Natural resources: salt, basalt rock, limestone, kaolin, fish, clay, gypsum
Land use: arable land: 11.41% permanent crops: 0.74% other: 87.85% (2005)
Irrigated land:
30 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards:
prolonged droughts; seasonal harmattan wind produces obscuring
dust; volcanically and seismically active
Environment - current issues: soil erosion; deforestation due to demand for wood used as fuel; desertification; environmental damage has threatened several species of birds and reptiles; illegal beach sand extraction; overfishing
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
strategic location 500 km from west coast of Africa near major
north-south sea routes; important communications station; important
sea and air refueling site
People Cape Verde
Population:
420,979 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 37.9% (male 80,594/female 79,126)
15-64 years: 55.3% (male 113,450/female 119,423)
65 years and over: 6.7% (male 10,542/female 17,844) (2006 est.)