Roman Catholic (infused with indigenous beliefs), Protestant (mostly Church of the Nazarene)
Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10%
Languages
Portuguese, Crioulo (a blend of Portuguese and West African words)
Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area)
Exports
fuel, shoes, garments, fish, hides
External Debt
$657,700,000 $
Exchange Rate
Cape Verdean escudos (CVE) per US dollar - 73.84 (2008 est.), 81.235 (2007), 87.946 (2006), 88.67 (2005), 88.808 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.500%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Western Africa, group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Senegal
Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo
Area
4,033 km sq
27,830 km sq
Coastline
965 km
0 km
Climate
temperate; warm, dry summer; precipitation meager and very erratic
equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude variation (772 m to 2,670 m above sea level); average annual temperature varies with altitude from 23 to 17 degrees centigrade but is generally moderate as the average altitude is about 1,700 m; average annual rainfall is about 150 cm; two wet seasons (February to May and September to November), and two dry seasons (June to August and December to January)