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Geography of Cameroon

At 475440 km2, Cameroon is the world's 53rd largest country. It is slightly larger than the nation of Sweden and the US state of California. It is comparable in size to Papua New Guinea. Cameroon's landmass is 472710 km2, with 2730 km2 of water.

The country is located in Central and West Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria.

Cameroon is sometimes described as "Africa in miniature" because it exhibits all the major climates and vegetation of the continent: mountains, desert, rain forest, savanna grassland, and ocean coastland. Cameroon can be divided into five geographic zones. These are distinguished by dominant physical, climatic, and vegetative features.

Natural regions

Cameroon's coastal plain extends 10 to 50 mi inland from the Gulf of Guinea (part of the Atlantic Ocean) to the edge of a plateau. In the former western state, however, the mass of Mount Cameroon reaches almost to the sea. The plain is densely forested including areas of Central African mangroves especially around Douala and in the estuary of the Cross River on the border with Nigeria.

A recent global remote sensing analysis suggested that there were 643 km2 of tidal flats in Cameroon, making it the 39th ranked country in terms of tidal flat area.

The low South Cameroon Plateau, rising from the coastal plain and dominated by tropical rain forest, has an average elevation of 1500 to 2000 ft. It is less humid than the coast.

In western Cameroon is an irregular chain of mountains, hills, and plateaus that extends from Mount Cameroon almost to Lake Chad at the northern tip of the country. This region includes the Bamenda, Bamiléké, and Mambilla highlands. It also contains some of the country's most fertile soils, notably around volcanic Mt. Cameroon. This area of tropical forest has been categorised by the World Wildlife Fund as the Cameroonian Highlands forests ecoregion with Mount Cameroon considered separately because as an active volcano it has a distinct environment from the other mountains.

From the forested southern plateau the land rises northward to the grassy, rugged Adamaoua (Adamawa) highlands. Stretching across Cameroon from the western mountain area, the Adamaoua forms a barrier between the north and south. Its average elevation is 3400 ft.

The southern savanna plain extends from the edge of the Adamaoua to Lake Chad. Its characteristic vegetation is scrub and grass. This is region of sparse rainfall and high median temperatures has been included as part of the East Sudanian savanna ecoregion.

Climate
The climate varies with terrain, from tropical along the coast to semiarid and hot in the north. Exceedingly hot and humid, the coastal belt includes some of the wettest places on earth. For example, Debundscha, at the base of Mt. Cameroon, has an average annual rainfall of 405 in.

Biodiversity
The wide diversity of climates and natural regions of Cameroon, as coastline, mountains, savanna, deserts, and tropical forests, allows that the country counts with rich biodiversity. Twenty-two million hectares from the Congo Basin forest ecosystem are located in Cameroon, where 9,000 plant species, 900 bird species, and 320 mammals species live, included 156 endemic plants, eight endemic birds, and 14 endemic mammals. The border with Nigeria has one of the highest concentration of biodiversity in Africa.

As part of the conservation efforts to protect threatened natural resources, Cameroon has established protected areas since 1932, included national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, faunal reserves, and one flora sanctuary.

Cameroon had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 8.00/10, ranking it 29th globally out of 172 countries.

Rivers
The country has four patterns of drainage. In the south, the principal rivers flow southwestward or westward directly to the Gulf of Guinea – the Wouri, and lesser Dibamba, Bimbia and Mungo to the Cameroon estuary near Douala; Sanaga, Nyong, and Ntem further south along the coast; Akwayafe and Manyu (which joins Nigerian Cross), and the lesser Ndian and Meme north of the coast. The Dja and Kadeï, however, drain southeastward into the Congo River. In northern Cameroon, the Benoué River (Benue) runs north and west, eventually into the Niger, while the Logone River flows northward into Lake Chad.

Some of the borders of Cameron follow rivers, including the Aïna, Akwayafe, and Ntem or Campo.

Data
Location: Central Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria

Geographic coordinates: 6°N, 12°W

Continent: Africa

Area: total: 475,440 km2 land: 472,710 km2 water: 2,730 km2 country rank in the world: 53rd

Area – comparative:
 * Australia comparative: slightly more than twice the size of Victoria
 * Canada comparative: slightly smaller than the Yukon
 * United Kingdom comparative: slightly less than twice the size of the United Kingdom
 * United States comparative: slightly more than $1⁄10$ larger than California
 * EU comparative: slightly smaller than Spain; slightly larger than Sweden

Land boundaries: total: 5,018 km border countries: Central African Republic 901 km, Chad 1,116 km, Republic of the Congo 494 km, Equatorial Guinea 183 km, Gabon 349 km, Nigeria 1,975 km

Coastline: 402 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nmi

Terrain: diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Fako (on. Mt. Cameroon) 4,095 m

Natural resources: petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 13.12% permanent crops: 3.28% other: 83.61% (2012)

Irrigated land: 256.5 km2 (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 285.5 km3 (2011)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): total: 0.97 km3/yr (23%/10%/68%) per capita: 58.9 m3/yr (2005)

Natural hazards: Recent limnic eruptions with release of carbon dioxide:
 * from Lake Monoun, 15 August 1984, killing 37
 * from Lake Nyos, 21 August 1986, killing as many as 1,800

Environment – current issues: water-borne diseases are prevalent; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; poaching; overfishing

Environment – international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban

Geography – note: sometimes referred to as 'the hinge of Africa;' throughout the country there are areas of thermal springs and indications of current or prior volcanic activity; Mount Cameroon, the highest mountain in Sub-Saharan west Africa, is an active volcano

Extreme points
This is a list of the extreme points of Cameroon, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.

 * Northernmost point – unnamed peninsula jutting into Lake Chad, Far North Region
 * Easternmost point – unnamed location on the border with the Republic of Congo in the Sangha River opposite the Congolese town of Bomassa, East Region
 * Southernmost point – unnamed headland at the confluence on the Sangha River and the Ngoko River immediately north of the Congolese town of Ouesso, East Region
 * Westernmost point – unnamed point on Akwabana Island, Southwest Region

title: Geography of Cameroon


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Demographics of Cameroon

The demographic profile of Cameroon is complex for a country of its population. Cameroon comprises an estimated 250 distinct ethnic groups, which may be formed into five large regional-cultural divisions:
 * western highlanders (Semi-Bantu or grassfielders), including the Bamileke, Bamum (or Bamoun), and many smaller Tikar groups in the Northwest (est. 38% of total population);
 * coastal tropical forest peoples, including the Bassa, Duala (or Douala), and many smaller groups in the Southwest (12%);
 * southern tropical forest peoples, including the Beti-Pahuin, Bulu (a subgroup of Beti-Pahuin), Fang (subgroup of Beti-Pahuin), Maka, Njem, and Baka pygmies (18%);
 * predominantly Islamic peoples of the northern semi-arid regions (the Sahel) and central highlands, including the Fulani (Peul or Peuhl; Fulɓe) (14%); and
 * the "Kirdi", non-Islamic or recently Islamic peoples of the northern desert and central highlands (18%).

113,000 Igbo people live in Cameroon. The Cameroon government held two national censuses during the country's first 44 years as an independent country, in 1976 and again in 1987. Results from the second head count were never published. A third census, expected to take years to produce results, began on November 11, 2005, with a three-week interviewing phase. It is one of a series of projects and reforms required by the International Monetary Fund as prerequisites for foreign debt relief. The first results were published in 2010.

Population
According to the total population was  in, compared to only 4 466 000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 40.6%, 55.9% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 3.5% was 65 years or older.

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.I.2010) (Data refer to national projections.):

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2019) (Source: Population projections and estimates of priority targets for the various health programs and interventions, National Institute of Statistics (2016).):

Fertility and births
Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):

Fertility data as of 2011 (DHS Program):

Vital statistics
Registration of vital events is in Cameroon not complete. The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.

Ethnic groups

 * Cameroon Highlanders 31%
 * Equatorial Bantu 19%
 * Kirdi 11%
 * Fulani 10%
 * Baggara Arabs (also called Arab Shuwa)
 * Hausa
 * Mafa
 * Kanuri
 * Northwestern Bantu 8%
 * Eastern Nigritic 7%
 * Other African 13%
 * Non-African less than 1%

Languages

There are 24 major African language groups in Cameroon; additionally, English and French are official languages. Cameroonian Pidgin English is also widely spoken.

Peoples concentrated in the Southwest and Northwest Provinces—around Buea and Bamenda—use standard English and Cameroonian Pidgin English, as well as their local languages. In the three northern provinces—Adamawa, North, and Far North—either French or Fulfulde (the language of the Fulani) is widely spoken. Elsewhere, French is the principal second language, although pidgin and some local languages such as Ewondo, the dialect of a Beti clan from the Yaoundé area, have a wide currency. In Far North Region the northernmost constituent province of Cameroon, Mafa Language Arab Shuwa (an Arab dialect) and is spoken by the Baggara Arabs (also called Arab Shuwa).

Indigenous languages of Cameroon include:
 * Arab Shuwa
 * Bamum
 * Basaa
 * Bikya
 * Bung
 * Kanuri
 * Ngumba
 * Yeni
 * Lamnso
 * Meta'
 * Mafa

Other demographic statistics

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022.

 * One birth every 34 seconds
 * One death every 2 minutes
 * One net migrant every 111 minutes
 * Net gain of one person every 46 seconds

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook.

Population

 * 29,321,637 (2022 est.)
 * 25,640,965 (July 2018 est.)
 * 24,994,885 (2017 est.)
 * Note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2018 est.)

Religion
Roman Catholic 38.3%, Protestant 25.5%, other Christian 6.9%, Muslim 24.4%, animist 2.2%, other 0.5%, none 2.2% (2018 est.)

Age structure

 * 0-14 years: 42.34% (male 5,927,640/female 5,820,226)
 * 15-24 years: 20.04% (male 2,782,376/female 2,776,873)
 * 25-54 years: 30.64% (male 4,191,151/female 4,309,483)
 * 55-64 years: 3.87% (male 520,771/female 552,801)
 * 65 years and over: 3.11% (male 403,420/female 460,248) (2020 est.)

