Country of the World Cape Verde Islands

About the country Cape Verde Islands, its location, size, population, leaders and rulers.

NATIONS AND THEIR RULER

CAPE VERDE ISLANDS

Size: 1,557 sq. mi. (4,033 sq. km.), slightly larger than Rhode Island.

Population: 311,000.

A group of desert island lying 300 mi. east of Senegal in West Africa in the Atlantic Ocean, the Cape Verde Islands were given their independence from Portugal in July, 1975. Recently, the islands have been plagued by droughts and famines, which the U.N. food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has predicted will continue for at least several more years. Cape Verde began receiving aid from the U.S.S.R. in 1976, after signing a treaty allowing Soviet ships' usage of Cape Verdean ports. In November, 1977, 15 Cuban medical aides and advisers were stationed on the islands as Soviet influence increased.