Portuguese and Crioulo, a blend of Portuguese and West African languages, are widely spoken. Cape Verde has considerable underground reserves of water, but extraction has proved too costly. The main crops are bananas, corn, beans, sweet potatoes, coffee, tomatoes, peanuts, and sugarcane. Goats, hogs, cattle, and sheep are raised. Tuna and lobster are the main catches of a small but potentially rich fishing industry.
Salt is extracted and there are unexploited gypsum deposits.
The islands' manufactures are limited to processed food, beverages, clothes, and footware. Remittances from emigrants living in the United States, Portugal, and Africa constitute an important supplement to the islands' economy. 4 Government Cape Verde is a multiparty democracy governed under the constitution of 1992. There is an elected president, a prime minister, and a unicameral legislature, the 72-member national assembly. Administratively, Cape Verde is divided into 14 districts.