 * 0-14 years: 42.15% (male 5,445,142 /female 5,362,166)
 * 15-24 years: 19.6% (male 2,524,031 /female 2,502,072)
 * 25-54 years: 31.03% (male 4,001,963 /female 3,954,258)
 * 55-64 years: 3.99% (male 499,101 /female 524,288)
 * 65 years and over: 3.23% (male 384,845 /female 443,099) (2018 est.)

Birth rate

 * 35.53 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 14th
 * 35 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 21st
 * 35.4 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)

Death rate

 * 7.73 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 101st
 * 9.4 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 49th
 * 9.6 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)

Total fertility rate

 * 4.5 children born/woman (2023 est.) Country comparison to the world: 17th
 * 4.55 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 19th
 * 4.58 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 24th
 * According to Cameroon government website, average children per woman was 5.0 in 2004, 4.7 in 2016.

Net migration rate

 * -0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 119th
 * -0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.) Country comparison to the world: 104th
 * -0.1 migrants/1,000 population (2017 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

 * 20.1 years (2018 est.)
 * note: median age at first birth among women 25-49

 * 19.7 years (2011 est.)
 * note: median age at first birth among women 25-29

Median age

 * total: 18.5 years. Country comparison to the world: 209th
 * male: 18.2 years
 * female: 18.8 years (2020 est.)

 * total: 18.6 years. Country comparison to the world: 208th
 * male: 18.5 years
 * female: 18.7 years (2018 est.)

 * total: 18.5 years
 * male: 18.4 years
 * female: 18.7 years (2017 est.)

Population growth rate

 * 2.75% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 15th
 * 2.54% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 20th
 * 2.56% (2013 est.)

Urbanization

 * urban population: 58.7% of total population (2022)
 * rate of urbanization: 3.43% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

 * urban population: 56.4% of total population (2018)
 * rate of urbanization: 3.63% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

 * Urban population: 58% of total population (2010)
 * Rate of urbanization: 3.3% annual rate of change (2010–15 est.)

Sex ratio

 * At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
 * Under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
 * 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
 * 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female
 * Total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

 * total population: 63.27 years Country comparison to the world: 210th
 * male: 61.49 years
 * female: 65.09 years (2022 est.)

 * total population: 59 years
 * male: 57.6 years
 * female: 60.4 years (2017 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

 * 19.3% (2018)
 * 34.4% (2014)

Dependency ratios

 * total dependency ratio: 85.9 (2015 est.)
 * youth dependency ratio: 80 (2015 est.)
 * elderly dependency ratio: 5.9 (2015 est.)
 * potential support ratio: 17 (2015 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

 * total: 12 years
 * male: 13 years
 * female: 11 years (2016)

HIV/AIDS

 * Adult prevalence rate: 3.7% (2017 est.)
 * People living with HIV/AIDS: 510,000 (2017 est.)
 * Deaths: 24,000 (2017 est.)

Major infectious diseases

 * Degree of risk: very high
 * Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and hepatitis E, and typhoid fever
 * Vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever
 * Water contact disease: schistosomiasis
 * Respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
 * Animal contact disease: rabies (2009)

Nationality

 * Noun: Cameroonian(s)
 * Adjective: Cameroonian

Literacy

 * Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
 * Total population: 77.1% (2018 est.)
 * Male: 82.6%
 * Female: 71.6%

Education expenditure

 * 2.8% of GDP (2013)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Demographics of Cameroon


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Politics of Cameroon

The politics of Cameroon takes place in the context of an electoral autocracy where multi-party elections have been held since 1992, the ruling party wins every election, and Paul Biya has been president since 1982. Since Cameroon's independence in 1960, it has been a single-party state and ruled only by two presidents: Ahmadou Ahidjo and Paul Biya. Political opposition are repressed and elections are manipulated in favor of the ruling party.

Nominally, it is a unitary presidential republic, whereby the President of Cameroon is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. A prime ministerial position exists and is nominally head of government, implying a semi-presidential system, although de facto only serves to assist the president. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly of Cameroon.

Political background
The government adopted legislation in 1997 to authorize the formation of multiple political parties and ease restrictions on forming civil associations and private newspapers. Cameroon's first multiparty legislative and presidential elections were held in 1992 followed by municipal elections in 1996 and another round of legislative and presidential elections in 1997. Because the government refused to consider opposition demands for an independent election commission, the three major opposition parties boycotted the October 1997 presidential election, which Biya easily won. The leader of one of the opposition parties, Bello Bouba Maigari of the NUDP, subsequently joined the government.

Cameroon has a number of independent newspapers. Censorship was abolished in 1996, but the government sometimes seizes or suspends newspapers and occasionally arrests journalists. Although a 1990 law authorizes private radio and television stations, the government has not granted any licenses as of March 1998.

The Cameroonian Government's human rights record has been improving over the years but remains flawed. There continue to be reported abuses, including beatings of detainees, arbitrary arrests, and illegal searches. The judiciary is frequently corrupt, inefficient, and subject to political influence.

Worthy of note is the fact that Cameroon is the only country in which two Constitutions are applicable side by side. For example, the 1972 Constitution designates the Prime Minister as constitutional successor of the Head of State in case of incapacity, death, resignation or unaccountable absence of the incumbent. Contrarily, the 1996 Constitutional Reform designates the President of the Senate as constitutional successor; but the Senate (provided for by 1996 Reform) does not exist. Apart from increasing the presidential mandate from 5 years to 7 years, very few amendments of the 1996 Constitutional Reform have been applied.

Executive branch
The 1972 constitution of the Republic of Cameroon as modified by 1996 reforms provides for a strong central government dominated by the executive. The president is empowered to name and dismiss cabinet members (regardless of parliamentary representation), judges, generals, provincial governors, prefects, sub-prefects, and heads of Cameroon's parastatal (about 100 state-controlled) firms, obligate or disburse expenditures, approve or veto regulations, declare states of emergency, and appropriate and spend profits of parastatal firms. The president is not required to consult the National Assembly. In 2008, a constitutional amendment was passed that eliminated term limits for president.
 * President
 * Paul Biya
 * Cameroon People's Democratic Movement
 * 6 November 1982
 * Prime Minister
 * Joseph Dion Ngute
 * Cameroon People's Democratic Movement
 * 4 January 2019
 * }
 * }

The judiciary is subordinate to the executive branch's Ministry of Justice. The Supreme court may review the constitutionality of a law only at the president's request.

All local government officials are employees of the central government's Ministry of Territorial Administration, from which local governments also get most of their budgets.

While the president, the minister of justice, and the president's judicial advisers (the Supreme Court) top the judicial hierarchy, traditional rulers, courts, and councils also exercise functions of government. Traditional courts still play a major role in domestic, property, and probate law. Tribal laws and customs are honored in the formal court system when not in conflict with national law. Traditional rulers receive stipends from the national government.

Legislative branch
The 180-member National Assembly meets in ordinary session three times a year (March/April, June/July, and November/December), and has seldom, until recently, made major changes in legislation proposed by the executive. Laws are adopted by majority vote of members present or, if the president demands a second reading, of a total membership.

Following government pledges to reform the strongly centralized 1972 constitution, the National Assembly adopted a number of amendments in December 1995 which were promulgated in January 1996. The amendments call for the establishment of a 100-member senate as part of a bicameral legislature, the creation of regional councils, and the fixing of the presidential term to 7 years, renewable once. One-third of senators are to be appointed by the President, and the remaining two-thirds are to be chosen by indirect elections. The government has established the Senate in 2013.

Judicial branch
The judiciary is subordinate to the executive branch's Ministry of Justice. The Supreme Court may review the constitutionality of a law only at the president's request.

The role of women
In an article on the construction of a ‘model Cameroonian woman’ in the Cameroonian parliament, Lilian Atanga, examines arguments used to perpetuate a popular ideal and discourses which "sustain and maintain the status quo (e.g. of women as domestic or women as cooks)".

International organization participation
Cameroon is member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, C, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, ITUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UDEAC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

title: Politics of Cameroon


text:
Economy of Cameroon

The economy of Cameroon was one of the most prosperous in Africa for a quarter of a century after independence. The drop in commodity prices for its principal exports – petroleum, cocoa, coffee, and cotton – in the mid-1980s, combined with an overvalued currency and economic mismanagement, led to a decade-long recession. Real per capita GDP fell by more than 60% from 1986 to 1994. The current account and fiscal deficits widened, and foreign debt grew. Yet because of its oil reserves and favorable agricultural conditions, Cameroon still has one of the best-endowed primary commodity economies in sub-Saharan Africa.

Agriculture
In 2018, Cameroon produced:

 * 5million tons of cassava (13th largest producer in the world);
 * 3.9million tonnes of plantain (3rd largest producer in the world, only behind Congo and Ghana);
 * 2.6million tons of palm oil (7th largest producer in the world);
 * 2.3million tons of maize;
 * 1.9million tons of taro (3rd largest producer in the world, second only to Nigeria and China);
 * 1.4million tons of sorghum;
 * 1.2million tons of banana;
 * 1.2million tons of sugarcane;
 * 1million tons of tomato (19th largest producer in the world);
 * 674,000 tonnes of yam (7th largest producer in the world);
 * 594,000 tons of peanut;
 * 410,000 tons of sweet potato;
 * 402,000 tons of beans;
 * 332,000 tons of rice;
 * 310,000 tons of pineapple;
 * 307,000 tons of cocoa (5th largest producer in the world, after Ivory Coast, Ghana, Indonesia and Nigeria);
 * 302,000 tons of potato;
 * 301,000 tons of onion;
 * 249,000 tons of cotton.

In addition to smaller productions of other agricultural products, such as coffee (33,000 tons) and natural rubber (55,000 tons).

Finance and banking
Cameroon's financial system is the largest in the CEMAC region. Access to financial services is limited, particularly for SMEs. Aside from a traditional tendency for banks to prefer dealing with large, established companies, determining factors are also found in interest rates for loans to SMEs being capped at 15 percent and being heavily taxed. As of 2006, bank loans to SMEs hardly reached 15 percent of total outstanding loans (Molua, 2002).

