Demographics of Cape Verde

Demographic features of the population of Cape Verde include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Demographics of Cape Verde
Population pyramid of Cape Verde in 2020
Population596,707 (2022 est.)
Growth rate1.21% (2022 est.)
Birth rate18.49 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate5.8 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy73.75 years
 • male71.41 years
 • female76.15 years
Fertility rate2.13 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate23.53 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate-0.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years27.95%
65 and over5.48%
Sex ratio
Total0.95 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth1.03 male(s)/female
Under 151.01 male(s)/female
65 and over0.52 male(s)/female
Nationality
NationalityCabo Verdean or Cape Verdean

Cape Verde has a population of about 540,000 inhabitants who live in the islands. A large proportion (236,000) of Cape Verdeans live on the main island, Santiago.[1] Many more live abroad in the Cape Verdean diaspora in mainland Africa, Europe, U.S., Brazil, et cetera.

The archipelago of Cape Verde were first found and claimed by Portuguese sailors working for the Portuguese Crown in 1456. Cape Verdeans are West African. Many foreigners from other parts of the world settled in Cape Verde as their permanent country.

Two Cape Verdean children playing

Survival in a country with few natural resources has historically induced Cape Verdeans to emigrate. In fact, of the more than 1 million people of Cape Verdean ancestry in the world, only a little more than one-third actually live on the islands. Some 500,000 people of Cape Verdean ancestry live in the United States, mainly in New England. Many people of Cape Verdean ancestry also live in Portugal, Netherlands, France, Italy and Senegal. Cape Verdean populations also settled Spain, Germany, Canada, and other CPLP countries (Angola, Brazil and Guinea-Bissau). Since independence from Portugal in 1975, a number of Cape Verdean students continued to be admitted every year at Portuguese high schools, polytechnical institutes and universities, through bilateral agreements between the Portuguese and Cape Verdean governments.

Portuguese functions as a state language. Virtually all formal documents and official declarations are stated in Portuguese. But it is not the first language. Cape Verdean, commonly called Kriolu, is spoken as a mother tongue by virtually all Cape Verdeans, irrespective of social status or religious affiliation. Moreover, historical linguists often attribute Cape Verdean Creole as the oldest "New World" contact language. It is a "contact" language in the sense that it was birthed and evolved between linguistically different groups who, by necessity, had to create a common language to communicate with each other. There is a rich repertoire of literature and songs in Cape Verdean Creole. In religion, the majority of Cape Verdeans follow Catholic Christianity. There are some Protestants, Baháʼís and Muslims.

Population
Demographics of Cape Verde, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects[2][3] the total population was 587,925 in 2021, compared to only 178,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 31.8%, 62.3% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 5.9% was 65 years or older.[4]

