Flag of Cape Verde is three horizontal bands of blue (top, double
width), white (with a horizontal red stripe in the
middle third), and 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.
PROFILE
OFFICIAL
NAME:
Republic of Cape
Verde
Geography
Area: 4,033 sq. km. (1,557 sq. mi.), slightly larger than Rhode
Island. Cities: Capital--Praia (pop.
106,052). Other city--Mindelo (pop. 67,844).
Terrain: Rugged volcanic
islands.
Climate: Dry,
temperate.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Cape
Verdean(s).
Population (2005):
507,000.
Annual growth rate (2001):
2.9%.
Ethnic groups: Creole (mixed African and Portuguese), African,
European. Religions: Roman Catholic,
Protestant.
Languages: Portuguese (official); Crioulo
(national).
Education: Literacy
(2004)--76%.
Health: Infant mortality rate (2001)--37/1,000. Life expectancy
(2004)--70
yrs.
Government
Type:
Republic.
Independence: July 5,
1975.
Constitution: 1982; revised 1992, 1995, and
1999.
Branches: Executive--president (head of state), prime minister (head
of government), Council of Ministers.
Legislative--National
Assembly.
Judicial--Supreme Court, lower
courts.
Administrative subdivisions: 17 administrative
districts.
Political parties: African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde
(PAICV); Movement for Democracy (MPD); Party for Democratic
Convergence (PCD); Party for Democratic Renovation (PRD); Party
for Labor and Solidarity (PTS); Social Democratic Party
(PSD).
Suffrage: Universal over
18.
Economy
GDP (2004): $983
million.
GDP per capita (2004):
$2,091.
Annual real GDP growth rate (2005):
6.6%.
Inflation (2005):
0.4%.
Natural resources: Salt, pozzolana,
limestone.
Agriculture: Products--bananas, corn, beans, sugarcane, coffee,
fruits, vegetables, livestock
products.
Industry: Types--fish and fish products, clothing, shoes, beverages,
salt, construction, building materials, ship repair,
furniture, metal products,
tourism.
Trade (2004): Exports--$55 million: fuel, clothing, shoes and shoe
parts, fish and crustaceans. Imports--$350.7
million: consumer goods, intermediary goods, capital goods,
petroleum. Major trading partners, exports--Portugal
60.2%, U.S. 17.5%, U.K. 11.5%, Denmark 2.1%, Germany 1.7%. Major
trading partners, imports--Portugal 40.7%,
U.S. 12%, Netherlands 8.1%, Spain 5.1%, Italy
4.1%.
Fiscal year: Calendar
year.
Currency: Escudo (CVEsc 91.03 = $1), which is pegged to the
Euro.
Economic aid received: $92 million (2002). Largest donors: Portugal
($11 million); Luxembourg; Japan; and the
United States ($5.9
million).
GEOGRAPHY
The Cape Verde Islands are located in the mid-Atlantic Ocean some
450 kilometers (about 300
mi.) off the west coast of Africa. The archipelago
includes 10 islands and 5 islets, divided into the windward
(Barlavento) and leeward (Sotavento) groups. The main islands in the
Barlavento group are Santo Antão, São
Vicente, Santa Luzia, São Nicolau, Sal, and Boa Vista; those of the
Sotavento group include Maio, Santiago, Fogo, and Brava. All larger
islands but Santa Luzia are
inhabited.
Three islands--Sal, Boa Vista, and Maio--generally are level and very
dry. Mountains higher than 1,280 meters (4,200 ft.) are
found on Santiago, Fogo, Santo Antão, and São
Nicolau.
Sand carried by high winds has created spectacular rock formations on
all islands, especially the windward ones. Sheer,
jagged cliffs rise from the sea on several of the mountainous islands.
Natural vegetation is sparse in the uplands and coast,
but interior valleys support denser
growth.
Rainfall is irregular, and the archipelago suffers periodic droughts
and consequent food shortages. The average
precipitation per year in Praia is 24 centimeters (9.5 in.). During
the winter, storms blowing from the Sahara
sometimes cloud the sky, but sunny days are the norm year
round.
PEOPLE
The Cape Verde archipelago was uninhabited until the Portuguese
discovered the islands in 1456. African slaves were
brought to the islands to work on Portuguese plantations.