Less than 5 percent of Cameroonians have access to a bank account. While the microfinance sector is consequently becoming increasingly important, its development is hampered by a loose regulatory and supervisory framework for microfinance institutions (MFIs). The banking sector is highly concentrated and dominated by foreign commercial banks. 6 out of the 11 largest commercial banks are foreign-owned, and the three largest banks hold more than 50 percent of total financial system assets. While foreign banks generally display good solvency ratios, small domestic banks are in a much weaker position. Their capitalization is well below the average of banks in the CEMAC region and their profits are close to 2 percent, compared to 20 percent for foreign banks in the country. This is partially explained by the high levels of non-performing loans, which reached 12 percent in 2007, leading to most banks holding large amounts of excess reserves as a percentage of deposits and large levels of unutilized liquidity.

In 2018, Cameroon's financial system is being requested by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to increase its tax base to cover the losses from the North-West and South-West Cameroon's regions instabilities, the loss of oil revenue, the failure to deliver on port facilities, and the decline in oil production from mature oil fields.

Macro-economic trend
Cameroon became an oil-producing country in 1977. Claiming to want to make reserves for difficult times, the authorities manage "off-budget" oil revenues in total opacity (the funds are placed in Paris, Switzerland and New York accounts). Several billion dollars are thus diverted to the benefit of oil companies and regime officials. The influence of France and its 9,000 nationals in Cameroon remains considerable. African Affairs magazine noted in the early 1980s that they "continue to dominate almost all key sectors of the economy, much as they did before independence. French nationals control 55% of the modern sector of the Cameroonian economy and their control over the banking system is total.

Recent signs, however, are encouraging. As of March 1998, Cameroon's fifth IMF program – a 3-year enhanced structural adjustment program approved in August 1997 – is on track. Cameroon has rescheduled its Paris Club debt at favorable terms. GDP has grown by about 5% a year beginning in 1995. There is cautious optimism that Cameroon is emerging from its long period of economic hardship.

The Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) signed recently by the IMF and Government of Cameroon calls for greater macroeconomic planning and financial accountability; privatization of most of Cameroon's nearly 100 remaining non-financial parastatal enterprises; elimination of state marketing board monopolies on the export of cocoa, certain coffees, and cotton; privatization and price competition in the banking sector; implementation of the 1992 labor code; a vastly improved judicial system; and political liberalization to boost investment.

France is Cameroon's main trading partner and source of private investment and foreign aid. Cameroon has an investment guaranty agreement and a bilateral accord with the United States. USA investment in Cameroon is about $1 million, most of it in the oil sector. Inflation has been brought back under control. Cameroon aims at becoming emerging by 2035.

The government embarked upon a series of economic reform programs supported by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) beginning in the late 1980s. Many of these measures have been painful; the government slashed civil service salaries by 65% in 1993. The CFA franc – the common currency of Cameroon and 13 other African states – was devalued by 50% in January 1994. The government failed to meet the conditions of the first four IMF programs.

This is a chart of trend of gross domestic product of Cameroon at market prices estimated by the International Monetary Fund with figures in millions of Central African CFA Francs.

The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980–2022. Inflation below 5% is in green.

title: Economy of Cameroon


text:
Telecommunications in Cameroon

Telecommunications in Cameroon include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.

History
During German rule, It was set up in the protectorate of Kamerun the first telegraph line, the first telephone line, and the first wireless telegraph. However, the country remained undeveloped in telecommunications. During First World War, Germans followed a scorched-earth policy that meant the destruction of communication lines, included telephone and telegraph.

In British Cameroon, from 1916 to 1950s, communications in the country relied on flag post runners that had been described as "human telephone lines". Paths followed by the runners served as a base of the development of telegraph lines in the territory. For instance, the line from Buea-Kumba to Ossidinge used the same paths that the mail runners. In the mid-1930s, the wiring of British Cameroon received more support.

Radio and television

 * Radio stations:
 * state-owned Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV); one private radio broadcaster; about 70 privately owned, unlicensed radio stations operating, but subject to closure at any time; foreign news services are required to partner with a state-owned national station (2007);
 * 2 AM, 9 FM, and 3 shortwave stations (2001).
 * Television stations:
 * state-owned Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), 2 private TV broadcasters (2007);
 * one station (2001).

BBC World Service radio is available via local relays (98.4 FM in Yaounde, the capital).

The government maintains tight control over broadcast media. State-owned Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), operates both a TV and a radio network. It was the only officially recognized and fully licensed broadcaster until August 2007 when the government issued licenses to two private TV and one private radio broadcasters.

Approximately 375 privately owned radio stations were operating in 2012, three-fourths of them in Yaounde and Douala. The government requires nonprofit rural radio stations to submit applications to broadcast, but they were exempt from licensing fees. Commercial radio and television broadcasters must submit a licensing application and pay an application fee and thereafter pay a high annual licensing fee. Several rural community radio stations function with foreign funding. The government prohibits these stations from discussing politics.

In spite of the government's tight control, Reporters Without Borders reported in its 2011 field survey that "[i]t is clear from the diversity of the media and the outspoken reporting style that press freedom is a reality".

Telephones

 * Calling code: +237
 * International call prefix: 00
 * Main lines:
 * 737,400 lines in use, 88th in the world (2012);
 * 130,700 lines in use (2006).
 * Mobile cellular:
 * 13.1 million lines, 64th in the world (2012);
 * 4.5 million lines (2007).
 * Telephone system: system includes cable, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter; Camtel, the monopoly provider of fixed-line service, provides connections for only about 3 per 100 persons; equipment is old and outdated, and connections with many parts of the country are unreliable; mobile-cellular usage, in part a reflection of the poor condition and general inadequacy of the fixed-line network, has increased sharply, reaching a subscribership base of 50 per 100 persons (2011).
 * Communications cables: South Atlantic 3/West Africa Submarine Cable (SAT-3/WASC) fiber-optic cable system provides connectivity to Europe and Asia (2011); Africa Coast to Europe (ACE), cable system connecting countries along the west coast of Africa to each other and to Portugal and France, is planned.
 * Satellite earth stations: 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2011).

Internet

 * Top-level domain: .cm
 * Internet users:
 * 1.1 million users, 113th in the world; 5.7% of the population, 184th in the world (2012).
 * 985,565 users (2011);
 * 749,600 users, 106th in the world (2009).
 * Fixed broadband: 1,006 subscriptions, 180th in the world; less than 0.05% of the population, 190th in the world (2012).
 * Wireless broadband: Unknown (2012).
 * Internet hosts:
 * 10,207 hosts, 134th in the world (2012);
 * 69 hosts (2008).
 * IPv4: 137,728 addresses allocated, less than 0.05% of the world total, 6.8 addresses per 1000 people (2012).
 * Internet service providers (ISPs):
 * Creolink Communications

A number of projects are underway that will improve Internet access, telecommunications, and Information and communications technology (ICT) in general:
 * Implementation of the e-post project, connecting 234 post offices throughout the country;
 * Extension of the national optical fiber network, installation of the initial 3,200 km of fiber is complete and studies for the installation of an additional 3,400 km are underway;
 * Construction of multipurpose community telecentres, some 115 telecentres are operating with an additional 205 under construction;
 * Construction of metropolitan optical loops, the urban optical loop of Douala is complete and construction of the Yaounde loop is underway;
 * Construction of submarine cable landing points;
 * Establishment of public key infrastructure (PKI);
 * Construction of a regional technology park to support the development of ICTs.

Internet censorship and surveillance
There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet or reports that the government monitors e-mail or Internet chat rooms.

Although the law provides for freedom of speech and press, it also criminalizes media offenses, and the government restricts freedoms of speech and press. Government officials threaten, harass, arrest, and deny equal treatment to individuals or organizations that criticize government policies or express views at odds with government policy. Individuals who criticize the government publicly or privately sometimes face reprisals. Press freedom is constrained by strict libel laws that suppress criticism. These laws authorize the government, at its discretion and the request of the plaintiff, to criminalize a civil libel suit or to initiate a criminal libel suit in cases of alleged libel against the president and other high government officials. Such crimes are punishable by prison terms and heavy fines.

Although the constitution and law prohibit arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, these rights are subject to restriction for the "higher interests of the state", and there are credible reports that police and gendarmes harass citizens, conduct searches without warrants, and open or seize mail with impunity.

title: Telecommunications in Cameroon


text:
Transport in Cameroon

This article provides a breakdown of the transportation options available in Cameroon. These options are available to citizens and tourists such as railways, roadways, waterways, pipelines, and airlines. These avenues of transport are used by citizens for personal transportation, of goods, and by tourists for both accessing the country and traveling.

Railways

Railways in Cameroon are operated by Camrail, a subsidiary of French investment group Bolloré. As of May 2014, Camrail operated regular daily services on three routes:

 * Douala - Kumba
 * Douala - Yaoundé
 * Yaoundé - Ngaoundéré
 * Kribi - Mbalam and Nabeba in Republic of the Congo - under construction in 2022.
 * Edéa - Kribi - proposed connection to deep water port.

There are no rail links with neighboring countries except Republic of the Congo.

Roadways
Total highways: 50,000 km

Paved: 5,000 km

Unpaved: 45,000 km (2004)

Cameroon lies at a key point in the Trans-African Highway network, with three routes crossing its territory: Cameroon's central location in the network means that efforts to close the gaps in the network across Central Africa rely on Cameroon's participation in maintaining the network, and the network has the potential to profoundly influence Cameroon's regional trade. Except for the several relatively good toll roads that connect major cities (all of them one-lane) roads are poorly maintained and subject to inclement weather, since only 10% of the roadways are tarred. It is likely that within a decade, a great deal of trade between West Africa and Southern Africa will be moving on the network through Yaoundé.
 * Dakar-N'Djamena Highway, connecting just over the Cameroon border with the N'Djamena-Djibouti Highway
 * Lagos-Mombasa Highway
 * Tripoli-Cape Town Highway

National highways in Cameroon:
 * N1: Yaoundé - Bertoua - Ngaoundéré - Garoua - Maroua - Kouséri, border with Chad.
 * N2: Yaoundé - Mbalmayo - Ebolowa - Woleu Ntem, border with Gabon.
 * N3: Yaoundé - Edéa - Douala - Idenau.
 * N4: Yaoundé - Bafia - Bafoussam.
 * N5: Douala - Nkongsamba - Bafang - Bafoussam.
 * N6: Ejagham, border with Nigeria - Bamenda - Bafoussam - Tibati - Lokoti.
 * N7: Edéa - Kribi.
 * N8: Mutengene - Kumba - Mamfé.
 * N9: Mbalmayo - Nki, border with Congo.
 * N10: Yaoundé - Bertoua - Batouri - Kenzou, border with the Central African Republic.
 * N11 Bamenda Ring Road Linking, Mezam, Ngokitujia, Mbui, Boyo and Menchum

Prices of petrol rose steadily in 2007 and 2008, leading to a transport union strike in Douala on 25 February 2008. The strike quickly escalated into violent protests and spread to other major cities. The uprising finally subsided on 29 February.

