Cape Verde

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República de Cabo Verde
Republic of Cabo Verde
Flag of Cape Verde
Cape Verde Coat of Arms
flag emblem
Motto : Unidade, Trabalho, Progresso

( por. , "unity, work, progress")

Official language Portuguese (colloquial: Creole )
Capital Praia
Form of government Parliamentary Republic
Government system Parliamentary democracy
Head of state President
Jorge Carlos Fonseca
Head of government Prime Minister
Ulisses Correia e Silva
surface 4,033 km²
population 546,388 (2017)
Population density 122 inhabitants per km²
Population development   +1.35% (2016)
gross domestic product
  • Nominal
  • Total ( PPP )
  • GDP / inh. (nominal)
  • GDP / inh. (KKP)
2016
  • $ 1.636 billion ( 169. )
  • $ 3.540 billion ( 166. )
  • 3,078 USD ( 126. )
  • 6,662 USD ( 126. )
Human Development Index   0.648 ( 122nd ) (2016)
currency Cape Verde Escudo (CVE)
independence July 5, 1975 (from Portugal )
National anthem Cântico da Liberdade
Time zone UTC − 1
License Plate CV
ISO 3166 CV , CPV, 132
Internet TLD .cv
Telephone code +238
Since July 2004 old phone numbers have been prefixed with a 2, example: +238 2 XXXXXX .
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About this picture

Cape Verde [ ˌkapˈvɛrdə ] (in Germany, Austria and Switzerland officially Portuguese Cabo Verde [ ˌkabuˈveɾdɨ ], in German: "Islands of the Green Foothills") is an African island state , consisting of the Cape Verde Islands with nine inhabited islands in the Central Atlantic , 570 Kilometers off the west coast of the African continent. The archipelago has a land area of ​​4033 km² and about 546,000 inhabitants. The capital is Praia .

The former Portuguese colony is now one of the most stable and prosperous countries in Africa.

geography

location

The Republic of Cape Verde is located in the central Atlantic off the west coast of the African continent. The archipelago consists of 15 islands and other small islets, nine of which are inhabited. A distinction is made between the northern islands above the wind (Ilhas de Barlavento) and the southern islands below the wind (Ilhas de Sotavento) . The islands over the wind are Santo Antão , São Vicente , São Nicolau , Sal , Boa Vista and the uninhabited islands of Santa Luzia , Branco, and Raso . The Sotavento group includes Maio , Santiago , Fogo and Brava as well as the uninhabited group of islands of the Ilhéus do Rombo .

Cities

The biggest cities in Cape Verdean are:
rank city Population
(2010)
district island
1 Praia 131.602 Praia Santiago
2 Mindelo 76.107 Sao Vicente Sao Vicente
3 Assomada 43,297 Santa Catarina Santiago
4th Pedra Badejo 26,609 Santa Cruz Santiago
5 Santa Maria 25,657 Sal Sal
6th Sao Filipe 22,228 Sao Filipe Fogo
7th Tarrafal 18,565 Tarrafal Santiago
8th Porto Novo approx. 16,000 Porto Novo Santo Antão
9 Espargos about 10,000 Sal Sal

fauna and Flora

The vegetation of the Cape Verde Islands is semi-desert-like due to the drought. Among other things, there are dry grasslands, in the eastern part the islands are also covered with large dunes or salt marshes ( mangroves ). There are also some palm species such as the Canary Island date palm , which are adapted to the drought.

The fauna on the islands is comparatively poor in species. Prior to human settlement, there were no mammals on the islands apart from one species of bat . There are also some small reptile species, such as geckos and skinks . Sea turtles occasionally lay their eggs on the beaches .

geology

The Cape Verde archipelago is of volcanic origin. The highest point in Cape Verde is the regular volcanic cone of Pico do Fogo with a height of 2829 meters. In 1995 it broke out again after a 44-year period of rest. This created the 1920 m high parasitic crater "Pequeno Fogo", at the edges of which hot fumaroles are still active. This parasitic volcano was active again from November 23, 2014 and spat ash clouds and fire. The emerging lava, which poured into the Caldeira with three main streams, destroyed two localities and some other, small settlements in the Caldeira. The volcanic activity ended on February 8, 2015. The islands in the northwest of Santo Antão , São Vicente and São Nicolau as well as Santiago are also young volcanic and high mountainous, while the eastern islands are much older, flat with the exception of a few witness mountains and equipped with a limestone base are. The archipelago also includes the following deep-sea mountains ( English seamounts ): Seamount Nola (west of Santo Antãos ), Seamount Boavista (east of Boa Vistas ), Seamount Cape Verde (southeast of Boa Vistas ), Seamount Maio (east of Maios ) and Seamount Cadamosto (south of Bravas ) . The João Valente reef south of Boa Vista may also be one of the seamounts. Except for the Ribeira de Torre and the Ribeira de Paúl (both on the island of Santo Antão), there are no permanent water-bearing rivers or streams on the islands. In the interior of Boavista there is the small freshwater lake Odjo d'Água all year round . In the rainy season, the otherwise dry valleys of the Ribeiras (= brooks) often swell into torrential rivers and destroy roads and paths that sometimes remain impassable for a long time.

