Sub-Saharan Africa · Upper middle income
Cabo Verde: the economy in numbers
Per person: $5,796, or $12,165 at purchasing power parity. Population: 527,326 (2025).
GDP in 2025, current US dollars: #178 of 204 economies. IMF forecast for 2026: +5.0%.
GDP
Adjusted for US inflation, in 2025 dollars: $556 million in 1980, $3.06 billion in 2025.
GDP per capita
In 2025 dollars: $1,720 per person in 1980, $5,796 in 2025.
Real GDP growth
Average over 2016–2025: 3.5% a year. Years of falling GDP since 1980: 2 of 46.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Inflation
Consumer prices rose by 66.7% from 2000 to 2025. Highest annual inflation: 21.1% in 1982.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Government debt, % of GDP
Highest since 1997: 168.4% of GDP in 2021. IMF forecast for 2031: 80.8%.
Population
1960: 210,024 · 2025: 527,326.
Unemployment rate
1991: 13.5% · 2025: 11.9%.
Life expectancy at birth
1960: 48.7 years · 2024: 76.2 years.
Exports of goods and services
1980: 17.1% · 2025: 42.0%.
Data by year
Show the year-by-year table
| Year | GDP | GDP per capita | Per capita, PPP | Real growth | Inflation | Gov. debt, % GDP | Population | Unemployment | Life expectancy | Exports, % GDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2031 | 5.1%f | 2.0%f | 80.8%f | |||||||
| 2030 | 5.1%f | 2.0%f | 86.4%f | |||||||
| 2029 | 5.1%f | 2.0%f | 92.3%f | |||||||
| 2028 | 5.1%f | 2.0%f | 97.7%f | |||||||
| 2027 | 5.0%f | 2.8%f | 103.6%f | |||||||
| 2026 | 5.0%f | 1.2%f | 109.9%f | |||||||
| 2025 | $3.06B | $5,796 | $12,165 | 6.3% | 2.3% | 115.4%e | 527K | 11.9% | 42.0% | |
| 2024 | $2.71B | $5,170 | $11,185 | 7.0% | 1.0% | 127.1% | 525K | 11.9% | 76.2 | 42.7% |
| 2023 | $2.5B | $4,795 | $10,251 | 4.8% | 3.7% | 134.3% | 522K | 11.9% | 76.1 | 39.3% |
| 2022 | $2.25B | $4,323 | $9,480 | 15.8% | 7.9% | 144.6% | 520K | 12.2% | 75.9 | 38.7% |
| 2021 | $2.05B | $3,971 | $7,685 | 7.0% | 1.9% | 168.4% | 517K | 13.9% | 74.4 | 23.8% |
| 2020 | $1.82B | $3,539 | $6,853 | −20.8% | 0.6% | 168.2% | 515K | 14.7% | 73.8 | 25.3% |
| 2019 | $2.25B | $4,381 | $8,646 | 6.9% | 1.1% | 123.5% | 514K | 12.1% | 75.4 | 46.7% |
| 2018 | $2.21B | $4,295 | $7,916 | 3.7% | 1.3% | 127.2% | 513K | 12.2% | 74.8 | 45.9% |
| 2017 | $2.0B | $3,893 | $7,936 | 4.6% | 0.8% | 123.4% | 513K | 12.2% | 74.7 | 42.1% |
| 2016 | $1.85B | $3,609 | $7,351 | 4.3% | −1.4% | 123.9% | 513K | 12.1% | 74.3 | 41.5% |
| 2015 | $1.75B | $3,415 | $6,773 | 0.9% | 0.1% | 125.2% | 512K | 11.9% | 74.1 | 41.1% |
| 2014 | $2.04B | $3,986 | $6,417 | 0.7% | −0.2% | 117.0% | 512K | 11.7% | 73.8 | 37.2% |
| 2013 | $2.03B | $3,961 | $6,367 | 0.6% | 1.5% | 106.7% | 512K | 11.4% | 73.5 | 37.5% |
| 2012 | $1.91B | $3,737 | $6,318 | 1.1% | 2.5% | 70.4% | 512K | 11.1% | 73.3 | 37.5% |
| 2011 | $2.05B | $4,002 | $6,384 | 3.9% | 4.5% | 64.5% | 511K | 11.0% | 72.9 | 32.9% |
| 2010 | $1.82B | $3,579 | $6,039 | 1.8% | 2.1% | 61.2% | 510K | 10.7% | 72.5 | 30.3% |
