]! ^! The uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century; Cape Verde subsequently became a trading center for African slaves and later an important coaling and resupply stop for whaling and transatlantic shipping. Following independence in 1975, and a tentative interest in unification with Guinea-Bissau, a one-party system was established and maintained until multi-party elections were held in 1990. Cape Verde continues to exhibit one of Africa's most stable democratic governments. Repeated droughts during the second half of the 20th century caused significant hardship and prompted heavy emigration. As a result, Cape Verde's expatriate population is greater than its domestic one. Most Cape Verdeans have both African and Portuguese antecedents. 
]" ^" Western Africa, group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Senegal ^# 16 00 N, 24 00 W ^$ Political Map of the World ^% `! 4,033 sq km `" 4,033 sq km `# 0 sq km ^& slightly larger than Rhode Island ^' 0 km ^( 965 km ^) measured from claimed archipelagic baselines `$ 12 nm `H 24 nm `I 200 nm ^* temperate; warm, dry summer; precipitation meager and very erratic ^+ steep, rugged, rocky, volcanic ^, `% Atlantic Ocean 0 m `& Mt. Fogo 2,829 m (a volcano on Fogo Island) ^- salt, basalt rock, limestone, kaolin, fish, clay, gypsum ^. `' 9.68% `( 0.5% `) 89.82% (2001) ^/ 30 sq km (1998 est.) ^0 prolonged droughts; seasonal harmattan wind produces obscuring dust; volcanically and seismically active ^1 soil erosion; deforestation due to demand for wood used as fuel; desertification; environmental damage has threatened several species of birds and reptiles; illegal beach sand extraction; overfishing _J `K Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection `L none of the selected agreements ^2 strategic location 500 km from west coast of Africa near major north-south sea routes; important communications station; important sea and air refueling site 
]# ^3 418,224 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 39% (male 82,249/female 80,752) `+ 54.3% (male 110,119/female 116,816) `, 6.8% (male 10,599/female 17,689) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 19.4 years `- 18.62 years `. 20.25 years (2005 est.) ^6 0.67% (2005 est.) ^7 25.33 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 6.62 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 -11.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.03 male(s)/female `0 1.02 male(s)/female `+ 0.94 male(s)/female `, 0.6 male(s)/female `1 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 47.77 deaths/1,000 live births `- 52.95 deaths/1,000 live births `. 42.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 70.45 years `- 67.13 years `. 73.86 years (2005 est.) ^= 3.48 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> 0.035% (2001 est.) ^? 775 (2001) ^@ 225 (as of 2001) ^A `2 Cape Verdean(s) `3 Cape Verdean ^B Creole (mulatto) 71%, African 28%, European 1% ^C Roman Catholic (infused with indigenous beliefs); Protestant (mostly Church of the Nazarene) ^D Portuguese, Crioulo (a blend of Portuguese and West African words) ^E `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 76.6% `- 85.8% `. 69.2% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 Republic of Cape Verde `5 Cape Verde `V Republica de Cabo Verde `W Cabo Verde ^H republic ^I Praia ^J 17 municipalities (concelhos, singular - concelho); Boa Vista, Brava, Maio, Mosteiros, Paul, Praia, Porto Novo, Ribeira Grande, Sal, Santa Catarina, Santa Cruz, Sao Domingos, Sao Filipe, Sao Miguel, Sao Nicolau, Sao Vicente, Tarrafal ^K 5 July 1975 (from Portugal) ^L Independence Day, 5 July (1975) ^M new constitution came into force 25 September 1992; underwent a major revision on 23 November 1995, substantially increasing the powers of the president, and a further revision in 1999, to create the position of national ombudsman (Provedor de Justica) ^N derived from the legal system of Portugal ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 President Pedro PIRES (since 22 March 2001) `7 Prime Minister Jose Maria Pereira NEVES (since 1 February 2001) `8 Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister `9 president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 11 and 25 February 2001 (next to be held February 2006); prime minister nominated by the National Assembly and appointed by the president `: Pedro PIRES elected president; percent of vote - Pedro PIRES (PAICV) 49.43%, Carlos VIEGA (MPD) 49.42%; note - the election was won by only twelve votes ^Q unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (72 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) `9 last held 14 January 2001 (next to be held December 2005) `: percent of vote by party - PAICV 47.3%, MPD 39.8%, ADM 6%, other 6.9%; seats by party - PAICV 40, MPD 30, ADM 2 ^R Supreme Tribunal of Justice or Supremo Tribunal de Justia ^S African Party