Waterways
2,090 km; of decreasing importance. Navigation mainly on the Benue River; limited during the rainy season.

Seaports and harbors

 * Douala - main port, railhead, and second-largest city
 * Bonaberi - railhead to northwest
 * Garoua
 * Kribi - oil pipeline from Chad
 * Kribi South - proposed iron ore export port, about 40 km south of Kribi.
 * Tiko

Pipelines
888 km of oil line (2008)

Airports
The main international airport is the Douala International Airport and a secondary international airport at Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport. As of May 2014, Cameroon had regular international air connections with nearly every major international airport in West and Southwest Africa and several connections to Europe and East Africa.

In 2008 there were 34 airports, only 10 of which had paved runways.

 * List of airports in Cameroon

Airports - with paved runways
total: 10

over 3,047 m: 2

2,438 to 3,047 m: 4

1,524 to 2,437 m: 3

914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2008)

Airports - with unpaved runways
total: 24

1,524 to 2,437 m: 4

914 to 1,523 m: 14

under 914 m: 6 (2008)

title: Transport in Cameroon


text:
Cameroon Armed Forces

The Cameroon Armed Forces (Forces armées camerounaises (FAC)) are the military of the Republic of Cameroon. The armed forces number 40,000 personnel in ground, air, and naval forces. There are approximately 40,000 troops in the army across three military regions. Approximately 1,300 troops are part of the Cameroonian Navy, which is headquartered at Douala. Under 600 troops are part of the Air Force. There is an additional 12,500 paramilitary troops that serve as a gendarmerie (policing force) or reconnaissance role.

The Cameroonian armed forces have bases spread all over Cameroon, including in Ngaoundéré. Air Force bases are located in Garoua, Yaoundé, Douala and Bamenda.

It has generally remained loyal to the government and acted to ensure the stability of the regime, and not acted as an independent political force. Traditional dependence on the French defense capability, although reduced, continues to be the case as French military advisers remain closely involved in preparing the Cameroonian forces for deployment to the contested Bakassi Peninsula.

Army
With over 40,000 troops, the Army remains the most important component in terms of numbers. The Army is under the responsibility of the Chief of Staff, Major-General Nkoa Atenga, whose staff is in Yaoundé.

Currently, the organization dates from 2001 with a distribution in several types of units: combat units, response units (unités d'intervention), unités de soutien et d'appui, and finally special reserve units as part of 3 joint military régions (interarmées) and the 10 military land sectors.

Army units have been trained and equipped to fight in the swampy coastal terrain facing the Bakassi peninsula. Although prepared for an armed conflict with Nigeria in recent years, the Cameroon Army does not have operational experience against other forces, therefore, it is not possible to assess its ability to respond to changing threats and opposing tactics.

Combat units of the army include:
 * The Headquarters Brigade, located in Yaoundé. This brigade is responsible for protecting the capital and supporting the institutions. The President of the Republic has to allow any of its deployments.
 * Three command and support battalions;
 * The Rapid Intervention Battalion (Btaillon d'Intervention Rapide, BIR)
 * The Rapid Response Brigade (Cameroon) (Brigade d'Intervention Rapide, or also BIR), (which currently has no general staff) and is made up of three rapid response battalions, stationed in Douala, Tiko and Koutaba. These three battalions are respectively the Special Amphibious Battalion (Bataillon Spécial Amphibie; BSA), the Bataillon des Troupes Aéroportées (BTAP), and the Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (Bataillon Blindé de Reconnaissance; BBR) equipped with Type 07P infantry fighting vehicle and PTL-02 tank destroyer bought recently from China. The BSA is inspired by the French Special Forces. This brigade is a tactical battle unit under the authority of the Chief of Staff of the armed forces. For this to be engaged, the President’s agreement is necessary.
 * Five motorised infantry brigades, supposed to be stationed in one military sector but which can then be engaged without any regard to the territorial division of the country. These brigades currently do not have a general staff. In theory, they consist of 11 motorised infantry battalions; 5 support battalions and 3 backing battalions; however, the motorised battalions are in reality not operational due to a lack of staff, equipment and vehicles.

Organization
The territory is divided into 5 combined arms military regions (RMIA):
 * RMIA1 (Yaoundé)
 * RMIA2 (Douala)
 * RMIA3 (Garoua)
 * RMIA4 (Maroua)
 * RMIA5 (Bamenda)

1st Military Region

 * 11th Ebolowa Brigade:
 * 11th BCS (command and support battalion) in Ebolowa
 * 12th BIM (motorized infantry battalion) in Ebolowa
 * 12th BIM at Djoum
 * 13th BIM at Ambam
 * 11th BA (support battalion) at Sangmélima
 * 12th Bertoua brigade
 * 12th BCS in Bertoua
 * 14th BIM in Bertoua
 * 15th BIM to Yokadouma
 * 16th BIM at Garoua-Boulaï
 * 12th BA in Bertoua

2nd Military Region

 * Rapid Intervention Brigade
 * Headquarters at Bafoussam
 * Special Amphibious Battalion (BSA) at Tiko
 * Airborne Battalion (BTAP) in Koutaba
 * Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (BBR) in Douala
 * 21st Motorized infantry brigade of Buéa
 * 21st BCS in Buéa
 * 21 BIM in Buéa
 * 22nd BIM at Mamfé
 * 23rd BIM at Loum
 * 24th BIM at Akwaya
 * 21st BA in Kumba
 * 201st Douala Air Base
 * 21st Air Transport Squadron
 * 211st Transport and Assault Transport Squadron
 * 212nd Transport and Assault Transport Squadron
 * 22nd Air Squadron
 * 221st Transport and Assault Transport Squadron
 * 222nd Reconnaissance Squadron

Cameroonian Air Force
The air force has bases in Garoua, Koutaba, Yaoundé, Douala, and Bamenda. The Cameroonian Air Force was founded in 1960, the year of independence from France. There are under 400 troops in the air force. Cameroon's Air Force has 9 combat-capable aircraft.

Cameroon Navy
There are about 1,300 troops in the navy including naval infantry.

History
Around May 1999, Philip Njaru wrote a newspaper article where he alleged ill-treatment of civilians conducted by the 21st Navy Battalion based in Ekondo-Titi. In late May Njaru was approached by the local captain who asked Njaru "to stop writing such articles and to disclose his sources". Refusing to do this, Njaru five days later found his house encircled by armed soldiers, and escaped to Kumba. Here, he was assaulted by police in June 2001, with no particular reason stated. Njaru complained to the local authorities, but later learned that "his complaint had not been received".

Cameroon's Marine Nationale République modernised and increased its capabilities during 2000 with the acquisition of a number of small Rodman patrol craft and the retirement of some small older craft. A number of small patrol boats have been acquired or ordered from France. Latest estimates indicate naval strength consists of two combat patrol vessels, three coastal patrol vessels and approximately 30 smaller inshore and river patrol craft allocated to both the navy and the local gendarmerie. These include two 135 tonne Yunnan-class landing craft, which are able to carry and launch smaller craft for troop insertions. Some effort has been made to assess equipment needs to bring L'Audacieux P103 and Bakassi P104 to an effective combat status. This has resulted in weapons capabilities being reduced in favour of an increase in serviceability and the service is now effectively without missile attack capabilities. Bakassi (a Type P 48S missile patrol craft) completed a major refit at Lorient, France in August 1999. This included removing the Exocet missile system and EW equipment, and fitting a funnel aft of the mainmast to replace the waterline exhausts. New radars were also installed. Bakassi is now armed only with 40 mm cannon. Although the Bizerte (P48 large patrol craft) class L'Audacieux is fitted for SS-12M missiles these are not embarked and its operational status is in some doubt, having not been reported at sea since 1995. The Quartier-Maître Alfred Moto patrol boat was listed as out of service in 1991 but has since been reactivated.

Ships
List of active ships.
 * 1: DIPIKAR patrol boat (former French navy "Grèbe", upgraded with LYNCEA PATROL CMS) (Gun)
 * 2: FRA P-48 (Gun)
 * 6: Rodman 101/46 (Gun)
 * 1: Quartier class (Gun)
 * 3: Boston Whaler patrol boats
 * 1: Bakassi class patrol boat (P48S type)
 * 1: L’Audacieux class missile FAC (P48 type)
 * 1: Alfred Motto class patrol craft
 * 20: Swiftships type river boats
 * 2: Yunnan landing craft utility
 * 8: Simoneau
 * 2: Aresa 2400 CPV Defender patrol boats
 * 1: Aresa 2300 landing craft
 * 6: Aresa 750 Commandos RIBs
 * 5: 1200 Stealth RIBs
 * 1: 1200 Defcon RIB
 * 2: P108 and P109 patrol boats

Two 32-metre patrol boats are expected to be delivered in February 2014.

Gendarmerie
The Gendarmerie is a paramilitary force composed of about 9,000 soldiers as of 2016. It performs both law enforcement and national security responsibilities across the country. (See Gendarmerie)

Military education
After an initial period of development, training requirements were formalized in an April 1967 per government decree. There was a shortage of Cameroonian instructors at that time. The two educational institutions of the nation are the following:

 * Combined Services Military Academy (Ecole Militaire Interarmes Camerounaises—EMIAC): It is the interforce academy for officers, being the educational center for future officers of the armed forces and the National Gendarmerie. It was established in 1959 and inaugurated on 18 January 1961. No officers were graduated until 1970. Every graduation of cadets takes place on 18 January.
 * Non-Commissioned Officer Training School (Ecole des sous officiers du cameroun)

Both commissioned and noncommissioned officers were sent to various military schools in France, Greece, and the Soviet Union. The total number of Cameroonian military cadets with a Russian educational background were few.

title: Cameroon Armed Forces


text:
Foreign relations of Cameroon

Cameroon's noncontentious, low-profile approach to foreign relations puts it squarely in the middle of other African and developing country states on major issues. It supports the principles of non-interference in the affairs of third world countries and increased assistance to underdeveloped countries. Cameroon is an active participant in the United Nations, where its voting record demonstrates its commitment to causes that include international peacekeeping, the rule of law, environmental protection, and Third World economic development. In the UN and other human rights fora, Cameroon's non-confrontational approach has generally led it to avoid criticizing other countries.