| 2009 | $1.85B | $3,660 | $5,901 | −1.5% | 1.0% | 58.8% | 506K | 13.5% | 72.1 | 29.0% |
| 2008 | $1.96B | $3,909 | $6,011 | 7.0% | 6.8% | 57.5% | 501K | 13.3% | 71.9 | 34.3% |
| 2007 | $1.65B | $3,325 | $5,567 | 15.2% | 4.4% | 59.6% | 496K | 13.3% | 71.5 | 33.7% |
| 2006 | $1.11B | $2,257 | $4,758 | 8.0% | 5.4% | 66.2% | 491K | 13.4% | 71.3 | 45.1% |
| 2005 | $972M | $2,004 | $4,324 | 6.9% | 0.4% | 66.7% | 485K | 13.4% | 70.9 | 37.8% |
| 2004 | $925M | $1,929 | $3,969 | 10.2% | −1.9% | 67.8% | 479K | 13.5% | 70.5 | 32.0% |
| 2003 | $813M | $1,718 | $3,551 | 4.2% | 1.2% | 65.6% | 473K | 13.6% | 70.0 | 31.4% |
| 2002 | $621M | $1,329 | $3,388 | 5.3% | 1.9% | 64.7% | 467K | 13.4% | 69.4 | 32.5% |
| 2001 | $563M | $1,223 | $3,217 | 2.2% | 3.3% | 62.2% | 460K | 13.2% | 68.7 | 29.8% |
| 2000 | $539M | $1,190 | $3,124 | 14.3% | −2.5% | 71.9% | 453K | 13.0% | 68.1 | 27.0% |
| 1999 | $592M | $1,327 | $2,714 | 11.2% | 4.4% | 66.4% | 447K | 13.1% | 67.4 | 21.0% |
| 1998 | $522M | $1,187 | $2,443 | 12.5% | 4.4% | 72.9% | 440K | 13.1% | 66.7 | 22.8% |
| 1997 | $491M | $1,134 | $2,182 | 11.1% | 8.6% | 79.3% | 433K | 13.0% | 66.1 | 27.4% |
| 1996 | $502M | $1,180 | $1,963 | 11.3% | 6.0% | 426K | 12.8% | 65.5 | 20.2% | |
| 1995 | $487M | $1,165 | $1,762 | 14.2% | 8.4% | 418K | 12.9% | 63.7 | 17.1% | |
| 1994 | $407M | $991 | $1,540 | 19.2% | 3.5% | 410K | 12.9% | 64.6 | 15.0% | |
| 1993 | $490M | $1,220 | $1,291 | 8.7% | 5.8% | 402K | 13.3% | 64.5 | 13.3% | |
| 1992 | $357M | $908 | $1,186 | 10.9% | 3.1% | 393K | 13.4% | 64.3 | 17.3% | |
| 1991 | $320M | $832 | $1,069 | 1.4% | 9.6% | 385K | 13.5% | 64.1 | 16.6% | |
| 1990 | $307M | $817 | $1,044 | 0.7% | 10.7% | 375K | 63.9 | 17.1% | ||
| 1989 | $267M | $727 | 5.7% | 4.6% | 368K | 63.6 | 19.2% | |||
| 1988 | $264M | $729 | 6.0% | 4.1% | 362K | 63.2 | 16.7% | |||
| 1987 | $235M | $658 | 4.3% | 3.8% | 357K | 62.9 | 18.1% | |||
| 1986 | $191M | $541 | 2.9% | 10.9% | 352K | 62.6 | 17.6% | |||
| 1985 | $138M | $396 | 8.6% | 5.4% | 347K | 62.3 | 22.6% | |||
| 1984 | $132M | $385 | 3.8% | 11.2% | 343K | 61.8 | 22.8% | |||
| 1983 | $138M | $410 | 9.5% | 20.2% | 338K | 61.8 | 24.6% | |||
| 1982 | $141M | $423 | 2.8% | 21.1% | 333K | 61.5 | 22.9% | |||
| 1981 | $139M | $425 | 8.5% | 20.7% | 328K | 61.3 | 21.5% | |||
| 1980 | $142M | $440 | 5.3% | 15.1% | 323K | 61.0 | 17.1% | |||
| 1979 | 319K | 60.7 | ||||||||
| 1978 | 316K | 60.4 | ||||||||
| 1977 | 313K | 60.0 | ||||||||
| 1976 | 309K | 59.4 | ||||||||
| 1975 | 306K | 59.0 | ||||||||
| 1974 | 303K | 58.4 | ||||||||
| 1973 | 300K | 58.0 | ||||||||
| 1972 | 297K | 57.5 | ||||||||
| 1971 | 294K | 57.0 | ||||||||
| 1970 | 288K | 56.6 | ||||||||
| 1969 | 279K | 56.0 | ||||||||
| 1968 | 270K | 55.4 | ||||||||
| 1967 | 261K | 54.7 | ||||||||
| 1966 | 253K | 53.9 | ||||||||
| 1965 | 245K | 53.0 | ||||||||
| 1964 | 237K | 52.1 | ||||||||
| 1963 | 229K | 51.1 | ||||||||
