Fiscal year Calendar year Inflation (CPI) 3% (2011 est.) Labour force 243,120 (2010) GDP per capita 3,767.12 USD (2013) GNI per capita 6,210 PPP dollars (2013) | Trade organisations AU, WTO Population below poverty line 15% (As of 2010) Currency Cape Verdean escudo Gross domestic product 1.879 billion USD (2013) GDP growth rate 0.5% annual change (2013) | |
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GDP by sector agriculture (9.2%), industry (16.5%), services (74.3%) (As of 2009) Gross national income 3.096 billion PPP dollars (2013) Internet users 37.5% of the population (2013) | ||
Cape Verde is a small archipelagic nation that lacks resources and has experienced severe droughts. Agriculture is made difficult by lack of rain and is restricted to only four islands for most of the year. Most of the nation's GDP comes from the service industry. Cape Verde's economy has been steadily growing since the late 1990s, and it is now officially considered a country of average development, being only the second African country to have achieved such transition, after Botswana in 1994. Cape Verde has significant cooperation with Portugal at every level of the economy, which has led it to link its currency (the Cape Verdean escudo) first to the Portuguese escudo and, in 1999, to the euro.
Contents
Map of Cape Verde
Transportation
Cape Verde's strategic location at the crossroads of mid-Atlantic air and sea lanes has been enhanced by significant improvements at Mindelo's harbor (Porto Grande) and at Sal's international airport. Ship repair facilities at Mindelo were opened in 1983, and the harbors at Mindelo and Praia were recently renovated. The major ports are Mindelo and Praia, but all other islands have small port facilities, some of which are to be expanded in the near future. In addition to the international airport on Sal, airports are located on all of the inhabited islands except for the smallest island called Brava which was built but to dangerous so it was shut down after a few failed attempt landing. The archipelago has 3,050 kilometers (1,830 mi.) of roads, of which 1,010 kilometers (606 mi.) are paved. The new Praia International Airport is currently operative.
International recognition
Cape Verde is considered a developing country, and is included on the list of the United Nations Small Island Developing States.
In 2007 the United Nations graduated Cape Verde from the category of Least Developed Countries, only the second time this has happened to a country.
On December 18, 2007, the General Council of the World Trade Organization approved a package for the accession of Cape Verde to the WTO. Accession was effective on July 23, 2008, 30 days after ratification by Cape Verde, which took place on 23 June. The package requires Cape Verde to adapt some of its economic regulation. In particular, it will need to introduce a new Customs Code, and to introduce copyright and patent laws complying with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Cape Verde does not have legislation for industrial property, such as patents, trademarks, and industrial designs but does have a law on copyrights (Law No. 101/III/90, December 1990). Pascal Lamy, director-general of the WTO said, "I am very pleased to welcome Cape Verde as a new member. This new membership will strengthen multilateral trading system. Being part of the WTO will enable Cape Verde to continue its integration into the world economy."