CAPE VERDE (Continued)
Elections: national elections held December 1980, the first since independence
Political parties and leaders: only legal party, African Party for Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV), led by Aristides Pereira, Secretary General; PAICV established in January 1981 to replace the former ruling party in both Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PA1GC), in protest of the November 1980 coup in Guinea-Bissau
Communists: a few Communists, some sympathizers
Member of: FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, ILO, IMCO, IMF, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO
ECONOMY
GDP: $40.7 million (1978 est.); $136 per capita income; 0.0% growth rate
Agriculture: main crops—corn, beans, manioc, sweet potatoes; barely self-sufficient in food
Fishing: catch 8,331 metric tons (1979 est.); largely undeveloped but provides major source of export earnings
Major industries: salt mining
Electric power: 6,000 kW capacity (1980); 9 million kWh produced (1980); 27 kWh per capita
Exports: $4.1 million (f.o.b., 1979); fish, bananas, salt, flour
Imports: $71.1 million (c.i.f., 1979); petroleum products, corn, rice, machinery, textiles
Major trade partners: Portugal, UK, Japan, African neighbors
Budget: $17.1 million public revenue, $22.1 million current expenditures (1980 est.)
Monetary conversion rate: 47 escudos=US$1 (1981)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Ports: 1 major (Mindelo), 3 minor
Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft
Airfields: 6 total, 6 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: interisland radio-relay system, HF radio to mainland Portugal and Guinea-Bissau, about 1,700 telephones (0.5 per 100 popl.); 1 FM station and 1 AM station; 2 coaxial submarine cables
DEFENSE FORCES
Military manpower: males 15-49, 79,000; 45,000 fit for military service
Military budget: for fiscal year including 31 December 1980, $15 million; about 5% of central government budget
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
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LAND
626,780 km2; 10%-15% cultivated, 5% dense forests, 80%-85% grazing, fallow, vacant arable land, urban, waste
Land boundaries: 4,981 km
PEOPLE
Population: 2,471,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 2.6%
Nationality: noun—Central African(s); adjective—Central African
Ethnic divisions: approximately 80 ethnic groups, the majority of which have related ethnic and linguistic characteristics; Banda (32%) and Baya-Mandjia (29%) are largest single groups; 6,500 Europeans, of whom 6,000 are French and majority of the rest Portuguese
Religion: 40% Protestant, 28% Catholic, 24% animist, 8% Muslim; animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the Christian majority
Language: French official; Sangho, lingua franca and national language
Literacy: estimated at 20%
Labor force: about half the population economically active, 80% of whom are in agriculture; approximately 64,000 salaried workers
Organized labor: 1% of labor force
GOVERNMENT
Official name: Central African Republic
Type: republic, under military rule since September 1981
Capital: Bangui
Political subdivisions: 14 prefectures, 47 subprefectures Legal system: based on French law; Constitution, which was approved in February 1981 referendum, was suspended after September 1981 military takeover; judiciary, Supreme Court, court of appeals, criminal court, and numerous lower courts
National holiday: 4 December
