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The
Republic of Cape Verde
is an archipelago with a total area of: 4,033
sq. km.
The Cape Verde Islands are located
in the mid-Atlantic Ocean some 620 kilometers (385 mi.) off the coast of Senegal
/ Mauritania in Western Africa.
The archipelago consists of 10 islands and 5 islets, divided into
a- the windward (Barlavento)
b- and leeward (Sotavento)
groups.
The six islands in the Barlavento group are Santo Antão, São
Vicente, Santa Luzia, São Nicolau, Sal, and Boa Vista.
The islands in
the Sotavento group are Maio, Santiago (where 50% of the people live), Fogo, and
Brava.
All but Santa Luzia are inhabited. Population:
400,000 (1999); 412,137 (July 2003 est.) Annual growth rate
(1994-2000): 2.5%; 0.79% (2003 est.). People per sq. km:
99.25 (the highest in the whole Africa)
Main
cities: Capital: Praia (pop. 78,675). Other city: Mindelo (pop. 53,300
- on the island of São Vicente )
Independence
from Portugal: July 5, 1975.
Constitution: 1982;
revised 1992
Natural resources: Salt, pozzolana,
limestone.
Agriculture productions: bananas,
corn, beans, sugarcane, coffee, fruits, vegetables, livestock products.
Industrial productions: fish and fish products, clothing,
shoes, beverages, salt, cement, building materials, ship repair, furniture.
Cape Verde is the country of survival where everything which could be
scrapped to make a living had been exploited.
Democracy
is now firmly established with regular legislative and presidential ballots. Governments
are dedicated to developing a country not endowed with attractive natural resources
on which to build a strong economy.
The archipelago experienced
recurrent drought and famine since the end of the 18th century. Consequently Cape
Verdeans emigrated to greener pastures around the world. In fact, the amount
of people of Cape Verde ancestry living abroad far exceeds the local population.
There are more than 1 million; some 500,000 living in the United States, mainly
in New England. Portugal, Netherlands, Italy, France, and Senegal
also have large communities. They largely contribute to the country's GNP by
the remittances they send back home to their family.
However, if
the archipelago does not have attractive natural resources, it has a strategic
geographic positioning. The islands are right on mid-Atlantic Europe / Americas
shipping and air-carriers routes. That position made Cape Verde an ideal location
for resupplying ships and airplanes at Mindelo's harbor (Porto Grande) and
at Sal's international airport. Ship repair facilities at Mindelo were opened
in 1983. The equipment and infrastructure of Mindelo and Praia's harbors had been
recently upgraded to provide better service at competitive prices.
The
economy of Cape Verde is service-oriented, with commerce, transport, and public
services accounting for almost 72% of GNP in year 2001 up from 68% in year 1999.
Although nearly 70% of the population lives in rural areas, the share of agriculture
in GNP in 2001 was only 11% (2001) up from 8.6% (1999), of which fishing accounts
for 1.5%. About 90% of food must be imported. There are certainly opportunities
in hydroponics agriculture (using sea water like in Hawai) to produce grass
plants for cattle ranching and cater for local market's needs for meat.
Fishing is another economic activity, which development
on industrial basis could help Cape Verde fill the food deficit gap and earn some
hard currency through export of fish. Click
here to view a business opportunity in the fishing sector.
Market-oriented economic policies undertaken - since 1991 - by Cape Verdean governments
put emphasis on improving the investment atmosphere to attract foreign investment
and implementing a far-reaching privatization program.
Any international
investor looking for an offshore location to diversify its production and business
should consider Cape Verde: good governance, multy-party
democracy, well educated labor force, competitive salary scale. Cape Verde
is member of Ecowas - Economic
Community of West African States. There are business opportunities in services
out sourcing, tourism and fisheries.
For
updated news about Cape Verde click here
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GNP:
US$ 395 million (2001);
US$ 406 million (2002); US$
422 million (2003)
GNP-growth
rate: 2.5% (1998-1999);
6% (2000); 3% (2001);
4% (2002 est.)
GNP-per
capita: US$
100 (2000); 103 (2003)
Click
here for the difference between GNP and Parity Purchasing Power
GNP-composition by sector -
agriculture:
11%
- industry:
17%
- services:
72% (2002)
Exports:
US$ 40 million (f.o.b.
2000); 30 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Commodities:
shoes, lobster,
fish, garments, bananas, hides.
Imports:
US$ 250 million
(f.o.b. 2000); 220 million f.o.b. (2002 est.))
Commodities:
foodstuffs, consumer
goods, industrial products, transport equipment, fuels.
FOR
CURRENCY EQUIVALENCE CLICK
HERE |
- THE REPUBLIC OF CAPE-VERDE - BRIEFS
