World Country Guide

General Information

Area
4036 sq km (1558 sq miles).

Population
434,625 (2000).

Population Density
112.5 per sq km.

Capital
Cidade de Praia. Population: 94,757 (2000).

Geography
Cape Verde is situated in the Atlantic Ocean, 600km (450 miles) west-northwest of Senegal and comprises 10 volcanic islands and five islets in two groups: Barlavento (Windwards) and Sotavento (Leewards). In the former group are the islands of So Vicente, Santo Anto, So Nicolau, Santa Luzia, Sal and Boa Vista, along with the smaller islands of Branco and Raso; the Sotavento group comprises the islands of Santiago, Maio, Fogo and Brava, along with the smaller islands of Rei and Rombo. Most have mountain peaks; the highest being Pico do Cano, an active volcano, which is on Fogo. The islands are generally rocky and eroded, and have never been able to support more than subsistence agriculture (maize, bananas, sugar cane and coffee are the main crops); low rainfall over the last 10 years has crippled food production and forced the islands to depend on international aid.

Government
Republic. Gained independence from Portugal in 1975. Head of State: President Pedro Pires since 2001. Head of Government: Prime Minister Jos Maria Neves since 2001.

Language
The official language is Portuguese. Creole is spoken by most of the inhabitants. Some English, French and Spanish are spoken.

Religion
92.8 per cent of the population are Roman Catholic with a Protestant minority of one per cent.

Time
GMT - 1.

Electricity
220 volts AC, 50Hz.

Communications

Telephone
IDD is possible to main cities. Country code: 238. Improvements to rural areas are in progress and the islands have around 22,900 telephones.

Mobile telephone
GSM 900 network operated by Cabo Verde Telecom.

Fax
Services are available at post offices and major hotels.

Internet
Major hotels offer laptop connections. Public access is available at the offices of Cabo Verde Telecom. Privately-run business centres in the main towns offer e-mail, Internet and fax facilities.

Post
Postal facilities can be slow with deliveries to Europe normally taking over a week.

Press
Newspapers are in Portuguese. There are no daily newspapers. The weekly newspapers with the highest circulation figures are Horizonte and the independent A Semana.

Radio
BBC World Service (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice) and Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov) can be received. From time to time the frequencies change and the most up-to-date can be found online.