Total population Population aged 0–14 (%) Population aged 15–64 (%) Population aged 65+ (%)
1950 178,00032.659.87.6
1955 195,00035.857.96.2
1960 211,00042.153.24.8
1965 240,00048.547.34.2
1970 274,00048.247.84
1975 311,00045.849.64.6
1980 300,0004648.75.3
1985 328,00044.550.55
1990 348,00045.449.84.8
1995 395,00044.550.55
2000 437,00041.752.95.3
2005 473,0003757.25.8
2010 496,00031.862.35.9
Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 16.VI.2010):[5]
Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 243 403 248 280 491 683 100
0–4 25 131 25 069 50 200 10.21
5–9 25 168 25 040 50 208 10.21
10–14 27 864 27 361 55 225 11.23
15–19 29 655 29 405 59 060 12.01
20–24 27 327 25 578 52 905 10.76
25–29 23 336 21 005 44 341 9.02
30–34 18 165 16 339 34 504 7.02
35–39 14 106 13 130 27 236 5.54
40–44 12 988 13 303 26 291 5.35
45–49 11 347 12 165 23 512 4.78
50–54 8 162 9 999 18 161 3.69
55–59 4 947 7 196 12 143 2.47
60–64 2 613 3 580 6 193 1.26
65-69 2 499 3 716 6 215 1.26
70-74 3 437 5 229 8 666 1.76
75-79 2 980 4 453 7 433 1.51
80-84 2 092 3 185 5 277 1.07
85-89 827 1 358 2 185 0.44
90-94 377 696 1 073 0.22
95+ 172 325 497 0.10
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 78 163 77 470 155 633 31.65
15–64 152 646 151 700 304 346 61.90
65+ 12 384 18 962 31 346 6.38
Unknown 210 148 358 0.07
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020) (Data refer to national projections.):[6]
Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 281 533 275 324 556 857 100
0–4 26 739 25 524 52 264 9.39
5–9 26 162 24 973 51 135 9.18
10–14 25 262 25 389 50 651 9.10
15–19 23 734 23 483 47 218 8.48
20–24 23 955 22 461 46 416 8.34
25–29 28 159 26 015 54 173 9.73
30–34 28 603 24 995 53 597 9.62
35–39 24 111 20 484 44 595 8.01
40–44 18 738 15 923 34 660 6.22
45–49 14 043 12 780 26 822 4.82
50–54 12 282 12 693 24 974 4.48
55–59 10 437 11 557 21 994 3.95
60–64 7 125 9 226 16 351 2.94
65-69 4 080 6 402 10 482 1.88
70-74 2 050 2 955 5 006 0.90
75-79 1 722 2 772 4 494 0.81
80-84 2 037 3 496 5 533 0.99
85-89 1 443 2 389 3 833 0.69
90-94 682 1 249 1 931 0.35
95+ 170 560 730 0.13
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 78 163 75 886 154 049 27.66
15–64 191 186 179 615 370 801 66.59
65+ 12 184 19 823 32 007 5.75
Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 16.VI.2021): [7]
Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 246 363 244 870 491 233 100
0–4 23 111 22 429 45 540 9.27
5–9 23 533 23 086 46 619 9.49
10–14 23 809 22 771 46 580 9.48
15–19 21 903 20 401 42 304 8.61
20–24 20 391 18 159 38 550 7.85
25–29 22 481 21 665 44 146 8.99
30–34 22 552 21 681 44 233 9.00
35–39 19 217 18 105 37 322 7.60
40–44 15 820 14 259 30 079 6.12
45–49 12 269 11 347 23 616 4.81
50–54 11 257 11 224 22 481 4.58
55–59 10 001 10 682 20 683 4.21
60–64 7 536 8 765 16 301 3.32
65-69 4 496 6 510 11 006 2.24
70-74 2 347 3 279 5 626 1.15
75-79 1 685 2 842 4 527 0.92
80-84 1 839 3 404 5 243 1.07
85-89 1 257 2 473 3 730 0.76
90-94 648 1 316 1 964 0.40
95+ 211 472 683 1.39
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 70 453 68 286 138 739 28.24
15–64 163 427 156 288 319 715 65.08
65+ 12 483 20 296 32 779 6.67

Vital statistics

Vital events of Cape Verde are not (yet) available for recent years. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.[4]

Period Live births per year Deaths per year Natural change per year CBR* CDR* NC* TFR* IMR*
1950-19559 0004 0005 00049.022.626.36.57139
1955-196010 0004 0005 00048.021.126.96.76132
1960-196510 0004 0006 00045.018.726.36.97125
1965-197011 0004 0006 00041.416.425.06.97117
1970-197512 0004 0008 00041.113.427.76.8696
1975-198013 0004 0009 00041.611.630.06.6278
1980-198513 0003 00010 00041.310.331.06.1065
1985-199014 0003 00011 00040.99.231.75.6354
1990-199514 0003 00011 00036.57.928.64.9344
1995-200013 0003 00010 00031.66.724.94.1537
2000-200512 0003 0009 00026.25.820.53.2828
2005-201011 0003 0008 00021.95.216.72.6021
* CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Births and deaths

[8][9]

