The former Portuguese colony, which gained independence in 1975, consists of ten islands and five islets, which are poor in natural resources, prone to drought and have little arable land. As a result, the country is heavily dependent on food imports, sometimes in the form of aid. Portuguese and Crioulo are the most widely spoken languages.

Leader: President Pedro de Verona Rodrigues Pires (since 2001)
Capital city: Praia

Economic profile

Monetary unit: Cape Verdean escudoGDP per capita: $3 800 (2010) (CIA)
GDP composition by sector:
Agriculture: 9% (2009) (CIA)
Industry: 16.2% (2009) (CIA)
Services: 74.8% (2009) (CIA)
GDP growth rate: 5.4% (2009) (World Bank)
Budget:
Government revenue, excluding grants: $520.7-million (2010) (CIA)
Government expenditure: $680.8-million (2010) (CIA)
Consumer price inflation: 2.5% (2010) (IMF)
Industries: Food and beverages, fish processing, shoes and garments, salt mining, and ship repair.
Exports of goods and services: $114-million (2010) (CIA)
Imports of goods and services: $105-million (2010) (CIA)
Import commodities: Foodstuffs, industrial products, transport equipment, and fuels.
Export commodities: Fuel, shoes, garments, fish, and hides.
Trade balance: -$286-million (2010) (CIA)
Reserves: $296-million (2010) (IMF)
Total investment: 36.9% of GDP (2010) (IMF)

Social profile

Population: 505 606 (2010) (World Bank)
Population growth: 1.4% (2010) (World Bank)
Life expectancy at birth: 71.3 years (2010) (World Bank)
Adult literacy: 85% (2009) (World Bank)
School enrolment primary: 98% (2009) (World Bank)
School enrolment secondary: 81% (2009) (World Bank)
School enrolment tertiary: 15% (2009) (World Bank)
Number of people living with HIV/Aids: 775 (2001) (CIA)