Norfolk Island (2005) | Cape Verde (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 17 municipalities (concelhos, singular - concelho); Boa Vista, Brava, Maio, Mosteiros, Paul, Praia, Porto Novo, Ribeira Grande, Sal, Santa Catarina, Santa Cruz, Sao Domingos, Sao Filipe, Sao Miguel, Sao Nicolau, Sao Vicente, Tarrafal |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 36.9% (male 78,971/female 77,524)
15-64 years: 56.4% (male 116,751/female 122,065) 65 years and over: 6.7% (male 10,423/female 17,879) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry | bananas, corn, beans, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, coffee, peanuts; fish |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 8 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 8
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 4,033 sq km
land: 4,033 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Rhode Island |
Background | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. | The uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century; Cape Verde subsequently became a trading center for African slaves and later an important coaling and resupply stop for whaling and transatlantic shipping. Following independence in 1975, and a tentative interest in unification with Guinea-Bissau, a one-party system was established and maintained until multi-party elections were held in 1990. Cape Verde continues to exhibit one of Africa's most stable democratic governments. Repeated droughts during the second half of the 20th century caused significant hardship and prompted heavy emigration. As a result, Cape Verde's expatriate population is greater than its domestic one. Most Cape Verdeans have both African and Portuguese antecedents. |
Birth rate | NA | 24.4 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $20 million
expenditures: $20 million, including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00) |
revenues: $444.7 million
expenditures: $496 million (2007 est.) |
Capital | Kingston | name: Praia
geographic coordinates: 14 55 N, 23 31 W time difference: UTC-1 (4 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation | temperate; warm, dry summer; precipitation meager and very erratic |
Coastline | 32 km | 965 km |
Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 | 25 September 1992; a major revision on 23 November 1995 substantially increased the powers of the president; a 1999 revision created the position of national ombudsman (Provedor de Justica) |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
conventional long form: Republic of Cape Verde
conventional short form: Cape Verde local long form: Republica de Cabo Verde local short form: Cabo Verde |
Death rate | NA | 6.5 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $325 million (2002) |
Dependency status | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission: Ambassador Roger D. PIERCE
embassy: Rua Abilio Macedo n6, Praia mailing address: C. P. 201, Praia telephone: [238] 2-60-89-00 FAX: [238] 2-61-13-55 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission: Ambassador Fatima Lima VEIGA (since 16 August 2007)
chancery: 3415 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 965-6820 FAX: [1] (202) 965-1207 consulate(s) general: Boston |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $160.6 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. | This island economy suffers from a poor natural resource base, including serious water shortages exacerbated by cycles of long-term drought. The economy is service-oriented, with commerce, transport, tourism, and public services accounting for 66% of GDP. Although nearly 70% of the population lives in rural areas, the share of food production in GDP is low. About 82% of food must be imported. The fishing potential, mostly lobster and tuna, is not fully exploited. Cape Verde annually runs a high trade deficit, financed by foreign aid and remittances from emigrants; remittances supplement GDP by more than 20%. Economic reforms are aimed at developing the private sector and attracting foreign investment to diversify the economy. Future prospects depend heavily on the maintenance of aid flows, the encouragement of tourism, remittances, and the momentum of the government's development program. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 41.85 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 45 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mt. Fogo 2,829 m (a volcano on Fogo Island) |
Environment - current issues | NA | soil erosion; deforestation due to demand for wood used as fuel; water shortages; desertification; environmental damage has threatened several species of birds and reptiles; illegal beach sand extraction; overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians | Creole (mulatto) 71%, African 28%, European 1% |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) | Cape Verdean escudos (CVE) per US dollar - 81.235 (2007), 87.946 (2006), 88.67 (2005), 88.808 (2004), 97.703 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003)
head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 20 Ocotber 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - 17.2% |
chief of state: President Pedro Verona PIRES (since 22 March 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Jose Maria Pereira NEVES (since 1 February 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 12 February 2006 (next to be held in February 2011); prime minister nominated by the National Assembly and appointed by the president election results: Pedro PIRES reelected president; percent of vote - Pedro PIRES (PAICV) 51.2%, Carlos VIEGA (MPD) 48.8% |
Exports | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY99/00) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados | fuel, shoes, garments, fish, hides |
Exports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | Spain 39.4%, Portugal 19.3%, Netherlands 11.3%, Germany 10.9%, Morocco 4.1% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band | five unequal horizontal bands; the top-most band of blue - equal to one half the width of the flag - is followed by three bands of white, red, and white, each equal to 1/12 of the width, and a bottom stripe of blue equal to one quarter of the flag width; a circle of 10, yellow, five-pointed stars, each representing one of the islands, is centered on the red stripe and positioned 3/8 of the length of the flag from the hoist side |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture: 9.3%
