Official data indicate that the annual rate of expansion of gross domestic product in Cape Verde accelerated to 4.9 percent in the third quarter of last year from 3.0 percent in the second quarter, A Semana reports.

The Cape Verdean newspaper, citing National Institute of Statistics figures, says the faster growth in the third quarter was due largely to greater consumption and greater exports.

The annual rate of growth in consumption rose to 12.1 percent in the third quarter from 6 percent in the second.

The annual rate of growth in the value of exports was 14.1 percent in the third quarter and the annual rate of growth in the value of imports was 5.8 percent, A Semana says.