Cameroon enjoys good relations with France, the United States and other developed countries. Cameroon enjoys generally good relations with its African neighbors. It supports UN peacekeeping activities in Central Africa.

International disputes
Delimitation of international boundaries in the vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in the past, is complete and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria; dispute with Nigeria over land and maritime boundaries around the Bakasi Peninsula and Lake Chad is currently before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), as is a dispute with Equatorial Guinea over the exclusive maritime economic zone. As of 10 October 2012, it has been resolved that Cameroon own Bakassi.

Cameroon also faces a complaint filed with the African Commission on Human Rights by the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) and the Southern Cameroons Peoples Organisation (SCAPO) against the Government of the Republic of Cameroon, in which the complainants allege that the Republic of Cameroon is illegally occupying the territory of Southern Cameroons. The SCNC and SCAPO ultimately seek the independence of the territory of Southern Cameroons. As of 2008, both parties have submitted briefs and responded to the Human Rights Commissions' inquiries. A ruling by the African Commission on Human Rights is awaited.

Diplomatic relations
List of countries which Cameroon maintains diplomatic relations with:

Multilateral relations
In addition to the United Nations, Cameroon is very active in other multilateral organisations or global institutions such as the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, The Commonwealth, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Group of 77, the Non-Aligned Movement, the African Union and the Economic Community of Central African States.

title: Foreign relations of Cameroon


text:
Geography of Cape Verde

Cape Verde (formally, the Republic of Cabo Verde) is a group of arid Atlantic islands which are home to distinct communities of plants, birds, and reptiles. The islands constitute the unique Cape Verde Islands dry forests ecoregion, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

Location and description
The Cape Verde Islands are located in the mid-Atlantic Ocean some 450 km off the west coast of the continent of Africa. The landscape varies from dry plains to high active volcanoes with cliffs rising steeply from the ocean. The climate is arid. The total size is 4,033 km2.

The archipelago consists of ten islands and five islets, divided into the windward (Barlavento) and leeward (Sotavento) groups. The six islands in the Barlavento group are Santo Antão, São Vicente, Santa Luzia, São Nicolau, Sal, and Boa Vista. The islands in the Sotavento group are Maio, Santiago, Fogo, and Brava. All but Santa Luzia are inhabited.

Three islands – Sal, Boa Vista, and Maio – generally are level and lack natural water supplies. Mountains higher than 1280 m are found on Santiago, Fogo, Santo Antão, and São Nicolau.

Sand carried by strong winds has caused erosion on all islands, especially the windward ones. Sheer, jagged cliffs rise from the sea on several of the mountainous islands. The lack of natural vegetation in the uplands and coast also contributes to soil erosion. The interior valleys support denser natural vegetation.

Data

 * Geographic coordinates:
 * 16°N, -24°W

 * Area:
 * Total: 4,072 km2
 * Land: 4,072 km2
 * Water: 0 km2 (inland water is negligible)

 * Area – comparative:About 1.5 times as large as Luxembourg
 * Coastline:965 km
 * Maritime claims:
 * Measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
 * Territorial sea: 12 nmi
 * Contiguous zone: 24 nmi
 * Exclusive economic zone: 200 nmi

 * Exclusive economic zone
 * EEZ area: 800,561 km2
 * Continental shelf: 5,591 km2
 * Coral reefs: 0.09% of world
 * Sea mounts: 0.04% of world

 * Terrain:Steep, rugged, rocky, volcanic.
 * Elevation extremes:
 * Lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
 * Highest point: Mount Fogo 2829 m (a volcano on Fogo Island)

 * Natural resources:Salt, basalt rock, limestone, kaolin, fish, clay, gypsum
 * Land use
 * agricultural land: 18.6% (2018 est.)
 * arable land: 11.7% (2018 est.)
 * permanent crops: 0.7% (2018 est.)
 * permanent pasture: 6.2% (2018 est.)
 * forest: 21% (2018 est.)
 * other: 60.4% (2018 est.)

 * Irrigated land:35 km2 (2012)
 * Total renewable water resources:0.3 km3 (2017)
 * Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)
 * total: 0.02 km3/yr (6%/1%/93%)
 * per capita: 48.57 m3/yr (2004)

 * Natural hazards:
 * Prolonged droughts; seasonal harmattan wind produces obscuring dust; volcanically and seismically active.

 * 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.

Borders

Cabo Verde shares maritime boundaries with Mauritania and Senegal. Cabo Verde has signed treaties with Senegal and Mauritania delimiting the specific boundaries. However, the two treaties conflict in their delimitation of the precise borders. Due to the numerous islands it has an Exclusive Economic Zone of 800,561 km2.

Climate
Rainfall is irregular, historically causing periodic droughts and famines. Desalination plants now provide water to more than half the country's population. Experiments with fog collectors have been conducted since 1962, however, such collectors had not been expanded beyond the Serra Malagueta community of Santiago Island, as of 2009. The average precipitation per year in Praia is 240 mm.

During the winter, storms blowing from the Sahara sometimes cloud the sky; however, sunny days are the norm year round. The clearest skies are found between February and June, with very little rainfall during these months. Saharan dust, Harmattan wind, laden with dust come from the Sahara. This occurs between November and March and is generally similar to the "Calima" affecting the Canary Islands.

The ocean near Cabo Verde is an area of tropical cyclone formation; since these storms have the whole Atlantic over which to develop as they move westward, they are among the most intense hurricanes, and are called Cape Verde-type hurricanes.

The Cape Verde islands are a very degradated area. Also, most islands do not always get a monsoon. In fact, it is not surprising that some atmospheric precipitation of islands are limited in tropical rain.

If rain arrives, it is usually between August and October. The first "rainy season" brings high temperatures and high humidity that condenses as dew mountain. The other rainy season is between December and June, when the northeast trade winds are common during this season, only altitudes above 600 m tend to receive regular rain. The island of Sal receives an average of 0 mm in May. When the rain comes, if it comes, it can be very strong. Half of the rain in a particular year can often fall into a single storm. Most of the Cape Verde islands are dry, but on islands with high mountains and farther away from the continental land mass, by orography, the humidity is much higher, giving a rainforest habitat, very degraded by the strong human presence. Northeastern slopes of high mountains often receive a lot of rain and southwestern slopes do not. This is because they are umbria areas, situated in the north hillsides or slopes of the mountainous areas, oriented behind the Sun in the Northern Hemisphere, in the shadyside orographic. So the amount of solar radiation that it receive is much lower than it would if it had without the island's relief which intercepts much of the sunlight. In terms of botanical ecology, these umbria areas are identified as being cool and moist.

The current north of the Canaries, has a cooling effect on the islands of Cabo Verde, making the air temperature more bearable than it would expect in any case at this latitude. Conversely, the islands do not receive the upwellings (cold streams) that affect the West African coast, so the air temperature is cooler than in Senegal, but the sea is actually warmer, because the orographic relief of some islands, such as Sao Miguel with steep mountains, cover it with rich woods and luxuriant vegetation where the humid air condenses and soak the plants, rocks, soil, logs, and moss.

Hurricanes often begin forming in the waters around the islands of Cabo Verde, but it is rare that the strength of the storm reaches close to the islands. A Cape Verde type hurricane is formed in the area south of the islands, near Sao Miguel, after a tropical wave on the African continent during the rainy season. The storm picks up strength when it crosses the warm waters of Atlantic. The laurel forest is a type of cloud forest, the cloud forests, are developed preferably about mountains, where the dense moisture from the sea or ocean, is precipitated by the action of the relief. Opposing the terrain to a front of warm, moist air mass, it forces to increase the height above sea level of that body wet and warm air mass, which cools and decreases the dew point, causing it to condense part of the moisture that falls as rain or fog, creating a habitat especially cool, saturated with moisture in the air and soil.

It is the balance between the dry and warm influence of the subtropical anticyclone, hot and dry summer and orography the responsible for carrying cool wet air. As latitude increases, this increases the impact of the storms, which in its journey from west to east, swept the western coasts of continents, dumping heavy rains as carrying high humidity. Precipitation multiply if these air masses are crossing mountains in the way. The resulting climate is wetter, but with an annual oscillation of the temperature moderated by the proximity of the ocean. Appear mostly occupying favorable areas named geographically Umbrias, this is north hillsides or slopes of the mountainous areas that are oriented behind the sun, because the islands are in the Northern Hemisphere, between 600 and 1,500 meters, thus benefiting from the humidity provided by the trade winds to form such a sea of clouds. In its botanical ecology, the mountain umbria is identified with cool and moisture.

Flora
Cape Verde is the driest archipelago of the ecoregion of Macaronesia. That with a greater influence of African species due to its geographical location near the African mainland of the Sahel. At first, the islands of Cabo Verde housed an extensive savanna and dry forest cover, but mostly it was removed to convert to agricultural land, which, together with the arid climate and rugged terrain, has led to a soil erosion and desertification widespread. However, the archipelago can be divided into four broad ecological zones (arid, semiarid, subhumid and humid), according to altitude and average annual rainfall ranging from 200 mm in the arid areas of the coast to more than 1000 mm in the humid mountain. Mostly rainfall precipitation is due to condensation of the ocean mist. Today much of the forest cover comprises relatively immature agroforestry plantations, in which are used non-native species such as Prosopis juliflora, Leucaena leucocephala and Jatropha curcas. The native laurel forest species are in wet area only in mountainous areas.

On the lower and drier islands the vegetation, before human colonization, consisted of savanna or steppe vegetation, with the flattest inland portion supporting semi-desert plants. At higher altitudes, a form of arid shrubland was also present. These islands were covered with savanna on the plains and arid shrubland on the mountainsides, but after over 500 years of human habitation (after Portuguese colonisation) nearly all the original vegetation has been cleared in favour of widespread agriculture including the grazing of goats, sheep and cattle and the planting of imported crop species. There are some remaining patches of dry forest high on steep mountainside including a number of endemic plant species, but these are inaccessible and hard to study.