climate

Similar to the Canary Islands, the Cape Verde Islands have a mild oceanic climate. But it is warmer and drier and is determined by the northeast trade wind. The climate is characterized by small temperature differences between day and night (mostly around 5 ° C) and by relatively high humidity all year round (around 70%). The daytime temperatures are between 23 and 30 ° C all year round, with the nighttime values ​​in winter (January to April) around 18 ° C and in summer (August to October) around 24 ° C. The soil is very dry everywhere, the average rainfall in the capital is around 250 mm per year, otherwise mostly only between 100 and 200 mm. Most of the precipitation falls from August to November. The water temperatures of 22 to 27 ° C make the country attractive for beach tourism.

Praia
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.
 
 
2
 
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105
 
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Temperature in ° Cprecipitation in mm
Source: wetterkontor.de
Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Praia
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 24.8 25.0 26.1 26.4 27.1 27.9 28.0 28.6 29.7 29.2 28.0 25.6 O 27.2
Min. Temperature (° C) 20.0 19.4 19.7 20.3 21.0 21.9 22.9 23.8 24.0 23.6 22.7 21.3 O 21.7
Precipitation ( mm ) 2 2 0 0 0 0 8th 45 105 58 30th 10 Σ 260
Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 7.2 8.3 9.0 9.5 9.9 9.3 7.0 6.5 7.2 7.9 7.8 6.6 O 8th
Rainy days ( d ) 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 6th 4th 1 1 Σ 19th
Water temperature (° C) 23 22nd 22nd 23 23 24 24 25th 26th 27 26th 24 O 24.1
Humidity ( % ) 64 62 59 63 65 67 72 74 76 73 68 67 O 67.5
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
24.8
20.0
25.0
19.4
26.1
19.7
26.4
20.3
27.1
21.0
27.9
21.9
28.0
22.9
28.6
23.8
29.7
24.0
29.2
23.6
28.0
22.7
25.6
21.3
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
N
i
e
d
e
r
s
c
h
l
a
g
2
2
0
0
0
0
8th
45
105
58
30th
10
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Source: wetterkontor.de

population

Family with children in Tarrafal on the island of Santiago

Origin of the population

The Cape Verde Islands were uninhabited before their discovery and settlement by the Portuguese . A new Creole culture emerged from the intermingling of the cultures of European settlers and African slaves .

A 2010 study on the genetics of the population of Cape Verde came to the conclusion that the European share of the genes is 43 percent and the African share of 57.

Demographics

Population pyramid Cape Verde 2016
Population development in Cape Verde
year population
1950 178.066
1960 202.310
1970 270.198
1980 286,657
1990 341,883
2000 435.079
2010 502.384
2017 546,388

The history of Cape Verde is marked by repeated waves of immigration from Portugal and Madeira , strong economic influence of the English and mass emigration in response to repeated famine. In 2010, an estimated 700,000 Cape Verdeans living in the diaspora were added to the approximately 516,000 inhabitants of the archipelago at that time . For 2015, the CIA estimated just under 546,000 inhabitants. Because of the country's poverty there are hardly any immigrants, but a number of Nigerians (mostly traders) have settled in Praia in recent years.

A good half of the population is concentrated on the main island of Santiago .

According to the 2000 census , the female to male gender ratio is 51.9 to 48.1%. Due to famine and the resulting emigration , the generation born in the 1940s and 1950s is almost completely absent. Around a third of the population is younger than 15 years. The average age in 2000 was 17.4 years, the population growth was 2.4% per year.

The average household has 4.6 members, 54% of the adult population consider themselves single, 24% are in a partnership without being married, and 16% are married. Three percent live separately or are divorced. This can be traced back to the fact that Portuguese law did not allow marriage among slaves or between slaves and free people. This created a variety of forms of coexistence in Creole societies, which has survived to this day.

