Economy

Cape Verde is a small nation that lacks resources and has experienced severe droughts. Agriculture is made difficult by lack of rain, and is restricted to only four islands for most of the year. Most of the nation's GDP comes from the service industry. However, Cape Verde's economy has grown since the late 1990s, and it is now considered a country of average development. It has significant cooperation with Portugal at every level of the economy, leading it to link its currency first to the Portuguese escudo, and, in 1999, to the Euro.

Former Portuguese prime minister José Manuel Durão Barroso, now (second semester 2004) president of the European Commission, has promised to help integrate Cape Verde within the European Union sphere of influence via greater cooperation with Portugal. In March 2005, former Portuguese president Mário Soares launched a petition urging the European Union to start membership talks with Cape Verde.