industry: 16.9% services: 73.9% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 7% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 16 00 N, 24 00 W |
Geography - note | most of the 32-km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated | strategic location 500 km from west coast of Africa near major north-south sea routes; important communications station; important sea and air refueling site |
Highways | total: 80 km
paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | used as a transshipment point for Latin American cocaine destined for Western Europe; the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center |
Imports | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) | 2,080 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | NA | foodstuffs, industrial products, transport equipment, fuels |
Imports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | Portugal 41.1%, Netherlands 10.6%, Spain 6.5%, Italy 5.5%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.2%, Brazil 4.8% (2006) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 5 July 1975 (from Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 9% (2007 est.) |
Industries | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete | food and beverages, fish processing, shoes and garments, salt mining, ship repair |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 45.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 50.31 deaths/1,000 live births female: 40.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 3% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CPLP, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Irrigated land | NA | 30 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | Supreme Tribunal of Justice or Supremo Tribunal de Justia |
Labor force | 1,345 | 120,600 (1990) |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism 90%, subsistence agriculture 10% | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land: 11.41%
permanent crops: 0.74% other: 87.85% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian | Portuguese, Crioulo (a blend of Portuguese and West African words) |
Legal system | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law | based on the legal system of Portugal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (72 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 22 January 2006 (next to be held in January 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - PAICV 52.3%, MPD 44%, UCID 2.7%; seats by party - PAICV 41, MPD 29, UCID 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 71.02 years
male: 67.69 years female: 74.44 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.6% male: 85.8% female: 69.2% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Western Africa, group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Senegal |
Map references | Oceania | Political Map of the World |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 13,922 GRT/7,726 DWT
by type: cargo 2, chemical tanker 1, passenger/cargo 5 foreign-owned: 2 (Spain 1, UK 1) (2007) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia | - |
Military branches | - | People's Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARP): Army, Coast Guard (includes maritime air wing) (2007) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.7% (2005) |
National holiday | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) | Independence Day, 5 July (1975) |
Nationality | noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
noun: Cape Verdean(s)
adjective: Cape Verdean |
Natural hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) | prolonged droughts; seasonal harmattan wind produces obscuring dust; volcanically and seismically active |
Natural resources | fish | salt, basalt rock, limestone, kaolin, fish, clay, gypsum |
Net migration rate | NA | -11.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | none | African Party for Independence of Cape Verde or PAICV [Jose Maria Pereira NEVES, chairman]; Democratic Alliance for Change or ADM [Dr. Eurico MONTEIRO] (a coalition of PCD, PTS, and UCID); Democratic Christian Party or PDC [Manuel RODRIGUES]; Democratic Renovation Party or PRD [Victor FIDALGO]; Democratic and Independent Cape Verdean Union or UCID [Antonio MONTEIRO]; Movement for Democracy or MPD [Agostinho LOPES]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Dr. Eurico MONTEIRO]; Party of Work and Solidarity or PTS [Isaias RODRIGUES]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Joao ALEM] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 1,828 (July 2005 est.) | 423,613 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 30% (2000) |
Population growth rate | -0.01% (2005 est.) | 0.606% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 0, FM 22 (plus 12 repeaters), shortwave 0 (2001) |
Religions | Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.3%, none 18.1% (2001 census) | Roman Catholic (infused with indigenous beliefs), Protestant (mostly Church of the Nazarene) |
Sex ratio | NA | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.019 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.956 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.583 male(s)/female total population: 0.948 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station |
general assessment: effective system, extensive modernization from 1996-2000 following partial privatization in 1995
domestic: major service provider is Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT); fiber-optic ring, completed in 2001, links all islands providing Internet access and ISDN services; cellular service introduced in 1998; broadband services launched in 2004 international: country code - 238; landing point for the Atlantis-2 fiber-optic transatlantic telephone cable that provides links to South America, Senegal, and Europe; HF radiotelephone to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) | 71,600 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002) | 108,900 (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (2005) | 1 (plus 7 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | steep, rugged, rocky, volcanic |
Total fertility rate | NA | 3.28 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0% | 21% (2000 est.) |