The prospect of a better life draws the young rural population to the cities or to the vicinity of the main roads. Today, 54% of the city's population already counts.

health

The life expectancy at birth is among the highest in Africa. Between 2010 and 2015 it was 72.1 years (men: 70.1 years / women: 74.0 years). There are 49 doctors per 100,000 population.

languages

The official language of Cape Verde is Portuguese ; The national language is Cape Verdean Creole (Krioulo) , which has different variants. The greatest differences exist between the Creole of Santiago and that of Santo Antão, they can go as far as mutual incomprehensibility. There are great similarities between the Creole of Santiago and that of Guinea-Bissau . A process of decreolization can be observed especially among the younger generation through increased education and the use of Portuguese-language media .

The government is striving to make krioulo the official language. As an officially recognized spelling, it has been agreed on the regulations of ALUPEC . French and English are learned by parts of the younger population in school.

history

The uninhabited islands were circled by António Fernandes in 1445 and discovered and entered for the first time in 1456 by the Venetian Alvise Cadamosto , who was in Portuguese service (Boa Vista). Antonio da Noli , one also on behalf of the Portuguese Prince Henry the Navigator traveling Genoese captain, took off in 1458 in cooperation with Diogo Gomes exploring the islands continues, discovered most of the rest of the Eastern Cape Verde, christened the archipelago in the name Ilhas de Cabo Verde and began settling the islands as governor of the Portuguese crown from 1461. In fact, Diogo Gomes later claimed to be the first of the two to have seen the island of Santiago from afar and also to have been the first to set foot on it. Antonio da Noli, however, managed to return to Portugal earlier, and he was then understandably rewarded by Heinrich the Navigator with the encouragement of the discovery, which, in the words of Diogo Gomes, “I, Gomes, discovered”. Because of the rivalry between the two, Diogo Gomes is considered to be the true discoverer of the main island of Santiago in Portuguese historiography.

The islands were named by the Portuguese after Cabo Verde (Green Cape) on the west coast of Africa . The name reflects the history of discovery and the late medieval technique of navigation. The navigators of the West African coast to the Cape followed, until the longitude was reliably determined in the 18th century, in order not to miss the archipelago in the vastness of the Atlantic. Even Christopher Columbus , who in 1498 roamed the Cape Verde Islands on his third voyage to America, noted that the term little passe for mostly desert-like dry character of the islands.

The settlement of the archipelago began with a small Portuguese military station in 1461 on the main island of Santiago and on the island of Fogo .

In 1532 an independent diocese was established . With the posting of a governor general, the island received official status as a Portuguese colony. From 1461 onwards, Cape Verde played a role as a Portuguese military station and outpost for further expeditions and for the extraction of Roccella tinctoria , a dye lichen.

From 1500 to around 1620, the island of Santiago played an important role in the transatlantic slave trade as a transshipment and supply station. Subsequently, only the salt trade under English control, which allowed the large natural port of Mindelo on São Vicente to flourish by 1850 , revived the otherwise languishing economy. English coal trading companies made it the fourth largest coal port to supply the rapidly growing steam shipping industry. When the coal trade subsided from the 1880s, nine transatlantic submarine cables converging on São Vicente replaced part of the importance of the archipelago.

During the Estado Novo under António de Oliveira Salazar , Cape Verde gained notoriety through the Tarrafal concentration camp (Campo do Tarrafal) on the island of Santiago. Even within Portugal, left-wing intellectuals from the then Portuguese overseas province of Cape Verde, above all Amílcar Cabral and his half-brother Luís Cabral , helped shape the joint movement against the authoritarian regime of the so-called Estado Novo and its colonial war . On April 25, 1974, brought Carnation Revolution , the dictatorship under President Marcelo Caetano finally to case.

As in all Portuguese overseas territories , under the chairmanship of a High Commissioner of the new left-wing Portuguese military government (Revolutionary Council), the formation of a mixed transitional administration was agreed to prepare for free elections to a constituent assembly and the independence of Cape Verde.

The Partido Africano da Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde (PAIGC, Portuguese for “African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde”) had gained a high level of confidence in resisting the dictatorship and dominated these elections. It won all seats in the constituent assembly and now, as its name suggests, strived for the union of Cape Verde with Guinea-Bissau , the former Portuguese overseas province of Guinea on the African mainland.

Independence was proclaimed on July 5, 1975, and the left-wing national liberation movement PAIGC became the sole ruling party. Aristides Pereira became the first president of the common state . The Marxist -influenced PAIGC immediately used the election victory to expand their positions of power and to establish a new, now left-wing, one-party dictatorship. One of the first measures was the establishment of a Marxist unified union, which was immediately followed by a ban on all free and independent unions .

