Cape Verde economic performance was bolstered by one of the fastest growing tourism industries in the world, as well as by substantial capital inflows that allowed Cape Verde to build up national currency reserves to the current 3.5 months of imports. Unemployment has been falling rapidly, and the country is on track to achieve most of the UN Millennium Development Goals – including halving its 1990 poverty level. In 2007, Cape Verde joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) and in 2008 the country graduated from Least Developed Country (LDC) to Middle Income Country (MIC) status. Cape Verde has significant cooperation with Portugal
Cape Verde–European Union relations Bosnia and Herzegovina. In terms of respect of democracy the Freedom house report ranks Cape Verde top in Africa and again Cape Verde has a better ranking than that of some designated "potential candidate or member countries" of the EU: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Albania. Most of the imports and exports of Cape Verde are for and from the European Union, and it has a service-based economy. Its currency, the escudo, is pegged to the euro. Although the Cape Verde archipelago is geographically in Africa, there have been similar situations before. Cyprus is an island nation that, despite being