Year Population Live births Deaths Natural increase Crude birth rate Crude death rate Rate of natural increase TFR
1948 3,756
1949 3,904 3,641 263
1950 5,322 2,562 2,760
1951 7,367 2,377 4,990
1952 7,647 2,455 5,192
1953 7,597 2,866 4,731
1954 8,697 3,305 5,392
1955 8,547 2,220 6,327
1956 8,377 2,200 6,177
1957 8,237 2,790 5,447
1958 9,026 2,552 6,474
1959 9,609 2,382 7,227
1960 8,954 3,127 5,827
1961 8,319 2,543 5,776
1962 8,952 2,452 6,500
1963 9,671 2,996 6,675
1964 9,783 2,315 7,468
1965 9,638 2,377 7,261
1966 9,621 2,167 7,454
1967 10,190 2,593 7,597
1968 10,131 2,397 7,734
1969 9,671 3,452 6,219
1970 9,379 2,883 6,496
1971 9,493 4,147 5,346
1972 8,966 2,779 6,187
1973 8,418 3,513 4,905
1974 8,492 2,576 5,916
1975 8,210 2,796 5,414
1976 9,863 2,869 6,994
1977 9,965 2,564 7,401
1978 10,060 3,207 6,853
1979 8,289 2,469 5,820
1980 9,650 2,080 7,570
1981 8,580
1982 11,066 2,169 8,897
1983 11,438 2,649 8,789
1984 11,696 2,863 8,833
1985 11,282 2,735 8,547
1986 12,636
1987 12,771
1988 12,443
1989
1990 9,669 2,505 7,164
1991 12,289 2,616 9,673
1992 9,671 2,843 6,828
1993 2,821
1994
1995 386,813 3,520 9.1
1996 393,478 2,715 6.9
1997 406,267 3,047 7.5
1998 413,382 15,460 2,811 12,649 6.8
1999 426,061 2,812 6.6
2000 436,821 12,746 2,433 10,313 29.2 5.6 23.6 4.00
2001 445,035 12,550 2,396 10,154 28.2 5.4 22.8
2002 452,198 12,345 2,395 9,950 27.3 5.3 22.0
2003 460,837 12,120 2,600 9,520 26.3 5.6 20.7
2004 468,854 11,862 2,522 9,340 25.3 5.4 19.9
2005 478,163 11,554 2,423 9,131 24.3 5.1 19.2
2006 487,121 9,765 2,612 7,153 20.7 5.4 15.3 2.44
2007 491,419 10,421 2,484 7,937 21.8 5.2 16.6 2.57
2008 499,796 10,165 2,683 7,482 21.0 5.5 15.5 2.43
2009 485,677 9,962 2,583 7,379 20.4 5.3 15.1 2.33
2010 491,683 10,568 2,352 8,216 21.4 4.8 16.6 2.42
2011 499,929 10,777 2,488 8,289 21.6 5.0 16.6 2.44
2012 505,983 10,050 2,610 7,440 19.9 5.2 14.7 2.26
2013 512,173 9,845 2,518 7,327 19.2 4.9 14.3 2.19
2014 518,467 9,868 2,528 7,340 19.0 4.9 14.1 2.17
2015 524,833 9,757 2,761 6,996 18.6 5.3 13.3 2.11
2016 531,239 9,935 2,591 7,344 18.7 4.9 13.8 2.13
2017 537,661 9,899 2,497 7,402 18.4 4.6 13.6 2.11
2018 544,081 9,480 2,836 6,588 17.4 5.2 12.2 1.98
2019 9,154 2,771 6,383 16.6 5.0 11.6
2020 8,944 2,959 5,985 16.1 5.3 10.8
2021 7,632 3,178 4,454 13.6 5.6 8.0

Fertility and births

Total fertility rate (TFR) (wanted fertility rate) and crude birth rate (CBR):[10]

Year CBR (Total) TFR (Total) CBR (Urban) TFR (Urban) CBR (Rural) TFR (Rural)
2005 22 2,9 (2,8) 23 2,7 (2,7) 22 3,1 (3,0)

Fertility data from 2005 (DHS Program):[11]

Region Total fertility rate Percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant Mean number of children ever born to women age 40-49
Santo Antão2.93.86.0
São Vicente2.03.44.0
São Nicolau3.34.44.2
Sal3.27.03.9
Boa Vista2.410.04.4
Maio2.61.74.3
Santiago3.15.44.5
Praia Urbano3.25.14.5
Santiago Norte2.76.24.3
Resto Santiago3.34.64.8
Fogo3.16.35.6
Brava2.87.05.0

Life expectancy
Period Life expectancy in
Years[12]
1950–1955 48.08
1955–1960 Increase 48.77
1960–1965 Increase 49.45
1965–1970 Increase 52.43
1970–1975 Increase 55.25
1975–1980 Increase 60.52
1980–1985 Increase 62.37
1985–1990 Increase 64.10
1990–1995 Increase 65.73
1995–2000 Increase 67.94
2000–2005 Increase 71.27
2005–2010 Increase 71.77
2010–2015 Increase 72.14

Other demographic statistics

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022.[13]

  • One birth every 51 minutes
  • One death every 160 minutes
  • One net migrant every 480 minutes
  • Net gain of one person every 90 minutes

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook.[14]

Population
596,707 (2022 est.)
568,373 (July 2018 est.)