In the years of the Marxist dictatorship , however, the contradictions and tensions grew within the ruling movement of the PAIGC, which was strongly influenced in its governing bodies by personalities who come from the Cape Verde Islands. Over the years, however, there was increasing resistance from officials from the African mainland Guinea-Bissau . The insurmountable contradictions between the Creole mulattos from the Cape Verde Islands and the predominantly black African party leaders of the mainland (Guinea-Bissau) finally led to a coup in the government capital of Bissau in 1981 , the main aim of which was to ensure the predominance of the Cape Verdean leadership within the Party, and was clearly driven by racist resentment against the Creole mixed race.

During the bloody coup, Nino Vieira, from the mainland, was proclaimed president by his supporters. As a result, the common party disbanded and efforts to unite the two states were abandoned. While the Marxist movement in Guinea-Bissau retained its name, it was renamed Partido Africano da Independência de Cabo Verde (PAICV) in Cape Verde .

In the controlled sham elections of 1985, the PAICV received the usual 94.5% of all votes; however, more and more voices were raised calling for a democratization of the Cape Verde Republic.

The one-party state came to an end with a constitutional amendment in 1990 that introduced a multi-party system. In the same year the opposition founded the Movement for Democracy ( Movimento para a democracia / MpD ). In the first democratic free elections in 1991, it became the strongest force with an overwhelming absolute majority (78%). António M. Monteiro became president of the "second republic" and in the following decade pursued a neoliberal , market economy-oriented policy and decentralization in rural districts. Constitutional amendments in 1993 strengthened the position of the Prime Minister and limited the President to representative functions as in some Western European democracies (e.g. Germany).

The 2001 National Assembly elections returned the PAICV to government with a social democratic profile. In the presidential elections in Cape Verde in 2001 was Pedro Verona Rodrigues Pires (born April 29, 1934) elected as the new president.

In the parliamentary elections in January 2006 , the PAICV was able to extend its lead to a solid absolute majority (41 out of 72 seats), and in the presidential elections in Cape Verde in 2006 Pedro Pires was directly elected to office.

In the parliamentary elections on February 6, 2011 , Prime Minister José Maria Neves of the PAICV won the absolute majority in parliament for the third time in a row with just over 50% of the total votes cast.

politics

Cape Verde is a pluralistic parliamentary republic. In the 2019 Democracy Index, Cape Verde was ranked 30th out of 167 countries, making it the second best in all of Africa.

The history of women's suffrage goes back to colonial times. Until 1961, when everyone got Portuguese citizenship and was eligible to vote in local elections, all locals (men and women) were excluded from the right to vote. Under Portuguese administration, women voted for the first time on April 15, 1975. When the country became independent in 1975, universal right to vote and stand for election at the national level was introduced on July 5, 1975. In July 1989 the general right to vote and stand for election was extended to the local level. The first election of a woman to the national parliament, Carmen Pereira , took place in July 1975.

From 2001 to 2016 the PAICV had a majority in the National Assembly and until 2011 also provided President Pedro Pires .

From the presidential elections in 2011 and 2016 was Jorge Carlos Fonseca from the MPD emerged as the winner and since September 9, 2011 President of the Republic of Cape Verde. Since the parliamentary elections in Cape Verde in 2016 , the MpD also has an absolute majority in parliament.

Parties

Main article: List of political parties in Cape Verde

Current political parties in Cape Verde
Political party Abbreviation Political Direction founding
African Party for Cape Verdean Independence PAICV formerly socialist, today social democratic Founded in 1956 as PAIGC
Independent and Democratic Union of Cape Verdes UCID liberal, mainly active abroad 1974
Movement for Democracy MpD bourgeois-democratic 1990
Party of Socialist Democrats Psd socialist 1992
Democratic Convergence Party PCD bourgeois-democratic - separation of the MpD 1994

Administrative division

Main article: Administrative division of Cape Verdes

In administrative terms , Cape Verde is divided into 22 districts ( concelhos , singular concelho ): Boa Vista , Brava, Maio , Mosteiros, Paúl, Praia , Porto Novo, Ribeira Grande, Sal , Santa Catarina, Santa Cruz, São Domingos, São Filipe, São Miguel , São Nicolau, São Vicente and Tarrafal. In 2005, the division of previous circles created five new ones: Ribeira Grande de Santiago (split from Praia district), São Lourenço dos Órgãos (split from Santa Cruz district), São Salvador do Mundo (split from Santa Catarina district), Santa Catarina do Fogo (Split from São Filipe County) and Tarrafal de São Nicolau (split from São Nicolau County).

