— THE COUNTRY —
Island country in West Africa
Cape Verde, also referred to in English by its Portuguese name Cabo Verde, and known officially as the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an archipelagic country in the central Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of West Africa. It consists of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about 4,033 square kilometres (1,557 sq mi). These islands lie between 600 and 850 kilometres west of Cap-Vert, the westernmost point of continental Africa, after which they are named. Cape Verde forms part of the Macaronesia ecoregion, along with the Azores, the Canary Islands, Madeira and the Savage Islands.
Text: Wikipedia — Cape Verde CC BY-SA 4.0 · revised 2026-07-29
— LAND —
5 of 5 figures unavailable for Cape Verde.
— PEOPLE —
Population
527,326 people
#172 of 216 2025
Population growth
0.5% % per year
#140 of 216 2025
Population density
130 people per km²
#83 of 215 2023
People living in cities
77.6% % of population
#67 of 216 2025
Urban population growth
1.6% % per year
#89 of 216 2025
People living rurally
22.4% % of population
#150 of 216 2025
Population aged 0-14
24.7% % of population
#96 of 216 2025
Population aged 15-64
68.2% % of population
#48 of 216 2025
Population aged 65+
7.2% % of population
#122 of 216 2025
▸ ISSUE 7 MORE Age dependency ratio
46.7% % of working-age population
#169 of 216 2025
Female population
49.1% % of population
#186 of 216 2025
Births per woman
2 births per woman
#150 of 216 2024
Birth rate
12.2 /1,000 per 1,000 people
#116 of 216 2024
Death rate
5.1 /1,000 per 1,000 people
#189 of 216 2024
Net migration
-1,284 people (5-year total)
#113 of 216 2025
Migrants living in the country
3.1% % of population
#134 of 215 2024
— MONEY —
Foreign reserves
$1.26B current US$
#139 of 177 2025
External debt
$2.36B current US$
#25 of 121 2024
Income inequality (Gini)
42 0-100
not enough data to rank 2015
People below the poverty line
14.6% % of population
not enough data to rank 2015
Income share held by richest 10%
32.3% %
not enough data to rank 2015
Income share held by poorest 10%
2.2% %
not enough data to rank 2015
Money sent home by workers abroad
$356.8M current US$
#126 of 186 2025
Foreign aid received
4.1% % of GNI
#48 of 137 2023
Exchange rate
98 local currency per US$
#67 of 211 2025
▸ ISSUE 4 MORE Agriculture's share of the economy
5.0% % of GDP
#108 of 199 2025
Industry's share of the economy
10.7% % of GDP
#183 of 202 2025
Manufacturing's share of the economy
5.2% % of GDP
#153 of 195 2025
Services' share of the economy
67.9% % of GDP
#43 of 202 2025
26 of 39 figures unavailable for Cape Verde.