On the higher islands and somewhat wetter islands, exclusively in mountainous areas, like Santo Antao island, the climate is suitable for the development of dry monsoon forest, and laurel forest as this vegetation is believed to have been present in the past. However, most vegetation has now been converted to agriculture and forest fragments are now restricted to areas where cultivation is not possible, such as mountain peaks and steep slopes. The demand for wood has resulted in deforestation and desertification.

Of particular note is the endemic type of humid subtropical laurel forest of macaronesian laurisilva, found on several of the Macaronesian African mainland enclaves and Macaronesian islands of the North Atlantic, namely Madeira Islands, the Azores, Cape Verde Islands, and the Canary Islands; these are a relic of the Pliocene subtropical forests, supporting numerous endemic species.

This laurisilva forests are found in the islands of Macaronesia in the eastern Atlantic, in particular the Azores, Madeira Islands, and western Canary Islands, from 400 m to 1,200 m elevation. Trees of the genera Apollonias (Lauraceae), Ocotea (Lauraceae), Persea (Lauraceae), Clethra (Clethraceae), Dracaena (Ruscaceae), and Picconia (Oleaceae) are characteristic. The Madeira Islands laurel forest was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999.

Fauna
There are four endemic bird species including the Raso lark along with more common swifts, larks, warblers, and sparrows. The islands are an important breeding site for seabirds including the Cape Verde shearwater and Fea's petrel (Pterodroma feae), which breeds only here and in Madeira. Santiago Island holds the only breeding site of the endemic and critically endangered Bourne's heron. The 11 endemic reptile species include a giant gecko (Tarentola gigas), and there are other geckos and skinks in abundance. The giant skink (Macroscincus coctei) is now thought to be extinct.

Threats and protection
Almost all of the natural environment has been destroyed by conversion to agriculture and logging for firewood, as well as natural soil erosion, all of which has threatened several species of birds and reptiles. The remaining original forest exists at high altitudes only. Newer problems include illegal beach sand extraction and overfishing while the nesting birds are vulnerable due to introduced mammals, including cats and rats.

 * Environment - international agreements
 * Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

Extreme points

 * Northernmost point - Ponta do Sol on Santao Antão Island
 * Southernmost point - Ponta Nho Martinho on Brava
 * Westernmost point - Ponta Chao de Mongrade on Santao Antão*
 * Easternmost point - Ponta Meringuel on Boa Vista
 * *Note: this is also the westernmost point of Africa

title: Geography of Cape Verde


text:
Demographics of Cape Verde

Demographic features of the population of Cape Verde include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Cape Verde has a population of about 540,000 inhabitants who live in the islands. A large proportion (236,000) of Cape Verdeans live on the main island, Santiago. Many more live abroad in the Cape Verdean diaspora in mainland Africa, Europe, U.S., Brazil, et cetera.

The archipelago of Cape Verde were first found and claimed by Portuguese sailors working for the Portuguese Crown in 1456. Cape Verdeans are West African. Many foreigners from other parts of the world settled in Cape Verde as their permanent country.

Survival in a country with few natural resources has historically induced Cape Verdeans to emigrate. In fact, of the more than 1 million people of Cape Verdean ancestry in the world, only a little more than one-third actually live on the islands. Some 500,000 people of Cape Verdean ancestry live in the United States, mainly in New England. Many people of Cape Verdean ancestry also live in Portugal, Netherlands, France, Italy and Senegal. Cape Verdean populations also settled Spain, Germany, Canada, and other CPLP countries (Angola, Brazil and Guinea-Bissau). Since independence from Portugal in 1975, a number of Cape Verdean students continued to be admitted every year at Portuguese high schools, polytechnical institutes and universities, through bilateral agreements between the Portuguese and Cape Verdean governments.

Portuguese functions as a state language. Virtually all formal documents and official declarations are stated in Portuguese. But it is not the first language. Cape Verdean, commonly called Kriolu, is spoken as a mother tongue by virtually all Cape Verdeans, irrespective of social status or religious affiliation. Moreover, historical linguists often attribute Cape Verdean Creole as the oldest "New World" contact language. It is a "contact" language in the sense that it was birthed and evolved between linguistically different groups who, by necessity, had to create a common language to communicate with each other. There is a rich repertoire of literature and songs in Cape Verdean Creole. In religion, the majority of Cape Verdeans follow Catholic Christianity. There are some Protestants, Baháʼís and Muslims.

Population
According to the total population was  in, compared to only 178,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 31.8%, 62.3% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 5.9% was 65 years or older.

Vital statistics
Vital events of Cape Verde are not (yet) available for recent years. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.

Fertility and births
Total fertility rate (TFR) (wanted fertility rate) and crude birth rate (CBR):

Fertility data from 2005 (DHS Program):

Other demographic statistics
Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022.

 * One birth every 51 minutes
 * One death every 160 minutes
 * One net migrant every 480 minutes
 * Net gain of one person every 90 minutes

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook.

Population

 * 596,707 (2022 est.)
 * 568,373 (July 2018 est.)

Age structure

 * 0-14 years: 27.95% (male 82,010/female 81,012)
 * 15-24 years: 18.69% (male 54,521/female 54,504)
 * 25-54 years: 40.76% (male 115,811/female 121,923)
 * 55-64 years: 7.12% (male 18,939/female 22,597)
 * 65 years and over: 5.48% (male 12,037/female 19,901) (2020 est.)

 * 0-14 years: 28.7% (male 82,035 /female 81,082)
 * 15-24 years: 19.64% (male 55,811 /female 55,798)
 * 25-54 years: 40.02% (male 110,646 /female 116,804)
 * 55-64 years: 6.4% (male 16,154 /female 20,245)
 * 65 years and over: 5.24% (male 11,272 /female 18,526) (2018 est.)

Median age

 * total: 26.8 years. Country comparison to the world: 151st
 * male: 25.9 years
 * female: 27.6 years (2020 est.)

 * total: 25.8 years. Country comparison to the world: 153rd
 * male: 25 years
 * female: 26.7 years (2018 est.)

 * Total: 23.1 years
 * Male: 22.3 years
 * Female: 23.9 years (2012 est.)

Population growth rate

 * 1.21% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 76th
 * 1.32% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 83rd

Total fertility rate

 * 2.13 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 92nd
 * 2.21 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 95th

Birth rate

 * 18.49 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 79th
 * 19.7 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 79th

Death rate

 * 5.8 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 168th
 * 6 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 163rd

Net migration rate

 * -0.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 126th
 * -0.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.) Country comparison to the world: 128th

Urbanization

 * urban population: 67.5% of total population (2022)
 * rate of urbanization: 1.83% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

 * urban population: 65.7% of total population (2018)
 * rate of urbanization: 1.97% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

 * 55.8% (2018)

Sex ratio

 * At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
 * Under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
 * 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
 * 65 years and over: 0.58 male(s)/female
 * Total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

 * total population: 73.75 years. Country comparison to the world: 144th
 * male: 71.41 years
 * female: 76.15 years (2022 est.)

 * total population: 72.7 years (2018 est.)
 * male: 70.3 years (2018 est.)
 * female: 75.1 years (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 147th

 * Total population: 71 years
 * Male: 68.78 years
 * Female: 73.27 years (2012 est.)

HIV/AIDS

 * Adult prevalence rate: 0.035% (2001 est.)
 * People living with HIV/AIDS: 775 (2001)
 * Deaths: 225 (as of 2001)

Genetics
E1b1a, R1b

 * The predominance of West African mitochondrial DNA haplotypes in their maternal gene pool, the major West African Y-chromosome lineage E3a was observed only at a frequency of 15.9%. Overall, these results indicate that gene flow from multiple sources and sex-specific patterns have been important in the formation of the genomic diversity in the Cabo Verde islands.

Religions

 * Catholic 77.3%, Protestant 3.7% (includes Church of the Nazarene 1.7%, Adventist 1.5%, Universal Kingdom of God 0.4%, and God and Love 0.1%), other Christian 4.3% (includes Christian Rationalism 1.9%, Jehovah's Witness 1%, Assembly of God 0.9%, and New Apostolic 0.5%), Islam 1.8%, Other 1.3%, None 10.8%, Unspecified 0.7% (2010 estimate)

Languages

 * Portuguese (official), Kriolu

Literacy

 * Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
 * Total population: 76.6%
 * Male: 85.8%
 * Female: 69.2% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

 * total: 13 years
 * male: 12 years
 * female: 13 years (2018)

 * total: 12 years (2017)
 * male: 12 years (2017)
 * female: 12 years (2017)

Dependency ratios

 * total dependency ratio: 55.4 (2015 est.)
 * youth dependency ratio: 48.4 (2015 est.)
 * elderly dependency ratio: 6.9 (2015 est.)
 * potential support ratio: 14.4 (2015 est.)

title: Demographics of Cape Verde


text:
Politics of Cape Verde

Politics of Cape Verde takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Cape Verde is the head of government and the President of the Republic of Cape Verde is the head of state, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the president and the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The constitution, first approved in 1980 and substantially revised in 1992, forms the basis of government organization. It declares that the government is the "organ that defines, leads, and executes the general internal and external policy of the country" and is responsible to the National Assembly.

Political conditions
Following independence in 1975, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) established a one-party political system. This became the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV) in 1980, as Cape Verde sought to distance itself from Guinea-Bissau, following unrest in that country.

In 1991, following growing pressure for a more pluralistic society, multi-party elections were held for the first time. The opposition party, the Movement for Democracy (Movimento para a Democracia, MpD), won the legislative elections, and formed the government. The MpD candidate also defeated the PAICV candidate in the presidential elections. In the 1996 elections, the MpD increased their majority, but in the 2001 the PAICV returned to power, winning both the Legislative and the Presidential elections.

Generally, Cape Verde enjoys a stable democratic system. The elections have been considered free and fair, there is a free press, and the rule of law is respected by the State. In acknowledgment of this, Freedom House granted Cape Verde two first places in its annual Freedom in the World report, a perfect score. It is the only African country to receive this score.