Foreign policy

Cape Verdean foreign policy is open, cooperative and pragmatic and is shaped by relations with West African countries and the community of Portuguese-speaking countries , especially the African countries with Portuguese as the official language . Since the Cotonou Agreement in 2000 in particular , Cape Verde has come closer and closer to the EU .

The USA is the most important political ally , otherwise the closest ties exist with Portugal, economically, culturally, institutionally, socially and in many other areas.

The strategically important location of Cape Verde in the Atlantic, where important sea routes cross, has recently been enjoying a renaissance. The reason is the international efforts in the fight against the international drug trade and organized crime, and the international desire for controlled trade routes.

See also

military

Cape Verde spent almost 0.5 percent of its economic output or 9.4 million US dollars on its armed forces in 2017. The country's military budget is one of the smallest in the world.

economy

General

Cape Verde has no mineral resources worth mentioning and suffers from the extremely dry Sahel climate . Only on four islands is there some water for irrigated agriculture, if the annual rain does not fail to materialize. The dry field cultivation has largely failed since 1968, and the agricultural production is insufficient for self-sufficiency, so that over 90 percent of the food has to be imported.

Fish market in Mindelo on São Vicente (2004)
Windsurfing at São Pedro on São Vicente

The abundance of fish is also limited and cannot be fully exploited with the simple manual technique of local fishermen, which is why most of the catch must be left to foreign fleets. Fish, lobsters, bananas, textiles and some semi-finished goods (shoes, leather goods) are exported. Tourism is developing slowly and contributes around ten percent to the gross national product, with the island of Sal being the most visited and reaching over half of the total bed occupancy with beach tourists. Sailors and windsurfers like to use the islands conveniently located in the trade wind . The good opportunities for mountain tourism and historical-cultural tourism, which are much more conducive to balanced development, are developed much more slowly.

The Cape Verdean escudo (CVE) was pegged to the Portuguese escudo in 1998 and to the euro in 1999 . Since its establishment in 1975, the National Bank of Cape Verde has pursued an uncompromising policy of monetary stability in order to motivate emigrants to invest their savings in Cape Verde.

The Union des Travailleurs du Cap-Vert (UNTC-CS) under its General Secretary Julio Ascenção Silva is committed to "decent work" ( decent work ) and a social minimum wage . In 1992 the union agreed to cooperate with Luxembourg's OGBL .

In 2008 Cape Verde became the second African country after Botswana to be upgraded from underdeveloped to middle-income country. In the Human Development Index , Cape Verde also achieved 122nd place out of 188 in the ranking with a value of 0.646 in 2015 and therefore no longer falls into the lowest category.

Around two thirds of Cape Verdean families receive benefits from family members who have emigrated; Sending money to Cape Verde accounts for a good fifth of the gross domestic product.

In order to reduce the dependency on expensive oil, it was decided at the end of July 2010 to build four wind farms on the islands of Santiago, São Vicente, Sal and Boa Vista with a total output of 28 MW. Since 2011 there have also been two 2.5 and 5 MW solar parks that can cover a large part of the nation's electricity needs at lunchtime.

The gross domestic product (GDP) for 2017 is estimated at 1.7 billion US dollars. In purchasing power parity, GDP is 4 billion US dollars or 6,900 US dollars per inhabitant. Real growth was 4.0%. The state is one of the most heavily indebted in the world.

Key figures

All GDP values ​​are given in US dollars ( purchasing power parity ).

year 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
GDP
(purchasing power parity)
0.23 billion 0.41 billion 0.69 billion 0.84 billion 1.37 billion 2.05 billion 2.30 billion 2.58 billion 2.81 billion 2.79 billion 2.87 billion 3.04 billion 3.13 billion 3.21 billion 3.29 billion 3.36 billion 3.53 billion 3.96 billion
GDP per capita
(purchasing power parity)
798 1,287 1,633 2,106 3,089 4,278 4,778 5,338 5,793 5,750 5,883 6,205 6,195 6,268 6,342 6,396 6,643 6,944
GDP growth
(real)
5.3% 8.6% 0.7% 7.5% 7.3% 5.8% 9.1% 9.2% 6.7% −1.3% 1.5% 4.0% 1.1% 0.8% 0.6% 1.0% 3.8% 4.0%
Inflation
(in percent)
15.1% 5.9% 11.1% 8.4% −2.4% 0.4% 4.8% 4.4% 6.8% 1.0% 2.1% 4.5% 2.5% 1.5% −0.2% 0.1% −1.4% 0.8%
Public debt
(as a percentage of GDP)
... ... ... ... 83% 85% 77% 65% 57% 65% 72% 79% 91% 102% 116% 126% 129% 126%

State budget

The state finances itself mainly from import duties and indirect taxes. In 2004 a value added tax of 15% was introduced. The government is trying to lay the foundation for a more successful development policy by encouraging foreign direct investment.