for Independence of Cape Verde or PAICV [Jose Maria Pereira NEVES, chairman]; Democratic Alliance for Change or ADM [Dr. Eurico MONTEIRO] (a coalition of PCD, PTS, and UCID); Democratic Christian Party or PDC [Manuel RODRIGUES, chairman]; Democratic Renovation Party or PRD [Jacinto SANTOS, president]; Movement for Democracy or MPD [Agostinho LOPES, president]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Dr. Eurico MONTEIRO, president]; Party of Work and Solidarity or PTS [Isaias RODRIGUES, president]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Joao ALEM, president] ^T NA ^U ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) ^V `N Ambassador Jose BRITO `O 3415 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 `P [1] (202) 965-6820 `Q [1] (202) 965-1207 `R Boston ^W `N Ambassador Donald C. JOHNSON `Z Rua Abilio m. Macedo 81, Praia `[ C. P. 201, Praia `P [238] 261 56 16, 261 56 17 `Q [238] 261 13 55 ^X three horizontal bands of light blue (top, double width), white (with a horizontal red stripe in the middle third), and light blue; a circle of 10 yellow five-pointed stars is centered on the hoist end of the red stripe and extends into the upper and lower blue bands 
]% ^Y This island economy suffers from a poor natural resource base, including serious water shortages exacerbated by cycles of long-term drought. The economy is service-oriented, with commerce, transport, tourism, and public services accounting for 72% of GDP. Although nearly 70% of the population lives in rural areas, the share of agriculture in GDP in 2004 was only 12%, of which fishing accounted for 1.5%. About 82% of food must be imported. The fishing potential, mostly lobster and tuna, is not fully exploited. Cape Verde annually runs a high trade deficit, financed by foreign aid and remittances from emigrants; remittances supplement GDP by more than 20%. Economic reforms are aimed at developing the private sector and attracting foreign investment to diversify the economy. Future prospects depend heavily on the maintenance of aid flows, the encouragement of tourism, remittances, and the momentum of the government's development program. ^Z $600 million (2002 est.) ^[ 5% (2004 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $1,400 (2002 est.) ^] `; 12.1% `< 21.9% `= 66% (2004 est.) ^^ NA ^` 21% (2000 est.) ^a 30% (2000) _! `> NA `? NA _" 1.5% (2004 est.) _P 19.2% of GDP (2004 est.) _# `@ $260.6 million `A $305.3 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) _$ bananas, corn, beans, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, coffee, peanuts; fish _% food and beverages, fish processing, shoes and garments, salt mining, ship repair _& NA _' 43.08 million kWh (2002) _( 40.06 million kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 2,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _X $-93.76 million (2004 est.) _/ $61.11 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) _0 fuel, shoes, garments, fish, hides _1 Portugal 59.4%, US 17.2%, UK 11.4% (2004) _2 $387.3 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) _3 foodstuffs, industrial products, transport equipment, fuels _4 Portugal 41.8%, US 12.3%, Netherlands 8.4%, Spain 5.2%, Italy 4.2%, Brazil 4% (2004) _Y $112.7 million (2004 est.) _5 $325 million (2002) _6 $136 million (1999) _7 Cape Verdean escudo (CVE) _8 Cape Verdean escudos (CVE) per US dollar - 88.808 (2004), 97.703 (2003), 117.168 (2002), 123.228 (2001), 119.687 (2000) _9 calendar year 
]& _: 71,700 (2003) _; 53,300 (2003) _< `B effective system, extensive modernization from 1996-2000 following partial privatization in 1995 `C major service provider is Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT); fiber optic ring, completed in 2001, links all islands providing Internet access and ISDN services; cellular service introduced in 1998 `D country code - 238; 2 coaxial submarine cables; HF radiotelephone to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) _= AM 0, FM 22 (and 12 low power repeaters), shortwave 0 (2002) _> 1 (and 7 repeaters) (2002) _? .cv _@ 118 (2004) _A 20,400 (2003) 
]' _B `! 1,350 km `E 932 km `F 418 km (2000) _C Mindelo, Praia, Tarrafal _K `! 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,395 GRT/6,614 DWT by type: cargo 2, chemical tanker 1, passenger/cargo 2 `S 1 (United Kingdom 1) (2005) _D 7 note: 3 airports are reported to be nonoperational (2004 est.) _E `! 6 `] 1 `_ 5 (2004 est.) _L `! 1 `T 1 (2004 est.) 
]( _F People's Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARP): Army, Coast Guard (includes maritime air wing) _] males age 18-49: 84,641 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 65,614 (2005 est.) _N $14.1 million (2004) _O 1.5% (2004) 
]) _H none _I used as a transshipment point for illicit drugs moving from Latin America and Asia destined for Western Europe; the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center 