| 1962 | 222K | 50.2 | ||||||||
| 1961 | 215K | 49.4 | ||||||||
| 1960 | 210K | 48.7 |
e: IMF estimate; f: IMF forecast. Real growth: IMF data for 1980, World Bank for the other years. Inflation: IMF data for 1980–1983, World Bank for the other years.
Nearby economies in Sub-Saharan Africa
Nearest by distance between capitals, with GDP per capita.
Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cabo Verde · Cameroon · Central African Republic · Chad · Comoros · Côte d’Ivoire · DR Congo · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Gabon · Gambia · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Lesotho · Liberia · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Mauritius · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Republic of the Congo · Rwanda · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Africa · South Sudan · Sudan · São Tomé and Príncipe · Tanzania · Togo · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe
Rankings
GDP by country · GDP per capita · Real GDP growth · Inflation by country · Government debt to GDP · Stock market to GDP · Population by country · Unemployment by country
Data and methods
- GDP: gross domestic product in current US dollars, converted from the local currency at market exchange rates (World Bank); not adjusted for inflation.
- Purchasing power parity (PPP): GDP per person in international dollars, which buy the same basket of goods and services in every country. It compares living standards across countries in the same year; it is not adjusted for inflation over time.
- In 2025 dollars: the charts can remove US inflation (US consumer price index, annual average) so that dollar amounts from different years compare in today's money. Exchange rate swings still show.
- Growth and inflation: World Bank data (calendar years). Years the World Bank does not cover yet, and the estimates and forecasts, come from the IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026): its forecasts start in 2026, and the years after a country's last actual year are IMF estimates.
- Government debt: gross debt of the general government (central, state and local government and social security funds) as a percentage of GDP, IMF. The World Bank's central government debt is narrower and covers fewer countries.
- Stock market capitalization: the end-of-year value of domestic companies listed on the country's exchanges (World Federation of Exchanges via the World Bank; before 2016, Standard & Poor's), as a percentage of GDP: the “Buffett indicator”. Investment funds are excluded, and so are companies listed only abroad; companies from elsewhere that list on an exchange count for its country (Hong Kong lists many mainland Chinese companies).
- Unemployment: ILO modeled estimates (share of the labor force); comparable across countries, but they may differ from national figures.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)