The state budget in 2015 included expenditure of the equivalent of 490 million US dollars . This was set against income of the equivalent of 374 million US dollars. This results in a budget deficit of 7.1% of the gross domestic product . The national debt in 2005 was about 0.9 billion US dollars or about 90% of GDP, by 2015 it had risen to about 1.6 billion US dollars or about 116.2% of GDP.

The share of government expenditure (in% of GDP) in the following areas was:

traffic

All islands have a road system based on the paths laid out by slaves. Most of the villages can be reached via small slopes. Main streets are usually paved with cobblestones. Little by little, important stretches on all islands are being paved. Some islands now have paved roads, e.g. B. Fogo from S. Filipe to the entrance to the Caldeira des Pico de Fogo, on Santiago the route from Praia to Tarrafal in the north of the island, on S. Nicolau the route Ribeira Brava-Tarrafal, and others. On Santo Antão, an asphalt bypass road with two tunnels was opened to traffic in the southeast of the island, which makes the arduous crossing between Porto Novo and Ribeira Grande over a 1,460 m high pass unnecessary. With the “Circular da Praia”, Praia has a motorway-like ring road around the whole city with a connection to the airport. On Sal there is a two-lane paved highway-like road from the airport to Santa Maria at the southern end of the island.

The entire road network in 2013 comprised around 1350 km, of which 932 km are asphalt.

Local public transport

In the cities of Praia and Mindelo there is a city bus network that serves all parts of the city. With a few exceptions, there is no bus transport in rural regions. So-called Aluguers (= shared taxis, from port. "Aluguel" = "rent" or "alugar" = "rent") with up to 20 seats, which have a very low tariff, take care of the passenger transport on all islands . They usually leave at fixed places in cities and towns when they are full. If they are rented privately as a taxi, the fare is ten times the amount of the collective taxi price. Regular taxis are also available in the larger towns and cities.

Railways do not exist in the country. Today nothing can be seen of a lorry operated by sails on the island of Sal, which used to transport salt from the salt pans to the pier in Santa Maria.

Air traffic

The TACV Cabo Verde Airlines connected previously regularly all islands with each other with the exception of Santo Antao and Brava whose airports were closed. From August 2017 these domestic connections will be taken over by the Spanish airline Binter, based in the Canary Islands. International airports are according to size / traffic volume: Amílcar Cabral International Airport on Sal (near Espargos), Praia "Nelson Mandela", Boavista Airport "Aristides Pereira" (near Rabil) and São Vicente (8 km south of Mindelo near São Pedro) "Cesária Évora", named after the most famous singer in Cape Verde who died in 2011. From the international airports there are a. Connections to Dakar (Senegal), Fortaleza (Brazil), Europe (Portugal, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and others) and the United States (Boston). Numerous other destinations are served seasonally.

Ferry connections

Ferries usually run only irregularly, depending on the respective freight volume. Only the islands of São Vicente and Santo Antão or Fogo and Brava are connected to a regular daily ferry service, as they no longer have airports. A new fast ferry (catamaran) connects Praia with Fogo and Brava daily. Another fast ferry now operates on the São Vicente - Santo Antão route as well as to other islands.

Culture

The Cape Verde culture is of African and European origin. There are various Cape Verdean styles of music , of which Morna is the best known and which is based on the poems of Eugénio Tavares , who is considered the father of an independent literature of Cape Verde. Cesária Évora was probably the most famous Cape Verdean singer. Mayra Andrade (* 1985), born in Cuba to Cape Verdean parents, also achieved international fame. Mindelo is considered by many to be the cultural capital of Cape Verde.

education

Primary education is compulsory for children aged 6 to 14 and free for 6 to 12 year olds. School books are available for 90% of school children. 83% of teachers have completed teacher training. Many students and some teachers speak Creole at home and do not have a perfect command of the Portuguese language. The expenses for school materials, books and meals are not sufficient; for some levels there is a high repetition rate. In addition to the primary schools in Praia, Mindelo etc. a. Secondary schools leading up to university entrance qualification. In 2006, the Universidade de Cabo Verde was founded with the incorporation of several technical colleges, which is developing rapidly. There is also the private Universidade Jean Piaget, a branch of the Instituto Jean Piaget in Portugal.

