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Capital
Praia
Geographical location
The Cape Verde Islands are located in the mid-Atlantic Ocean some 500 km of the west coast of Africa. The archipelago includes 10 islands and 5 islets, divides into windward (Barlavento) and leeward (Sotavento) groups.
Climate
Temperate; warm, dry summer; precipitation meager and very erratic
Natural resources
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.
Economy
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.
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
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.
An amount estimated at about 20% of GDP is contributed to the domestic economy through remittances from expatriate Cape Verdeans.
Industries
Types: food and beverages, fish processing, shoes and garments, salt mining, ship repair
Foreign Trade
The country’s merchandise export are extremely low in relation to imports, although sales of textile and electronic components are expanding. Small amounts of bananas, canned tuna, frozen fish, lobster, salt and pozzolana are also exported. The country imports most of its food requirement, as well as fuel, manufactured and other goods.
Trade links with Portugal have strengthened since 1990, accounted for over half of all imports and export in 2003. EU countries accounted for around 90% of all exports and imports.
However, in its search for new trading partners, Cape Verde has sought to develop closer ties with Asian countries, including the former Portuguese colony of Macao in China.
Transportation
Road
The archipelago has 2,250 kilometers of roads, of which 1,750 kilometers are paved.
Ports and terminals
The major ports are Mindelo and Praia, but all other islands have smaller port facilities. Merchant marine: total of 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over); type: 2 cargo, 1 chemical tanker, 2 passenger/cargo
Air
8 airports with paved runways (one of the airport has paved runways over 3,047 m)
Agriculture and Fishing
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 industry is growing and contributes to a large portion of the country's exports.
Products: Bananas, Corn, Beans, Sweet Potatoes, Sugarcane, Coffee, Peanuts; Fish
Services
The economy of Cape Verde is service-oriented, with commerce, transport, and public services accounting for more than 72% of GDP. Most of the nation's GDP is from the services industry.
Tourism
Tourism has been a major source of employment and economic growth, it contributed about of 10% GDP. In 2003, 140,000 tourists from overseas visited the islands. The government’s goal is to attract 400,000 tourists per year by 2008. Several new hotel developments have opened in the past few years, bringing the total number of hotels to 88 and the number of rooms to 4,500 in 2000.
The main markets, aside from visiting Cape Verdeans who live abroad, are Italy (39,2%), Portugal, Germany and other European Countries.
In 2003 the tourist sector received 82% of foreign direct investment in Cape Verde.
Annual Indicators
| |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
| Area Sq Km |
4,030 |
4,033 |
4,033 |
4,033 |
4,033 |
| Population (thousand) |
484 |
495 |
507 |
520 |
533 |
| GDP (US$ million) |
825.7 |
955.6 |
983.0 |
1,155.6 |
1,452.9 |
| Real GDP growth (%) |
4.7 |
4.4 |
5.8 |
6.5 |
6.5 |
| GDP per capita (US$) |
1,705 |
1,930 |
1,938 |
2,223 |
2,726 |
| Consumer Price Inflation (%) |
1.2 |
-1.9 |
0.4 |
5.4 |
3.5 |
| Exports of goods FOB (US$ million) |
52.7 |
57.4 |
89.0 |
83.9 |
66.9 |
| Imports of goods CIF (US$ million) |
360.1 |
436.6 |
438.1 |
560.7 |
747.60 |
| Current Account Balance (US$ m) |
-89.9 |
-132.9 |
-43.8 |
-71.0 |
-108.3 |
| Exchange Rate (av; CVEsc:US$) |
97.79 |
88.75 |
88.68 |
87.93 |
81.09 |
Foreign Trade (2005)
| Main Exports |
US$ Millions |
| Fuel |
68.1 |
| Clothing |
6.9 |
| Shoes & Shoes parts |
2.8 |
| Fish & Crustaceans |
7.2 |
| Main Imports |
US$ Millions |
| Consumer goods |
180.9 |
| Intermediary goods |
107.7 |
| Capital goods |
73.7 |
| Petroleum |
30.3 |
| Main Destinations for Exports (2006) |
% of total |
| Spain |
45.2 |
| Portugal |
22.9 |
| Netherlands |
13.3 |
| UK |
3.0 |
| Morocco |
5.6 |
| Main Destinations for Imports (2006) |
% of total |
| Portugal |
40.6 |
| Italy |
5.5 |
| Netherlands |
10.5 |
| Spain |
6.2 |
| Cote d’Ivoire |
5.2 |
Trading
Mainland China-Cape Verde Bilateral Trade (USD 10,000)
| |
Total |
Exports(*) |
Imports(**) |
| 2005 |
519 |
519 |
0 |
| 2004 |
275 |
275 |
0 |
| 2003 |
260 |
260 |
0 |
| 2002 |
183.9 |
183.9 |
0 |
* China's export value to Cape Verde
** China's import value to Cape Verde
Source:
- Bureau of African Affairs www.sate.gov
- China Statistical Yearbook 2006
- Country Profile (CI-Agência Cabo Verdiana de Promoção de Investimentos)
- The Economic Intelligence Unit – Country Profile/Country Report
- Direcção Geral das Estatísticas de BCV
- Macau Economic Services
- Macau Statistics and Census Department
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China
- The World Bank
- World Development Indicators Database
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