Age structure
Population pyramid of Cape Verde in 2020
0-14 years: 27.95% (male 82,010/female 81,012)
15-24 years: 18.69% (male 54,521/female 54,504)
25-54 years: 40.76% (male 115,811/female 121,923)
55-64 years: 7.12% (male 18,939/female 22,597)
65 years and over: 5.48% (male 12,037/female 19,901) (2020 est.)
0-14 years: 28.7% (male 82,035 /female 81,082)
15-24 years: 19.64% (male 55,811 /female 55,798)
25-54 years: 40.02% (male 110,646 /female 116,804)
55-64 years: 6.4% (male 16,154 /female 20,245)
65 years and over: 5.24% (male 11,272 /female 18,526) (2018 est.)

Median age
total: 26.8 years. Country comparison to the world: 151st
male: 25.9 years
female: 27.6 years (2020 est.)
total: 25.8 years. Country comparison to the world: 153rd
male: 25 years
female: 26.7 years (2018 est.)
Total: 23.1 years
Male: 22.3 years
Female: 23.9 years (2012 est.)

Population growth rate
1.21% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 76th
1.32% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 83rd

Total fertility rate
2.13 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 92nd
2.21 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 95th

Birth rate
18.49 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 79th
19.7 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 79th

Death rate
5.8 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 168th
6 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 163rd

Net migration rate
-0.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 126th
-0.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.) Country comparison to the world: 128th

Urbanization
See also: Cape Verde § Demographics
urban population: 67.5% of total population (2022)
rate of urbanization: 1.83% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 65.7% of total population (2018)
rate of urbanization: 1.97% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate
55.8% (2018)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.58 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 73.75 years. Country comparison to the world: 144th
male: 71.41 years
female: 76.15 years (2022 est.)
total population: 72.7 years (2018 est.)
male: 70.3 years (2018 est.)
female: 75.1 years (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 147th
Total population: 71 years
Male: 68.78 years
Female: 73.27 years (2012 est.)

HIV/AIDS
Adult prevalence rate: 0.035% (2001 est.)
People living with HIV/AIDS: 775 (2001)
Deaths: 225 (as of 2001)

Genetics

E1b1a, R1b

The predominance of West African mitochondrial DNA haplotypes in their maternal gene pool, the major West African Y-chromosome lineage E3a was observed only at a frequency of 15.9%. Overall, these results indicate that gene flow from multiple sources and sex-specific patterns have been important in the formation of the genomic diversity in the Cabo Verde islands.[15]

Religions
Main article: Religion in Cape Verde
Catholic 77.3%, Protestant 3.7% (includes Church of the Nazarene 1.7%, Adventist 1.5%, Universal Kingdom of God 0.4%, and God and Love 0.1%), other Christian 4.3% (includes Christian Rationalism 1.9%, Jehovah's Witness 1%, Assembly of God 0.9%, and New Apostolic 0.5%), Islam 1.8%, Other 1.3%, None 10.8%, Unspecified 0.7% (2010 estimate) [16]

Languages
Portuguese (official), Kriolu[16]

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 76.6%
Male: 85.8%
Female: 69.2% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 13 years
male: 12 years
female: 13 years (2018)
total: 12 years (2017)
male: 12 years (2017)
female: 12 years (2017)

Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 55.4 (2015 est.)
youth dependency ratio: 48.4 (2015 est.)
elderly dependency ratio: 6.9 (2015 est.)
potential support ratio: 14.4 (2015 est.)

See also
See also: List of Cape Verdeans, Cape Verdean American, and Cape Verdeans in the Netherlands

References
  1. "Cape Verde: Population". Caperverde.com. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  2. "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  3. "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX). population.un.org ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  4. "Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision". Esa.un.org. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  5. "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics".
  6. "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics".
  7. "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics".
  8. "United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  9. "Relatório Estatístico".
  10. "Server Error". microdata.worldbank.org. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  11. "Inquérito Demográfico e de Saúde Reprodutiva (IDSR-II)" (PDF). Dhsprogram.com. 2005. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  12. "World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations". esa.un.org. Retrieved 2018-08-26.
  13. "Cape Verde Population 2022", World Population Review
  14. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "The World FactBook - Cape Verde", The World Factbook, May 2022
  15. Gonçalves, Rita; Alexandra Rosa; Ana Freitas; Ana Fernandes; Toomas Kivisild; Richard Villems; António Brehm (26 August 2003). "Y-chromosome lineages in Cabo Verde Islands witness the diverse geographic origin of its first male settlers". Human Genetics. 113 (6): 467–472. doi:10.1007/s00439-003-1007-4. hdl:10400.13/3047. PMID 12942365. S2CID 63381583.
  16. "Africa :: CAPE VERDE". CIA The World Factbook. 14 April 2022.

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook (2023 ed.). CIA. (Archived 2008 edition)

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