The literacy rate in 2015 was 87.6% of the population (men: 92.2% / women: 83.1%).

religion

The majority of Cape Verdeans are Roman Catholic (more than 90%). Other Christian denominations are also present in Cape Verde, most notably the Protestant Church of the Nazarene , Seventh-day Adventists , Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Jehovah's Witnesses , Pentecostal churches, and other Adventists . There are small minorities of Muslims and Baha'i . The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God also has followers in Cape Verde. The freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution and respected by the government. There are good relationships between the different faiths.

literature

Cape Verde's literature is one of the richest in Africa.

In 2009 the Cape Verdean poet Arménio Vieira received the Prémio Camões , the most important literary award in the Portuguese-speaking world.

The most famous mythical creatures are Ti Lobo and Chibim (Uncle Wolf and Uncle Goat), Ti Pedro , Ti Ganga and Capotona .

painting

Movie

Cape Verde has so far not been able to develop a distinctive film culture due to its small domestic market and its limited economic situation. However, documentaries and feature films, in particular from Portuguese cinema , have been and are being produced here again and again .

The two best-known feature films shot in Cape Verde are likely to be the internationally award-winning football filmFintar o Destino ” (1998) and the multiple award-winning film “ Nha Fala - My Voice ” (2002).

music

Batuku group "Batukaderas Delta Cultura" performing in Santiago (Cape Verde)
  • Composers: Manuel de Novas , Vasco Martins , Jorge Fernandes Monteiro ( Jotamont ), Francisco Xavier da Cruz (B.Leza), Epifânia Évora (Tututa Évora), Nha Ana Procópio (oral music traditions), Nha Nasia Gomi (oral music traditions), Tibau Tavares
  • Performers: Cesária Évora , Maria Alice, Kim Alves, Mayra Andrade , Terezinha Araújo, Adriano Gonçalves (Bana), Maria de Barros, Rufino Almeida (Bau), Bius, Teofilo Chantre, Gracindo Évora (Grace Évora), Francelina Almeida (Fantcha) , Hermina, Ildo Lobo, Mario Lucio, Maria de Lurdes ( Lura ), Gérard Mendes (Boy Gé Mendes), Luís Morais, Orlando Monteiro Barreto (Orlando Pantera), Aristides Paris ( Tito Paris ), Celina Pereira, Mariana Ramos, Gil Semedo , Daniel Silva, Sara Tavares , Manuel Lopes Andrade (Tcheka), Nancy Vieira, Paulino Vieira, José Carlos Brito (Voghina), Tibau Tavares, Gabriela Mendes, Elida Almeida, Neuza.
  • Bands: Bulimundo, Cordas do Sol, Ferro Gaita, Finaçon, Livity, Simentera, Splash, Os Tubarões.

Sports

The national sport in Cape Verde is football . It is represented internationally by the Cape Verdean national football team . The team was able to qualify for the Africa Cup for the first time in 2012 . In the 2013 draw, she achieved her greatest success to date by making it into the quarter-finals, after remaining undefeated in the group stage. The best placement in the FIFA world rankings was achieved in February 2014 with the 27th place.

media

In the 2019 press freedom list published by Reporters Without Borders , Cape Verde was ranked 25th out of 180 countries. Cape Verde is ahead of France , Great Britain and the United States in the ranking of press freedom .

TV channel:

Radio stations:

Magazines:

  • A Semana (Praia, 1991–), Expresso das Ilhas, Journal O Cidadão (São Vicente), Jornal Horizonte (Praia, 1988–), Terra Nova (S. Vicente, 1975–), Artiletra (S. Vicente, 1991–) , A Nação (Praia, 2007–), Jornal Já - semanário gratuita (Praia, 2010–)

Web links

Commons : Cape Verde  - Collection of images
Wikivoyage: Cape Verde  - Travel Guide
Wikimedia Atlas: Cape Verde  - geographical and historical maps
Wiktionary: Cape Verde  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