The Prime Minister is the head of the government and as such proposes other ministers and secretaries of state. The Prime Minister is nominated by the National Assembly and appointed by the President. The President is the head of state and is elected by popular vote for a five-year term; the most recent elections were held in 2021.

Also in the legislative branch, the National Assembly (Assembleia Nacional) has 72 members, elected for a five-year term by proportional representation.

Movement for Democracy (MpD) ousted the ruling African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV) for the first time in 15 years in the 2016 parliamentary election. The leader of MpD, Ulisses Correia e Silva has been prime minister since 2016. Jorge Carlos Almeida Fonseca was elected president in August 2011 and re-elected in October 2016. He is also supported by MpD.

In April 2021, the ruling centre-right Movement for Democracy (MpD) of Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva, won the parliamentary election. In October 2021, opposition candidate and former prime minister, José Maria Neves of PAICV, won Cape Verde's presidential election. On 9 November 2021, José Maria Neves was sworn in as the new President of Cape Verde.

Courts and criminal law
The judicial system is composed of the Supreme Court and the regional courts. Of the five Supreme Court judges, one is appointed by the President, one by the National Assembly, and three by the Superior Judiciary Council. This council consists of the President of the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, eight private citizens, two judges, two prosecutors, the senior legal inspector of the Attorney General's office, and a representative of the Ministry of Justice. Judges are independent and may not belong to a political party. In October 2000, a female judge who was known for taking strict legal measures in cases of domestic violence was transferred from the capital to the countryside. Separate courts hear civil, constitutional and criminal cases. Appeal is to the Supreme Court. Reforms to strengthen an overburdened judiciary were implemented in 1998. Free legal counsel is provided to indigents, defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and trials are public. Judges must lay charges within 24 hours of arrests. The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respects this provision in practice. The constitution provides for the right to a fair trial and due process, and an independent judiciary usually enforces this right. Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports of politicization and biased judgement in the judiciary. Cases involving former public office holders still are under investigation. For example, investigations continued in the case of the former prime minister accused of embezzlement in the privatization of ENACOL (a parastatal oil supply firm) in which he allegedly embezzled approximately $16,250 (2 million Cape Verdean escudos) from the buyers of the parastatal. The case of four persons accused of church desecration in 1996 also was under investigation. These individuals filed a complaint with the Attorney General against the judiciary police for alleged fabrication of evidence.

The constitution provides for the right to a fair trial. Defendants are presumed to be innocent; they have the right to a public, non-jury trial; to counsel; to present witnesses; and to appeal verdicts. Regional courts adjudicate minor disputes on the local level in rural areas. The Ministry of Justice does not have judicial powers; such powers lie with the courts.

The judiciary generally provides due process rights; however, the right to an expeditious trial is constrained by a seriously overburdened and understaffed judicial system. A backlog of cases routinely leads to trial delays of 6 months or more; more than 10,780 cases were pending at year's end. In addition the right of victims to compensation and recovery for pain and mental suffering are overlooked, due both to the low damage assessments imposed and ineffective enforcement of court sentences.

Administrative divisions
Cape Verde is divided into 22 municipalities (concelhos, singular - concelho): Boa Vista, Brava, Maio, Mosteiros, Paul, Porto Novo, Praia, Ribeira Grande, Ribeira Grande de Santiago, Sal, Santa Catarina, Santa Catarina do Fogo, Santa Cruz, São Domingos, São Filipe, São Lourenço dos Órgãos, São Miguel, São Nicolau, São Salvador do Mundo, São Vicente, Tarrafal, Tarrafal de São Nicolau.

Voting rights for non citizens
Article 24 of the Cape Verde Constitution states that
 * alinea 3.: "Rights not conferred to foreigners and apatrids may be attributed to citizens of countries with Portuguese as an official language, except for access to functions of sovereignty organs, service in the armed forces or in the diplomatic career."
 * alinea 4. "Active and passive electoral capacity can be attributed by law to foreigners and apatrid residents on the national territory for the elections of the members of the organs of the local municipalities."

The website of the governmental Institute of Cape Verde Communities states that such a measure was adopted "to stimulate reciprocity from host countries of Cape Verdian migrants".

A law nr. 36/V/97 was promulgated on August 25, 1997 regulating the "Statute of Lusophone Citizen", concerning nationals from any country member of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (article 2), stating in its article 3 that "The lusophone citizen with residence in Cape Verde is recognized the active and passive electoral capacity for municipal elections, under conditions of the law. The lusophone citizen with residence in Cape Verde has the right to exercise political activity related to his electoral capacity."

International organization participation
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, ITUC, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (applicant)

title: Politics of Cape Verde


text:
Transport in Cape Verde

Most transportation in Cape Verde is done by air. There are regular flights between the major islands (Santiago, Sal and São Vicente), with less frequent flights to the other islands. Boat transportation is available, though not widely used nor dependable. In the major cities, public bus transport runs periodically, and taxis are common. In smaller towns, there are mostly hiaces and/or taxis.

Types of transport
Railways: 0 km - There are no railways in Cape Verde. There was a short overhead conveyor system for salt from the open salt lake on Sal to the port at Pedra de Lume, and a short rail track to the pier at Santa Maria for similar purposes. Both are now disused.

Roadways:

total: 10,000 km including unpaved tracks accessible only to four wheel drive vehicles

asphalt: 360 km

cobbled: 5,000 km (2007 estimates)

The majority of Cape Verdean roads are paved with cobblestones cut from local basalt. Recent international aid has allowed the asphalting of many roads including all of the highway between Praia and Tarrafal, all of the highway between Praia and Cidade Velha, and all of the highway between Praia, Pedra Badejo, and Calheta de São Miguel on Santiago, and the dual carriageway between Santa Maria and Espargos on Sal. A new ring road has been built from Praia International Airport around the city of Praia. The primary method of intercity and inter-village transport for Cape Verdeans is by aluguer shared taxis, commonly called Yasi, which is a derived from the name HiAce, because the Toyota HiAce is the most common shared taxi model. Few Cape Verdeans own cars, but ownership is rising rapidly with increasing prosperity, particularly on Santiago Island.

Ports and harbours: Mindelo on São Vicente is the main port for cruise liners and the terminus for the ferry service to Santo Antão. A marina for yachts is undergoing enlargement (2007). Praia on Santiago is a main hub for ferry service to other islands. Palmeira on Sal supplies fuel for the main airport on the island, Amílcar Cabral International Airport, and is important for hotel construction on the island. Porto Novo on Santo Antão is the only source for imports and exports of produce from the island as well as passenger traffic since the closure of the airstrip at Ponta do Sol. There are smaller harbours, essentially single jetties at Tarrafal on São Nicolau, Sal Rei on Boa Vista, Vila do Maio (Porto Inglês) on Maio, São Filipe on Fogo and Furna on Brava. These are terminals for inter island ferry service carrying freight and passengers. There are small harbours, with protective breakwaters, used by fishing boats at Tarrafal on Santiago, Pedra de Lume on Sal and Ponta do Sol on Santo Antão. Some offer suitable protection for small yachts. The pier at Santa Maria on Sal used by both fishing and dive boats has been rehabilitated.

Merchant marine: total: 10 ships by type: chemical tanker 1, trawler/cargo ship 5, passenger/cargo 5 foreign owned: 2 (Spain 1, UK 1) (2008)

Airports
 * 7 operational in 2014 - 4 international and 3 domestic.
 * 2 non-operational, one on Brava and the other on Santo Antão, closed for safety reasons.
 * Over 3,047 m: 1
 * 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
 * 914 to 1,400 m: 3

International Airports:
 * Amílcar Cabral International Airport, Sal Island. Opened and began operating international flights from 1939. Named Sal International Airport until 1975.
 * Nelson Mandela International Airport, Santiago Island. Opened and began operating international flights from 2005. Named Praia International Airport from 2005 until 2013. Replaced the Francisco Mendes International Airport which served the island from 1961 to 2005, and is now closed.
 * Aristides Pereira International Airport, Boa Vista Island. Airport paved and began operating international traffic in 2007. Named Rabil Airport until 2011.
 * Cesária Évora Airport, Sao Vicente Island. Opened in 1960 and became an international airport in 2009. Named Sao Pedro Airport until 2011.

International passenger traffic is forecast to exceed 250,000 passengers for 2007. Annual growth, mostly of tourists from Europe is anticipated to continue at just under 20%. (Source ASA Cape Verde airport authority)

Main Airlines serving the country:
 * TACV Cabo Verde Airlines
 * Cabo Verde Express Cape Verde Express
 * Halcyonair Cabo Verde Airways - dissolved in 2013
 * TAP Portugal

TACV flies daily international flights from Lisbon to Sal or Praia and once a week from Amsterdam, Munich, Paris, Las Palmas, Fortaleza and Boston to one or other of the international airports. It operates on a frequency varying from daily to thrice weekly on inter-island flights to each of the seven islands with operational airports and also to Dakar. It has a fleet of two Boeing 757s and three ATR42s have been replaced by ATR72s. It is currently (2010) undergoing privatization at the insistence of the World Bank.

Road network
The road network of Cape Verde is managed by the national government (Instituto de Estradas) and by the municipalities. The total length of the road network is 1,650 km, of which 1,113 km national roads and 537 km municipal roads. Of the national roads, 36% is asphalted.

Air Services
TACV Cabo Verde Airlines, the national airline, flies weekly from Boston Logan International Airport to Praia International Airport at Praia Santiago island. Currently (2007) these flights are on Wednesdays, but schedules vary and are subject to change. It also has flights four times weekly from Lisbon to Francisco Mendes (the recently opened airport at Praia on Santiago island) and four times weekly from Lisbon to Amílcar Cabral International Airport on Sal island. There is a flight on Mondays from Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport to Sal and on Thursdays from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport via Munich-Riem Airport to Sal. Return flights are just after midnight on the same day.

From Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, Spain there are night flights on Mondays and Thursdays, with departures just after midnight. Return flights are the previous day. There is a service from Praia to Fortaleza, Brazil on Mondays and Thursdays departing early evening and returning at night. All international flights are operated by Boeing 757 aircraft. Most international flights are subject to delay and sometimes cancellation.

TAP Air Portugal the Portuguese national carrier operates a daily service from Lisbon to Sal with late evening departures returning after midnight and reaching Lisbon in the early morning. Most flights are delayed and onward connections from Lisbon can be missed as a result. TAP and other European carriers provide connections with most European capitals, enabling same day through flights.

