Cape Verde » Introduction

Basic Economic Facts

GDP Composition by Sector

Cape Verde has significant cooperation with Portugal at every level of the economy, leading it to link its currency first to the Portuguese escudo, and, in 1999, to the euro. Former Portuguese prime minister José Manuel Durão Barroso, now (second semester 2004) president of the European Commission, has promised to help integrate Cape Verde within the European Union sphere of influence via greater cooperation with Portugal. In March 2005, former Portuguese president Mário Soares launched a petition urging the European Union to start membership talks with Cape Verde.

Cape Verde has been on the list of the United Nations Small Island Developing States, and Least Developed Countries. In 2007 the United Nations graduated Cape Verde from the category of Least Developed Countries, only the second time this has happened to a country.