CAPE VERDE
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 4,030 km2; land area: 4,030 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than Rhode Island
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 965 km
Maritime claims: (measured from claimed archipelagic baselines);
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: temperate; warm, dry, summer precipitation very erratic
Terrain: steep, rugged, rocky, volcanic
Natural resources: salt, basalt rock, pozzolana, limestone, kaolin,
fish
Land use: arable land 9%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and
pastures 6%; forest and woodland NEGL%; other 85%; includes irrigated
1%
Environment: subject to prolonged droughts; harmattan wind can
obscure visibility; volcanically and seismically active; deforestation;
overgrazing
Note: strategic location 500 km from African coast near major
north-south sea routes; important communications station; important sea
and air refueling site
PEOPLE
Population: 386,501 (July 1991), growth rate 3.0% (1991)
Birth rate: 48 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 10 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: - 8 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 63 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 60 years male, 63 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 6.6 children born/woman (1991)
Ethnic divisions: Creole (mulatto) about 71%, African 28%, European
1%
Religion: Roman Catholicism fused with indigenous beliefs
Language: Portuguese and Crioulo, a blend of Portuguese and West
African words
Literacy: 66% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1989 est.)
Labor force: 102,000 (1985 est.); agriculture (mostly subsistence)
57%, services 29%, industry 14% (1981); 51% of population of working age
(1985)
Organized labor: Trade Unions of Cape Verde Unity Center (UNTC-CS)
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Republic of Cape Verde
Type: republic
Capital: Praia
Administrative divisions: 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
Independence: 5 July 1975 (from Portugal)
Constitution: 7 September 1980; amended 12 February 1981,
NA December 1988, and 28 September 1990 (legalized opposition parties)
National holiday: Independence Day, 5 July (1975)
Executive branch: president, prime minister, deputy minister,
secretaries of state, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral People's National Assembly
(Assembleia Nacional Popular)
Judicial branch: Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Supremo Tribunal de
Justia)
Leaders:
Chief of State--President Antonio Mascarenhas MONTEIRO (since
22 March 1991);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Carlos VEIGA (since
13 January 1991)
Political parties and leaders:
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: universal at age 18
Elections:
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
Communists: no Communist party
Member of: 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
Diplomatic representation: 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
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
ECONOMY
Overview: 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.
GDP: $262 million, per capita $740; real growth rate 3.2%
(1988 est.)
partners--Portugal, Netherlands, Spain, France, Brazil, FRG
External debt: $150 million (December 1990 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 18% (1988 est.); accounts for
7% of GDP
Electricity: 13,000 kW capacity; 15 million kWh produced,
40 kWh per capita (1990)
Industry: fish processing, salt mining, clothing factories, ship
repair, construction materials, food and beverage production
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
Economic aid: 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
Civil air: 5 major transport aircraft (4 owned, 1 leased)
Airports: 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
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
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: People's Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARP)--Army and
Navy are separate components of FARP; Militia, Security Service
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 70,771; 41,844 fit for military
service
Defense expenditures: $15 million, 11% of GDP (1981)