As a result, Cape Verdeans are of mixed African and European
origin. The influence of African culture is most pronounced on the
island of Santiago, where half the population resides. Sparse rain
and few natural resources historically have induced Cape
Verdeans to emigrate. It is believed that of the more than 1 million
individuals of Cape Verdean
ancestry, fewer than half actually live on the islands. Some 500,000
people of Cape Verdean ancestry live in the United States,
mainly in New England. Portugal, Netherlands, Italy,
France, and Senegal also have
large
communities.
The official language is Portuguese, but most Cape Verdeans also
speak a Creole dialect--Crioulo--which is
based on archaic Portuguese but influenced by African and European
languages. Cape Verde has a rich tradition of Crioulo literature and
music.
HISTORY
In 1462, Portuguese settlers arrived at Santiago and founded Ribeira
Grande (now Cidade Velha)--the first permanent European
settlement city in the tropics. In the
16th century, the archipelago prospered from
the
transatlantic slave trade. Pirates occasionally attacked the
Portuguese settlements. Sir Francis
Drake sacked Ribeira Grande in 1585. After a French attack in 1712,
the city declined in importance relative to Praia, which
became the capital in
1770.
With the decline in the slave trade, Cape Verde's early prosperity
slowly vanished. However, the islands' position
astride mid-Atlantic shipping lanes made Cape Verde an ideal location
for resupplying ships. Because of its
excellent harbor, Mindelo (on the island of São Vicente) became an important
commercial center during the 19th
century.
Portugal changed Cape Verde's status from a colony to an overseas
province in 1951 in an attempt to blunt growing nationalism.
Nevertheless, in 1956, Amilcar Cabral,
a Cape Verdean, and a group of Cape Verdeans
and
Guinea-Bissauans organized (in Guinea-Bissau) the clandestine African
Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde
(PAIGC), which demanded improvement in economic, social, and
political conditions in Cape Verde and Portuguese Guinea and
formed the basis of the two nations' independence
movement. Moving its headquarters to Conakry, Guinea in 1960, the
PAIGC began an armed rebellion against Portugal in 1961. Acts of
sabotage eventually grew into a war in Portuguese Guinea that pitted
10,000 Soviet bloc-supported PAIGC soldiers
against 35,000 Portuguese and African
troops.
By 1972, the PAIGC controlled much of Portuguese Guinea despite the
presence of the Portuguese troops, but the organization did not
attempt to disrupt Portuguese control in Cape
Verde. Portuguese Guinea declared independence in 1973 and was
granted de jure independence in 1974. Following the April 1974
revolution in Portugal, the PAIGC became an active political movement in
Cape Verde. In December 1974, the PAIGC and Portugal signed an
agreement providing for a transitional government composed of
Portuguese and Cape Verdeans. On June 30, 1975, Cape
Verdeans elected a National Assembly, which received the instruments
of independence from Portugal on July 5,
1975.
Immediately following the November 1980 coup in Guinea-Bissau,
relations between Cape Verde and
Guinea-Bissau became strained. Cape Verde abandoned its
hope for unity with Guinea-Bissau and formed the African Party for
the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV). Problems have
since been resolved, and relations between the countries
are good. The PAICV and its predecessor
established a one-party system and ruled Cape Verde from independence
until
1990.
Responding to growing pressure for pluralistic democracy, the PAICV
called an emergency congress in February 1990 to discuss proposed
constitutional changes to end
one-party rule. Opposition groups came together to form the
Movement for Democracy (MpD) in Praia in April 1990. Together,
they campaigned
for the right to contest the presidential election scheduled for
December 1990. The one-party state was abolished September 28, 1990,
and the first multi-party elections were held in January 1991. The
MpD won a majority of the seats in the National Assembly, and the MpD
presidential candidate Mascarenhas Monteiro
defeated the PAICV's candidate with 73.5% of the votes. Legislative
elections in December 1995 increased the MpD majority in
the National Assembly. The party won 50 of
the National Assembly's 72 seats. A February 1996
presidential election returned President Mascarenhas Monteiro
to office. Legislative elections in January 2001 returned power to the
PAICV, with the PAICV holding 40 of the National Assembly seats, MpD
30, and Party for Democratic Convergence (PCD) and Party for
Labor and Solidarity (PTS) 1 each. In February 2001, the
PAICV-supported presidential candidate Pedro
Pires defeated former MpD leader Carlos Veiga by only 13
votes.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL
CONDITIONS
The Cape Verde constitution--adopted in 1980 and revised in 1992,
1995, and 1999--forms the basis of government. The president is
head of state and is elected by popular vote for a 5-year
term. The prime minister is head of
government and proposes other ministers and secretaries of state. The
prime minister is nominated by the National Assembly and
appointed by the
president. Members of the National Assembly are elected by popular
vote for 5-year
terms.