From the UK, direct routes by Astraeus from London Gatwick and Manchester to Sal ceased in April 2008; their website has not taken reservations since May 2008. TACV Cabo Verde Airlines opened a route from London Stansted in October 2008 though it was rumoured that flights were being cancelled due to minimum take up though with effect from May 2008, TACV have ceased flights from London Gatwick. There is a Fly TACV website, and you can book from their website. Reservations should be made via the UK TACV office on 0870 774 7338.

Thomson Airways have opened additional routes from London Gatwick and Manchester on Mondays and Fridays. Various options and bookings can be made via Thomsonfly to both Sal and Boa Vista.

Hamburg International provides a charter service from Hamburg via Düsseldorf on Thursdays and Condor operates from Frankfurt Rhein Main on Tuesdays returning on Wednesday.

Neos operates charter flights from Milan Malpensa, Rome-Fiumicino and Bologna on Wednesdays.

TACV Cabo Verde Airlines, the national airline has been a monopoly carrier within the island archipelago (2007). It operates services from the main hub airports at Sal and Santiago to Boa Vista, Fogo, Maio, São Nicolau and São Vicente at frequencies ranging from thrice weekly to thrice daily. Air strips on the other islands of Brava and Santo Antão are closed (2007) and can only be reached by ferry services from other islands.

TACV does not publish timetables; flight times are listed on departure boards. Tickets can be bought at the TACV shop at each airport by queuing and paying in cash (euros or escudos). Flights are often delayed and sometimes cancelled due to weather or operational conditions. Services are operated by ATR 42 turboprop aircraft, which are being replaced (2007) by the enlarged ATR 72 aircraft. Inter island tariffs vary depending on the distance but are generally around €180 return. Air passes are obtainable for multiple flights, when buying an international ticket on TACV.

Halcyonair a private carrier with Portuguese and Cape Verdean shareholders is commenced operations on inter-island flights during 2007. It has obtained the necessary licensing from the Cape Verde Government.

Travel within the islands
The frequency and regularity of publicly-accessible ground transportation services vary between the islands and municipalities. There are some common features that can be found throughout Cape Verde. The primary mode of transportation between municipalities is via shared minibuses commonly referred to as a "yasi", because of the Toyota HiAce which makeup the majority of the minibuses in service. While 12-14 passenger "yasi" class minibuses connect the major municipalities at their end points, modified pickup trucks with partially covered cabs and benches installed in the back transport passengers along shorter distances through minor municipalities and the rural areas in between. These modified pickup trucks are referred to as "hilux" after the Toyota Hilux, the common model adapted. Notably, both "yasi" and "hilux" transportation will stop and pickup any passenger that hails them, as well as drop off any passenger that requests to disembark at any point. intermuncipality transportation licenses are granted on an individual basis to each vehicle in the name of the owner by the Direcção Geral dos Transportes e Rodoviários (General Directorate of Transport and Roads). With the exception of the Praia ⇄ Assomada route on Santiago, all yasi and hilux class vehicles licensed to carry passengers act as individual freelancers, not collectively. As such, they do not adhere to scheduling, and have no obligation to provide service. This includes many vehicles running the same route, owned by the same person.

Brava

Hiluxes and yasis connect Furna and Nova Sintra mostly when boats arrive. Other parts of the island are connected by these vehicles.

Fogo

Fogo has many yasis running the routes between São Filipe and Mosteiros, São Filipe and Chã das Calderas. Unlike many other islands, these buses depart at roughly the same time every day, and despite the presence of multiple vehicles running each route, passengers can find themselves stranded if they do not board a vehicle during the limited departure window. Yasis tend to depart Mosteiros headed to São Filipe around 6am, and tend to Depart São Filipe headed to Chã around noon.

São Vicente

Mindelo has a municipal bus service run by the company Transcor. Yasi and hilux transportation connects Mindelo with other parts of the island. Other transportation companies especially minibuses include Transporte Morabeza, Transporte Alegría, Amizade, Sotral y Automindelo.

Santiago

Maura Company and Sol Atlántico are the only two companies that have been granted municipal bus service licenses. Over the past decade, Maura Company, which had previously been the dominant bus company, has retired the majority of its buses, while many that continue to run are in a state of disrepair due to financial difficulties. Sol Atlántico, in contrast, has greatly increased its fleet of buses, adding several new high capacity buses in 2015. Municipal bus prices are regulated at 44 escudos per ride. Transfers are not allowed. Bus schedules do not exist, but buses start running around 6am and stop around 9pm. Bus stops exist, and are frequently infiltrated by minibus vehicles (also called "yasis") and both (taxi) licensed and unlicensed "clan" taxis illegally running municipal bus routes without a municipal license. No other city on Santiago has a municipal bus service. The government of Assomada has solicited requests for a bus service but so far none has been approved, and there are no short-term plans for any bus company to enter the municipal market.

Transportation between the municipalities and rural areas is handled predominantly by yasi and hilux transportation. Rates are not fixed and range from 20 escudos for short trips between rural areas up to 500 escudos for Praia ⇄ Tarrafal. Some commonly accepted prices charged between municipalities are 100 escudos for Praia ⇄ São Domingos, 150 escudos for Praia ⇄ Orgãos, and 250 escudos for Praia ⇄ Assomada. Some of the yasis start collecting passengers before dawn to transport between Praia and Assomada and Praia and Pedra Badejo, and the last departures usually occur between 7 and 8pm. These vehicles do not maintain a schedule (with the exception of two early morning vehicles departing Assomada at 5:40 and 6:20 headed to Praia), instead choosing to drive around in circles within the urban centers of Praia, Assomada, and Pedra Badejo to pick up passengers until they are full, or over capacity (14 passengers is the legal limit for an actual Toyota HiAce), at which point they depart. Yasi drivers employ helpers to hawk out the window the destination of the yasi, as well as the obligatory "cheio", meaning full, with little regard for the number of people aboard. Helpers and drivers sometimes use shills (fake passengers) to overcome the common chicken and egg problem wherein passengers will not board an empty (or low passenger) minibus in an urban center because they know it will not depart until it is full. They will board a nearly-full (or over capacity) bus because they know it is likely to depart soon. In 2015 a project called EcobusCV started running a fleet of dual fuel waste vegetable oil / diesel modified Toyota HiACE minibuses using a scheduled service model between Praia and Assomada. Buses depart one per hour, on the hour, from designated bus stops in Praia, at Igreja Nova Apostólica in Fazenda, and Assomada, in front of the court house. The current departure schedule as of September 15 is one departure per hour, every hour starting at 7am, with the last departure at 6pm. EcobusCV plans to expand to departures in 30 minute intervals before the end of 2015. EcobusCV has instituted aggressive, transparent pricing undercutting the informal generally accepted prices between municipalities, which has started to cause freelance yasis to alter their pricing.

Taxis are common in Praia and Assomada. Taxis with a base in Praia are painted beige, while taxis with a base in Assomada are painted white. They can carry passengers between municipalities, but they are prohibited from circulating and picking up passengers outside of their base city, though they will usually pickup passengers if they get hailed on their way back to their home city. Taximeters are installed in most legal taxis, but many are not functional and they are almost never used because the generally accepted rates are cheaper than what the taximeter would usually count. In Praia there is a large number of "clan" or clandestine taxis that operate without paying for a license. Most people identify Toyota Corolla hatchbacks as clans and they are frequently hailed. While the minimum taximeter price is officially 80, in practice 100 is the minimum a person pays if they board a taxi. Taxi rates in Praia generally go up to 250 escudos from the furthest points of the city to Plateau, and cross town taxis cap out at 400 during the day. Rates generally go up by 50 escudos after 10pm, though for longer distances some will try to charge an extra 100. An exception to this rule is the airport. Airport rates generally range from 500 to 1000 depending on the starting place or destination, and can go up by several hundred at night.

Sal

Sal has unscheduled yasi service between Espargos and Santa Maria, with frequent departures in the morning from Espargos, where most locals live, to Santa Maria, where most locals work, and vice versa in the afternoon.

Inter-Island ferries in Cape Verde
Several ferries operate between the islands with much lower fares than the airlines. These are provided by various independent shipping companies and their conditions and seaworthiness vary. Many services depart from Praia at about midnight, arriving in outlying islands at breakfast time. Return trips often depart around mid-day. Service schedules are approximate and delays or cancellations of service are common. Conditions can be very crowded it is advisable to pre-book a cabin for all but the shortest of trips. Passages can be very rough in winter.

Departure days vary according to the season and are frequently altered. Enquire at the shipping offices in Praia and other Cape Verdean ports.

In early 2011, the Kriola, the first of a proposed fleet of ferryboats belonging to the company Cabo Verde Fast Ferry (CVFF) arrived in Praia directly from Singapore. It was custom-built there by the Dutch shipbuilding company, Damen Group. The Kriola operates regular service among the Sotavento islands of Brava, Fogo, and Santiago.

Ferry routes

 * Boa Vista (Sal Rei)–Maio (Cidade do Maio)
 * Fogo (São Filipe-Vale de Cavaleiros)–Brava (Furna)
 * Maio (Cidade do Maio)–Santiago (Porto Praia)
 * Sal (Palmeira)–Boa Vista (Sal Rei)
 * Santiago (Porto Praia)–Fogo (São Filipe-Vale de Cavaleiros)
 * Santiago (Porto Praia)–São Vicente (Mindelo-Porto Grande) - longest ferry route

 * Santiago (Porto Praia)–Brava (Furna)
 * Santo Antāo (Porto Novo)–São Vicente (Mindelo-Porto Grande)
 * São Nicolau (Tarrafal de São Nicolau)–Sal (Palmeira)
 * São Nicolau (Preguiça)–Sal (Palmeira)
 * São Vicente (Porto Grande)–São Nicolau (Tarrafal de São Nicolau)
 * São Vicente (Porto Grande)–São Nicolau (Preguiça)

Lesser ferry routes:
 * Within Santo Antão: Tarrafal de Monte Trigo–Monte Trigo (45 min) - shortest ferry route
 * Within Săo Nicolau: Preguiça–Carriçal

title: Transport in Cape Verde