Cape Verde Economy - 2005

Economy - overview:
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 72% of GDP. Although nearly 70% of the population lives in rural areas, the share of agriculture in GDP in 2004 was only 12%, of which fishing accounted for 1.5%. 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.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $600 million (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
5% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $1,400 (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 12.1%
industry: 21.9%
services: 66% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
NA

Unemployment rate:
21% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line:
30% (2000)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.5% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
19.2% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $260.6 million
expenditures: $305.3 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products:
bananas, corn, beans, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, coffee, peanuts; fish

Industries:
food and beverages, fish processing, shoes and garments, salt mining, ship repair

Industrial production growth rate:
NA

Electricity - production:
43.08 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - consumption:
40.06 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2002)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
2,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

Current account balance:
$-93.76 million (2004 est.)

Exports:
$61.11 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
fuel, shoes, garments, fish, hides

Exports - partners:
Portugal 62.5%, US 15.8%, UK 11.3% (2004)

Imports:
$387.3 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
foodstuffs, industrial products, transport equipment, fuels

Imports - partners:
Portugal 43.2%, US 12.5%, Netherlands 8.7% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$112.7 million (2004 est.)

Debt - external:
$325 million (2002)

Economic aid - recipient:
$136 million (1999)

Currency (code):
Cape Verdean escudo (CVE)

Exchange rates:
Cape Verdean escudos (CVE) per US dollar - 88.808 (2004), 97.703 (2003), 117.168 (2002), 123.228 (2001), 119.687 (2000)