Cape Verde enjoys a stable democratic system. The Movement for
Democracy (MpD) captured a governing majority
in the National Assembly in the country's first multi-party general
elections in 1991. The MpD was returned to power with a
larger majority in the general elections held in December 1995.
In 2001, the PAICV regained power, with four
parties holding seats in the
National Assembly--PAICV 40, MPD 30, PCD 1, and PTS 1. Nationwide
municipal elections were held March 21,
2004.
In January 2006, Cape Verde held a successful round of
parliamentary
elections, followed by successful presidential elections on February
12, 2006. The National Electoral Commission
(NEC) judged both elections free and fair. However, the leading
parliamentary opposition party has filed a court case in an
attempt to overrule the NEC on the grounds of alleged
fraud.
The judicial system is comprised of a Supreme Court of Justice--whose
members are appointed by the president, the National Assembly, and the
Board of the Judiciary--and regional courts. Separate courts
hear civil, constitutional and criminal cases. Appeal is
to the Supreme
Court.
Principal Government
Officials
President--Pedro Verona
Pires
Prime Minister and Defense Minister--Jose Maria
Neves
President of the National Assembly--Aristides
Lima
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Victor
Borges
Ambassador to the United
States--vacant
Ambassador to the United Nations--Fatima Lima
Veiga
Cape Verde maintains an embassy in the United States at 3415
Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20007 (tel.
202-965-6820) and one consulate at 535 Boylston Street, Boston MA
02116 (tel.
617-353-0014).
ECONOMY
Cape Verde has few natural resources and suffers from poor rainfall
and limited fresh water. Only 4 of the
10 main islands (Santiago, Santo Antão, Fogo, and Brava)
normally support significant agricultural
production. Mineral resources
include salt, pozzolana (a volcanic rock used in cement
production), and
limestone.
The economy of Cape Verde is service-oriented, with commerce,
transport, and public services accounting for more than 70% of GDP.
Although nearly 70% of the population lives in rural areas,
agriculture and fishing contribute only about 10% of GDP. Light
manufacturing accounts for most of the remainder. An amount estimated
at about 20% of GDP is contributed to the domestic economy
through remittances from expatriate Cape
Verdeans.
Since 1991, the government has pursued market-oriented economic
policies, including an open welcome to foreign
investors and a
far-reaching
privatization program. It established as top development priorities
the promotion of market economy and of
the private sector; the development of tourism,
light manufacturing industries, and fisheries; and the development
of transport, communications, and energy facilities. From 1994 to
2000 there was a total of about $407 million in foreign investments
made or planned, of which 58% were in tourism, 17% in industry, 4% in
infrastructure, and 21% in fisheries and
services.
Fish and shellfish are plentiful, and small quantities are exported.
Cape Verde has cold storage and freezing facilities
and fish processing plants in Mindelo, Praia, and on
Sal.
Cape Verde's strategic location at the crossroads of mid-Atlantic air
and sea lanes has been enhanced by significant improvements at
Mindelo's harbor (Porto Grande) and at
Sal's international airport. Ship repair facilities at Mindelo were
opened in 1983, and the harbors at Mindelo and Praia
were recently renovated. The
major ports are Mindelo and Praia, but all other
islands have smaller port facilities. In addition to the
international airport on Sal,
airports have been built on all of the inhabited islands. All but the
airport on Brava enjoy scheduled air service. The archipelago
has 3,050 kilometers (1,830 mi.) of roads, of which
1,010 kilometers (606 mi.) are
paved.
FOREIGN
RELATIONS
Cape Verde pursues a nonaligned foreign policy and seeks
cooperative relations
with all states. Angola, Brazil, China, Cuba, France,
Portugal, Senegal, Russia, and the United States
maintain embassies in Praia. Several others, mostly European
countries, maintain honorary consulates. In addition, Cape Verde
maintains multilateral relations with other Lusophone nations and
holds membership in many international organizations. It currently is
working to accede to the World Trade
Organization.
