Cape Verde

Geography

Cape Verde is an archipelago in the Atlantic 570 km west of Africa. The land has a total area of 4,030 km² (1,556 mi²) and a total coastline of 965 km (599.6 mi). This land area is approximately 101% of the area of Rhode Island. Cape Verde is thus one of the smallest countries in Africa by area and ranked 175th worldwide. More than half of all residents (67%) live within cities. Almost every fourth inhabitant lives in Praia.

The highest mountain peak (Pico do Fogo) is at 2,829 meters. The archipelago consists of 15 islands. Cape Verde has no direct neighbours. The distance between New York City and the Capital Praia is about 5,630 km (3,498 mi).

The climate in Cape Verde

In Cape Verde, as in all equatorial countries, there is a tropical climate. Unlike in Europe or the USA, there is almost no difference between the seasons. The daylight hours vary little, and the temperature differences between summer and winter are also lesser. Depending on the season, the average daytime temperatures range between 24 and 30 degrees. In some parts of the country the temperature raises up to 31 °C. In the colder months and depending in the region, the temperature lowers down to 19°C in a month's average.

• Detailed climate data for Cape Verde and 4 individual regions
• Volcanos
• Hurricanes

Languages

Mother tongue	Distribution
› Crioulo	90.0 %
› Portuguese	10.0 %

Religions

Branch	Distribution
Nazarene	1.7%
Adventists	1.5%
Assemblies of God	0.9%
Apostolic Christs	0.5%
Universal Kingdom of God	0.4%
Roman Catholics	77.3%
other Christs	1.9%
Jehovah's Witnesses	1.0%
Muslims	1.8%
nondenominational	10.8%
other	2.2%

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Economy

GDP:	1.94 bn $
Exportations:	473.9 M $
Importations:	1,121.3 M $
› Tourism receipts:	169.00 M $
› Unemployment rate:	15.4 %
› Inflation rate:	1.86 %
› Corruption index:	21 (very bad)
› Energy consumption:	367.4 M kWh

According to the definition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Cape Verde is one of the developing countries because of its lower economic performance.

Land use

4% Urban areas:	180 km²
20% Agricultural areas:	790 km²
11% Forest:	457 km²
65% Others:	2,603 km²

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Transport

Roadways:	1,350 km
Commercial harbors:	46
› Airports:	6