Poor in natural resources, prone to drought and with only 10% arable land, the Cape Verde islands are heavily dependent on food imports, sometimes in the form of aid.
A former Portuguese colony, Cape Verde comprises 10 islands and five islets, all but three of which are mountainous.
During the 20th century severe droughts caused the deaths of 200,000 people, prompting heavy emigration, with the result that more people with origins in Cape Verde live outside the country than inside it. The money that they send home brings in much-needed foreign currency.
From the mid-1990s, droughts cut the islands' grain crop by 80%, and in 2002 the government appealed for international food aid after the harvest failed.
Nonetheless, the country enjoys a per capita income that is higher than that of many continental African nations. Tourism is growing in importance, with Cape Verde's ecological and cultural attractions drawing visitors.
Cape Verde became independent in 1975, a year after its sister colony, Guinea-Bissau, won freedom from Portugal. The two countries planned to unite, but the plan was ditched after a coup in Guinea-Bissau in 1980 resulted in strained relations.
In 1991 Cape Verde held its first free presidential elections, which were won by Antonio Mascarenhas Monteiro, who replaced the islands' first president, Aristides Pereira.
Population: 482,000 (UN, 2005)
Capital: Praia
Area: 4,033 sq km (1,557 sq miles)
Major languages: Portuguese, Crioulo (a mixture of archaic Portuguese and African words)
Major religions: Christianity
Life expectancy: 67 years (men), 73 years (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: 1 Cape Verdean escudo = 100 centavos
Main exports: Shoes, clothes, fish, bananas, hides, pozzolana (a volcanic rock used in making cement)
GNI per capita: US $1,440 (World Bank, 2005)
Internet domain: .cv
International dialling code: +238
President: Pedro de Verona Rodrigues Pires
Pedro Pires: a veteran left winger |
Pedro Pires was inaugurated in March 2001 after beating beat his rival, Carlos Veiga, by just 17 votes in February. He succeeded Antonio Mascarenhas Monteiro.
Mr Pires and Mr Veiga have been Cape Verde's dominant political personalities since independence in 1975. Both men are former prime ministers.
Mr Pires, from the African Party for the Indpendence of Cape Verde, led the country from 1975 to 1990, when he lost Cape Verde's first multi-party elections to Mr Veiga's Movement for Democracy.
Pedro Pires was born on the island of Fogo. He is a veteran of the struggle for independence from Portugal.
Prime minister: Jose Maria Pereira Neves
Foreign minister: Victor Manuel Barbosa Borges
Finance minister: Joao Serra
Press freedom is guaranteed by law and generally respected. However, the press, radio and television broadcasts are mainly under state control.
There are some privately-owned radio stations which at times do criticise the government. Portuguese radio and Radio France Internationale are available via FM relays.
The press
Horizonte - daily
Novo Jornal De Cabo Verde - weekly
A Semana - weekly
Television
Televisao Nacional De Cabo Verde - state-run
Radio
Radio Nacional De Cabo Verde - state-run
Radio Nova - Sao Vicente-based
Radio Comercial - Praia-based
News agency
Inforpress - state-run 