— TRADE —
Exports
42.0% % of GDP
#74 of 187 2025
Imports
53.4% % of GDP
#72 of 187 2025
Trade balance
-11.4% % of GDP
#132 of 187 2025
Total trade (openness)
70.0% % of GDP
#69 of 205 2025
Goods exported
$96.0M current US$
#186 of 207 2025
Goods imported
$2.04B current US$
#166 of 207 2025
Services exported
$939.6M current US$
#141 of 191 2025
Services imported
$349.7M current US$
#171 of 191 2025
Goods and services exported
$1.28B current US$
#166 of 191 2025
▸ ISSUE 3 MORE Goods and services imported
$1.64B current US$
#167 of 191 2025
High-tech share of exports
1.2% % of manufactured exports
#151 of 179 2023
Terms of trade
92 index
#162 of 206 2024
— HEALTH —
Life expectancy
76.2 yrs years
#97 of 216 2024
Life expectancy, women
79.4 yrs years
#95 of 216 2024
Life expectancy, men
73.1 yrs years
#95 of 216 2024
Infant deaths
10.6 /1,000 per 1,000 live births
#86 of 196 2024
Deaths under age 5
11.1 /1,000 per 1,000 live births
#80 of 196 2024
Maternal deaths
40 per 100,000 live births
#91 of 194 2023
Health spending
5.8% % of GDP
#108 of 193 2023
Health spending per person
$290 current US$
#117 of 193 2023
Physicians
0.7 /1,000 per 1,000 people
#125 of 187 2023
▸ ISSUE 10 MORE Nurses and midwives
1.8 /1,000 per 1,000 people
#141 of 196 2023
Hospital beds
2.2 /1,000 per 1,000 people
#87 of 157 2022
Access to clean drinking water
92.3% % of population
#146 of 214 2024
Access to basic sanitation
83.1% % of population
#147 of 213 2024
Suicide rate
15 per 100,000 people
#157 of 185 2021
Adults who smoke
10.4% % of adults
#36 of 166 2024
HIV prevalence
0.9% % aged 15-49
#108 of 153 2024
Tuberculosis cases
47 per 100,000 people
#111 of 208 2024
Undernourishment
13.5% % of population
#125 of 168 2023
Children vaccinated against measles
95.0% % of children 12-23 months
#60 of 193 2024
— LEARNING —
Education spending
4.3% % of GDP
#85 of 190 2023
Education spending
13.4% % of government spending
#85 of 189 2024
Adult literacy
88.5% % aged 15+
#68 of 119 2024
Youth literacy
98.3% % aged 15-24
#55 of 126 2024
Primary school enrolment
103.0% % gross
#66 of 200 2022
Secondary school enrolment
96.4% % gross
#75 of 188 2022
University enrolment
24.3% % gross
#118 of 167 2018
Primary school completion
99.1% % of relevant age group
#47 of 180 2022
Pupils per teacher, primary school
21 pupils per teacher
#95 of 160 2018
▸ ISSUE 1 MORE Years of compulsory education
10.0 yrs years
#85 of 197 2025
— WORK —
Unemployment
11.9% % of labour force
#160 of 186 2025
Youth unemployment
28.4% % of labour force aged 15-24
#164 of 186 2025
Labour force participation
57.0% % aged 15+
#129 of 186 2025
Women in the labour force
50.5% % of women aged 15+
#117 of 186 2025
Men in the labour force
63.4% % of men aged 15+
#140 of 186 2025
Labour force
226,448 people
#174 of 186 2025
Working in agriculture
9.2% % of employment
#112 of 186 2025
Working in industry
23.1% % of employment
#58 of 186 2025
Working in services
67.7% % of employment
#68 of 186 2025
▸ ISSUE 3 MORE Self-employed
38.5% % of employment
#83 of 186 2025
Labour force with advanced education
69.8% % of labour force
#140 of 171 2019
Employed
50.2% % aged 15+
#138 of 186 2025
— CONNECTED —
People online
74.7% % of population
#122 of 207 2024
Mobile phone subscriptions
112 per 100 people
#117 of 210 2024
Fixed broadband subscriptions
8 per 100 people
#123 of 208 2024
Fixed telephone lines
12 per 100 people
#94 of 213 2024
Access to electricity
98.4% % of population
#140 of 214 2024
Access to clean cooking fuel
83.9% % of population
#109 of 189 2023
Energy used per person
208 kg oil equivalent per person
not enough data to rank 2007
Air passengers carried
71,784 passengers
#143 of 165 2023
Air freight
0 million tonne-km
#137 of 163 2023
▸ ISSUE 5 MORE Container port traffic
89,382 TEU
#127 of 167 2024
Research and development spending
0.1% % of GDP
not enough data to rank 2011
Patent applications by residents
count
2021
Scientific journal articles published
18 count
#174 of 197 2023
Tourists arriving
180,000 count
#154 of 194 2020
4 of 18 figures unavailable for Cape Verde.
— NATURE —
12 of 12 figures unavailable for Cape Verde.
— STATE —
7 of 7 figures unavailable for Cape Verde.