U.S.-CAPE VERDEAN
RELATIONS
The cordial relations between the United States and Cape Verde have
strong historical roots. In the early 18th century, U.S.
whaling ships appear to have begun recruiting crews
from Brava and Fogo to hunt whales that were
abundant in the waters surrounding Cape Verde. Ties between the
American colonies and Cape Verde are
documented as early as the 1740s, when American ships routinely
anchored in Cape Verdean ports to trade for salt or
buy slaves. The tradition of emigration
to the United States began at that time and continues
today.
The first U.S. consulate in sub-Saharan Africa was established in
Cape Verde in 1818. U.S. consular representation continued throughout
the 19th century. The United States recognized Cape Verde on its
independence day and supported its admission to the United Nations.
Cape Verde assigned one of its first ambassadors to
the United States, and a resident U.S. ambassador was posted to
Cape Verde in 1983. Prime Minister Jose Neves visited Cape
Verdean communities in New
England during an official trip to the United States in
2002, and President Pires visited the United States in April
2005.
The United States provided emergency humanitarian aid and economic
assistance to Cape Verde in the period immediately following Cape
Verde's independence, as well as after natural disasters, including a
hurricane that struck the island of Brava in 1982,
and after a severe volcanic eruption on Fogo in
1995. The United States normally delivers about 15,000 metric tons of
grain yearly to Cape Verde. Cape Verde also is eligible for
trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity
Act (AGOA), and has signed an Open Skies agreement to
facilitate air travel safety and expansion. On July 4, 2005,
Cape Verde became the third country to sign a compact with the
U.S.
Government-funded Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC); the
three-year assistance package is worth over
$110 million in addressing rural economic expansion,
infrastructure development, and development of tourism and
a community college
system.
Principal U.S.
Officials
Ambassador--Roger D.
Pierce
Deputy Chief of Mission--Paul
Pometto
Consul--Kristen
Thompson
The U.S. Embassy in Cape Verde is at Rua Abílio Macedo, 81, Praia;
C.P.201, tel. (238) 260 890, fax 611
355.
TRAVEL AND BUSINESS
INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises
Americans traveling and residing abroad through Consular Information
Sheets, Public Announcements, and Travel Warnings.
Consular Information Sheets exist for all countries and include
information on entry and exit requirements, currency
regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime,
political disturbances, and
the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Public
Announcements are issued to disseminate information quickly
about terrorist threats and other relatively
short-term conditions overseas that pose significant
risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are
issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel
to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or
unstable.
For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling
abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau
of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://www.travel.state.gov, where the
current Worldwide Caution, Public Announcements, and Travel Warnings
can be found. Consular Affairs Publications,
which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe
trip abroad, are also available at http://www.travel.state.gov.
For additional information on international
travel, see http://www.usa.gov/
Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.
The Department of State encourages all U.S citizenstraveling or
residing abroad to register via the State
Department's travel registration website or at the nearest U.S.
embassy or consulate abroad. Registration will make your presence and
whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an
emergency and will enable you to receive up-to-date information on
security
conditions.
Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be
obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and
Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for
callers outside the U.S. and
Canada.
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S.
Department of State's single, centralized public
contact center for U.S.
passport
information. Telephone: 1-877-4USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778). Customer
service representatives and operators for TDD/TTY
are available Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight,
Eastern Time, excluding federal
holidays.
Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.
A hotline at 877-FYI-TRIP (877-394-8747) and a web site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/index.htm
give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations
or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for
regions and countries. A booklet entitled "Health
Information for International Travel"
(HHS
publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S.
Government Printing Office,
Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202)
512-1800.
Further Electronic
Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at
http:// www.state.gov, the Department of State web
site provides timely, global access to
official U.S. foreign policy information, including
Background Notes and daily press briefings
along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service
posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides
security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies
working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov
Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and
market information offered by the federal
government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help
with the export process, and
more.
STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce,
provides authoritative economic, business, and
international trade information from the Federal
government. The site includes current and
historical
trade-related releases, international market research, trade
opportunities, and country analysis and provides access to the
National Trade Data Bank.
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Cape Verde
