ate:
temperate; warm, dry, summer; precipitation very erratic
Terrain:
steep, rugged, rocky, volcanic
Natural resources:
salt, basalt rock, pozzolana, limestone, kaolin, fish
Land use:
arable land 9%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 6%; forest and
woodland NEGL%; other 85%; includes irrigated 1%
Environment:
subject to prolonged droughts; harmattan wind can obscure visibility;
volcanically and seismically active; deforestation; overgrazing
Note:
strategic location 500 km from African coast near major north-south sea
routes; important communications station; important sea and air refueling
site

:Cape Verde People

Population:
398,276 (July 1992), growth rate 3.0% (1992)
Birth rate:
48 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
10 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
- 8 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
61 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
60 years male, 64 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
6.5 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Cape Verdean(s); adjective - Cape Verdean
Ethnic divisions:
Creole (mulatto) about 71%, African 28%, European 1%
Religions:
Roman Catholicism fused with indigenous beliefs
Languages:
Portuguese and Crioulo, a blend of Portuguese and West African words
Literacy:
66% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1989 est.)
Labor force:
102,000 (1985 est.); agriculture (mostly subsistence) 57%, services 29%,
industry 14% (1981); 51% of population of working age (1985)
Organized labor:
Trade Unions of Cape Verde Unity Center (UNTC-CS)

:Cape Verde Government

Long-form name:
Republic of Cape Verde
Type:
republic
Capital:
Praia
Administrative divisions:
14 districts (concelhos, singular - concelho); Boa Vista, Brava, Fogo, Maio,
Paul, Praia, Porto Novo, Ribeira Grande, Sal, Santa Catarina, Santa Cruz,
Sao Nicolau, Sao Vicente, Tarrafal
Independence:
5 July 1975 (from Portugal)
Constitution:
7 September 1980; amended 12 February 1981, December 1988, and 28 September
1990 (legalized opposition parties)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 5 July (1975)
Executive branch:
president, prime minister, deputy minister, secretaries of state, Council of
Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch:
unicameral People's National Ass