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Travel to Cape Verde — Unbiased reviews and great deals
from TripAdvisorCape Verde
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Republic of Cape Verde
National name: República de
Cabo Verde
President: Pedro Pires (2001)
Prime Minister: José Maria
Neves (2001)
Current government officials
Total area: 1,556 sq mi (4,030 sq km)
Population (2008 est.): 426,113 (growth
rate: 0.5%); birth rate: 23.9/1000; infant mortality rate:
44.0/1000; life expectancy: 71.3; density per sq km: 105
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Praia, 99,400
Other large city: Mindelo,
66,100
Monetary unit: Cape Verdean escudo
Languages:
Portuguese, Criuolo
Ethnicity/race:
Creole (mulatto) 71%, African 28%, European
1%
National Holiday:
Independence Day, July 5
Religion:
Roman Catholic (infused with indigenous
beliefs), Protestant (mostly Church of the Nazarene)
Literacy rate: 77% (2003 est.)
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007
est.): $1.603 billion; per capita $3,200. Real growth rate:
6.9%. Inflation: 4.4%. Unemployment: 21% (2000 est.).
Arable land: 10%. Agriculture: bananas, corn, beans,
sweet potatoes, sugarcane, coffee, peanuts; fish. Labor force:
n.a. Industries: food and beverages, fish processing,
shoes and garments, salt mining, ship repair. Natural
resources: salt, basalt rock, limestone, kaolin, fish, clay,
gypsum. Exports: $73.35 million f.o.b. (2005 est.): fuel,
shoes, garments, fish, hides. Imports: $500 million f.o.b.
(2005 est.): foodstuffs, industrial products, transport equipment,
fuels. Major trading partners: Portugal, France, U.S., UK,
Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Brazil (2004).
Communications: Telephones: main lines
in use: 71,700 (2003); mobile cellular: 53,300 (2003). Radio
broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 15 (and 17 repeaters), shortwave 0
(2002). Television broadcast stations: 1 (and 7 repeaters)
(2002). Internet hosts: 118 (2004). Internet users:
20,400 (2003).
Transportation: Railways: total: 0 km.
Highways: total: 1,350 km; paved: 932 km; unpaved: 418 km
(2000). Waterways: none. Ports and harbors: Mindelo,
Praia, Tarrafal. Airports: 7; note: 3 airports are reported
to be nonoperational (2004 est.).
International disputes: none.
Major sources and definitions
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Geography
Cape Verde, only slightly larger than Rhode
Island, is an archipelago in the Atlantic 385 mi (500 km) west of
Senegal.
The islands are divided into two groups:
Barlavento in the north, composed of Santo Antão (291 sq mi; 754 sq
km), Boa Vista (240 sq mi; 622 sq km), São Nicolau (132 sq mi; 342
sq km), São Vicente (88 sq mi; 246 sq km), Sal (83 sq mi; 298 sq
km), and Santa Luzia (13 sq mi; 34 sq km); and Sotavento in the south,
consisting of São Tiago (383 sq mi; 992 sq km), Fogo (184 sq mi;
477 sq km), Maio (103 sq mi; 267 sq km), and Brava (25 sq mi; 65 sq km).
The islands are mostly mountainous, with the land deeply scarred by
erosion. There is an active volcano on Fogo.
Government
Republic.
History
Uninhabited on their discovery in 1456, the Cape
Verde islands became part of the Portuguese empire in 1495. A majority of
today's inhabitants are of mixed Portuguese and African ancestry.
Positioned on the great trade routes between
Africa, Europe, and the New World, the islands became a prosperous center
for the slave trade but suffered economic decline after the slave trade
was abolished in 1876. In the 20th century, Cape Verde served as a
shipping port.
In 1951, Cape Verde's status changed from a
Portuguese colony to an overseas province, and in 1961 the inhabitants
became full Portuguese citizens. An independence movement led by the
African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau (another former
Portuguese colony) and Cape Verde (PAIGC) was founded in 1956. Following
the 1974 coup in Portugal, after which Portugal began abandoning its
colonial empire, the islands became independent (July 5, 1975).
On Jan. 13, 1991, the first multiparty elections
since independence resulted in the ruling African Party for the
Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV) losing its majority to the Movement for
Democracy Party (MPD). The MPD candidate, Antonio Monteiro, won the
subsequent presidential election, and was easily reelected in 1996. In
2001, Pedro Pires became president.
Efforts at Modernization
In an effort to take advantage of its proximity
to cross-Atlantic sea and air lanes, the government has embarked on a
major expansion of its port and airport capacities. It is also modernizing
its fish processing industry. These projects are being partly paid for by
the EU and the World Bank, making Cape Verde one of the largest per-capita
aid recipients in the world. Disenchantment with the government's
privatization program, continued high unemployment, and widespread poverty
helped defeat the MPD in elections held in Jan. 2001. The PAICV swept back
into power and José Maria Neves became prime minister. In 2006,
incumbent Pedro Pires was reelected president.
See also Encyclopedia: Cape Verde
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Cape Verde
National Institute of Statistics (In Portugese Only)
http://www.ine.cv/default.asp .
Fact Monster/Information Please®
Database, © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
More on Cape Verde from Infoplease:
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