1975); Head of Government--Prime Minister Pedro Verona Rodrigues PIRES, (since 5 July 1975); Deputy Minister Aguinaldo Liboa RAMOS (since NA February 1990)

Legislative branch

unicameral National People's Assembly (Assembleia Nacional Popular)

Long-form name

Republic of Cape Verde

Member of

ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, IPU, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

National holiday

Independence Day, 5 July (1975)

Political parties and leaders

only party--African Party for Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV), Aristides Maria Pereira, secretary general

Suffrage

universal at age 15 President--last held 13 January 1986 (next to be held January 1991); results--President Aristides Maria Pereira (PAICV) was reelected without opposition; National People's Assembly--last held 7 December 1985 (next to be held December 1990); results--PAICV is the only party; seats--(83 total) PAICV 83

Type

republic

Birth rate

49 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate

11 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

65 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force

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

Language

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

Life expectancy at birth

59 years male, 63 years female (1990)

Literacy

48% (1986)

Nationality

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

Net migration rate

- 8 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Organized labor

Trade Unions of Cape Verde Unity Center (UNTC-CS) closely associated with ruling party

Population

374,984 (July 1990), growth rate 3.0% (1990)

Religion

Roman Catholicism fused with indigenous beliefs

Total fertility rate

6.7 children born/woman (1990)