]! ^! 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 `M 24 nm `N 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 ^. `' 11.41% `( 0.74% `) 87.85% (2005) ^/ 30 sq km (2003) ^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; water shortages; desertification; environmental damage has threatened several species of birds and reptiles; illegal beach sand extraction; overfishing _P `P Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands `Q 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 
]# ^3 423,613 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 36.9% (male 78,971/female 77,524) `, 56.4% (male 116,751/female 122,065) `- 6.7% (male 10,423/female 17,879) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 20.2 years `. 19.4 years `/ 21.1 years (2007 est.) ^6 0.606% (2007 est.) ^7 24.4 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 6.5 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 -11.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.03 male(s)/female `1 1.019 male(s)/female `, 0.956 male(s)/female `- 0.583 male(s)/female `2 0.948 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 45.27 deaths/1,000 live births `. 50.31 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 40.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 71.02 years `. 67.69 years `/ 74.44 years (2007 est.) ^= 3.28 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> 0.035% (2001 est.) ^? 775 (2001) ^@ 225 (as of 2001) ^A `3 Cape Verdean(s) `4 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 `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 76.6% `. 85.8% `/ 69.2% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 Republic of Cape Verde `7 Cape Verde `Z Republica de Cabo Verde `[ Cabo Verde ^H republic ^I `8 Praia `9 14 55 N, 23 31 W `: UTC-1 (4 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^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; a major revision on 23 November 1995 substantially increased the powers of the president; a 1999 revision created the position of national ombudsman (Provedor de Justica) ^N derived from the legal system of Portugal ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `; President Pedro Verona PIRES (since 22 March 2001) `< Prime Minister Jose Maria Pereira NEVES (since 1 February 2001) `= Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister `> president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 12 February 2006 (next to be held in February 2011); prime minister nominated by the National Assembly and appointed by the president `? Pedro PIRES reelected president; percent of vote - Pedro PIRES (PAICV) 51.2%, Carlos VIEGA (MPD) 48.8% ^Q unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (72 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) `> last held 22 January 2006 (next to be held in January 2011) `? percent of vote by party - PAICV 52.3%, MPD 44%, UCID 2.7%; seats by party - PAICV 41, MPD 29, UCID 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]; Democratic Renovation Party or PRD [Victor FIDALGO]; Democratic and Independent Cape Verdean Union or UCID [Antonio MONTEIRO]; Movement for Democracy or MPD [Agostinho LOPES]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Dr. Eurico MONTEIRO]; Party of Work and Solidarity or PTS [Isaias RODRIGUES]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Joao ALEM] ^T NA ^U ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) ^V `R Ambassador Jose BRITO `S 3415 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 `T [1] (202) 965-6820 `U [1] (202) 965-1207 `V Boston ^W `R Ambassador Roger D. PIERCE `_ Rua Abilio Macedo n6, Praia `` C. P. 201, Praia `T [238] 2-60-89-00 `U [238] 2-61-13-55 ^X five unequal horizontal bands; the top-most band of blue - equal to one half the width of the flag - is followed by three bands of white, red, and white, each equal to 1/12 of the width, and a bottom stripe of blue equal to one quarter of the flag width; a circle of 10, yellow, five-pointed stars, each representing one of the islands, is centered on the red stripe and positioned 3/8 of the length of the flag from the hoist side 
]% ^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 66% of GDP. Although nearly 70% of the population lives in rural areas, the share of food production 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. Cape Verde has been exploring European Union membership in recent years. ^Z $3.129 billion (2006 est.) ^[ $1.128 billion (2005 est.) ^\ 5.5% (2005 est.) ^] $6,000 (2006 est.) ^^ `@ 12.1% `A 21.9% `B 66% (2004 est.) ^_ 120,600 (1990) ^a 21% (2000 est.) _! 30% (2000) _" `C NA% `D NA% _# 4.7% (2006 est.) _V 25.5% of GDP (2006 est.) _$ `E $324.6 million `F $370.4 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) _& bananas, corn, beans, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, coffee, peanuts; fish _' food and beverages, fish processing, shoes and garments, salt mining, ship repair _( NA% _) 44 million kWh (2004) _* 40.92 million kWh (2004) _+ 0 kWh (2004) _, 0 kWh (2004) _- 0 bbl/day (2004) _. 1,150 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 NA bbl/day _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Q $-44.43 million (2006 est.) _3 $96.71 million f.o.b. (2006 est.) _4 fuel, shoes, garments, fish, hides _5 Spain 38.2%, Portugal 33.3%, US 9.2%, Morocco 5.4% (2005) _6 $495.1 million f.o.b. (2006 est.) _7 foodstuffs, industrial products, transport equipment, fuels _8 Portugal 40.8%, Italy 7.8%, Netherlands 7.2%, Spain 5.4%, Brazil 5.3%, France 4.7%, Belgium 4.6% (2005) _[ $166.4 million (2006 est.) _9 $325 million (2002) _: $136 million (1999) _; Cape Verdean escudo (CVE) _< Cape Verdean escudos (CVE) per US dollar - 87.946 (2006), 88.67 (2005), 88.808 (2004), 97.703 (2003), 117.168 (2002) _= calendar year 
]& _> 71,400 (2005) _? 81,700 (2005) _@ `G effective system, extensive modernization from 1996-2000 following partial privatization in 1995 `H 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 `I country code - 238; 2 coaxial submarine cables; HF radiotelephone to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) _A AM 0, FM 22 (plus 12 repeaters), shortwave 0 (2002) _B 1 (plus 7 repeaters) (2002) _C .cv _D 234 (2006) _E 25,000 (2005) 
]' _F 7 (2006) _G `! 7 `a 1 `b 1 `c 4 `W 1 (2006) _H `! 1,350 km `K 932 km `L 418 km (2000) _S `! 7 ships (1000 GRT or over) 12,300 GRT/7,726 DWT by type: cargo 2, chemical tanker 1, passenger/cargo 4 `X 2 (Spain 1, UK 1) (2006) _I Mindelo, Praia, Tarrafal 
]( _J People's Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARP): Army, Coast Guard (includes maritime air wing) (2007) _K males age 18-49: 84,641 females age 18-49: 87,310 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 65,614 females age 18-49: 73,662 (2005 est.) _U 0.7% (2006 est.) 
]) _N none _O used as a transshipment point for Latin American cocaine destined for Western Europe; the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center 