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  2. [2]
  3. [3] (PDF) International Monetary Fund
  4. [4] United Nations Development Program ( UNDP ),
  5. Cabo Verde: Travel and Safety Advice . As of March 29, 2014
  6. https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/de/home/vertretungen-und-reisehinweise/kap-verde.html
  7. A HISTÓRIA DE CABO VERDE ( Memento of May 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive ). portoncv.gov.cv. Retrieved May 25, 2015
  8. http://asemana.sapo.cv/spip.php?article53126&ak=1 ( Memento from May 1, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) População cabo-verdiana: 57% dos genes são de origem africana e 43%, de origem europeia , Article of the Cape Verdean weekly newspaper A Semana.
  9. Source: UN: World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations. Retrieved July 28, 2017 .
  10. a b c d e f g CIA World Factbook: Cape Verde (English)
  11. World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations. Retrieved August 7, 2017 .
  12. ^ WHO Regional Office for Africa - Cabo Verde Country Office: Country Health System Fact Sheet 2006 - Cape Verde (PDF). In: Cabo Verde WHO Country Office Statistics . Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  13. Blog “O descobrimento de Cabo Verde” (The discovery of Cape Verde) May 22, 2009 (Portuguese)
  14. Atlantico Weekly February 7, 2011 (English)
  15. Democracy-Index 2019 Overview chart with comparative values ​​to previous years , on economist.com
  16. a b June Hannam, Mitzi Auchterlonie, Katherine Holden: International Encyclopedia of Women's Suffrage. ABC-Clio, Santa Barbara, Denver, Oxford 2000, ISBN 1-57607-064-6 , p. 10.
  17. a b c - New Parline: the IPU's Open Data Platform (beta). In: data.ipu.org. April 15, 1975, accessed September 30, 2018 .
  18. ^ A b Mart Martin: The Almanac of Women and Minorities in World Politics. Westview Press Boulder, Colorado, 2000, p. 73.
  19. Suzano Costa: A Política Externa Cabo-Verdiana na Encruzilhada Atlântica: entre a África, e Europa e as Américas - "Cape Verde's foreign policy at the crossroads in the Atlantic: between Africa, Europe and the Americas" , PDF download of a scientific paper at the University of Lisbon , accessed May 11, 2019
  20. Cabo Verde e os desafios da política internacional - "Cape Verde and the challenges of international politics" , PDF retrieval from the scientific journals Revista Estudos Políticos No. 7 (2013/02), accessed on May 11, 2019
  21. Military expenditure by country as percentage of gross domestic product 2001-2017. (PDF) SIPRI, accessed on July 17, 2018 .
  22. ^ Military expenditure by country in US $ 2001-2017. (PDF) SIPRI, accessed on July 17, 2018 .
  23. ^ Carlos Ferreira Couto, Incerteza, adaptabilidade e inovação na sociedade rural de Santiago de Cabo Verde , Lisbon: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, 2010.
  24. See Brígida Rocha Brito: Turismo em Meio Insular Africano: Potencialidades, constrangimentos e impactos. Gerpress, Lisbon 2010.
  25. ^ Decent work agenda ( Memento of December 13, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), ILO
  26. Julia Raabe: "The borders of the EU are here in Cape Verde". The African island nation is considered a success story. In: Der Standard , June 21, 2010.
  27. United Nations Development Program (UNDP): Human Development Report 2015 . Ed .: German Society for the United Nations eV Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, Berlin ( undp.org [PDF; 9.3 MB ; accessed on November 3, 2016]). Page 247.
  28. Becky Stuart: 5 MW PV park completed in Cape Verde. In: PV-Magazine , November 2, 2010.
  29. ^ Report for Selected Countries and Subjects. Retrieved September 10, 2018 (American English).
  30. ^ Víctor Reis: Desenvolvimento em Cabo Verde: As opções estratégicas eo investimento directo estrangeiro. MIMO, Lisbon 2011.
  31. External and Public Debt Sustainability Analysis (PDF; 93 kB)
  32. Ferry and Ship in Cape Verde , information on bela-vista.net, accessed on September 3, 2014
  33. Cape Verde. US Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 2001, archived from the original on August 28, 2008 ; Retrieved January 25, 2010 .
  34. See the university's website .
  35. See the university's website .
  36. ^ The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed August 7, 2017 .
  37. Cape Verde celebrates the "Blue Sharks". In: T-Online , October 15, 2012.
  38. Switzerland climbs - Movement in Africa. Fifa World Ranking News, sighted February 12, 2014.
  39. Ranking list of press freedom 2019 (PDF) Reporters Without Borders, April 18, 2019, p. 2 , accessed on May 3, 2019 .
  40. Website A Semana (Portuguese)

Coordinates: 16 °  N , 24 °  W