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Cabo Verde

Republic of Cabo Verde

Portuguese Cape Verdean Escudo (CVE) Portuguese civil law
AU, ECOWAS, AfCFTA, CPLP, WTO

Cabo Verde is a small island nation in the Atlantic that has achieved remarkable development outcomes relative to its limited natural resources. The economy is driven by tourism (particularly from Europe), fisheries, remittances from a large diaspora, and services. The country graduated from Least Developed Country (LDC) status in 2007 and has one of Africa's lowest corruption levels (CPI rank 33). The International Business Centre targets financial services and tech companies. Challenges include water scarcity, limited arable land, small market size, and vulnerability to global tourism cycles. The escudo is pegged to the euro, reflecting close ties with Portugal and the EU.

Snapshot

Population~0.5 MWorld Bank, 2025
GDP (current USD)$3.1 BWorld Bank, 2025
GDP per Capita$5,796World Bank, 2025
GDP Growth6.30%World Bank, 2025
Inflation (y/y)~2.34%World Bank, 2025
Unemployment11.94%World Bank, ILO modelled estimate, 2025
Internet Use~74.74%World Bank, 2024
Electrification~95.00%World Bank WDI
CPI Score (Rank)60.0/100 (#33)Transparency Intl
HDI (Rank)0.662 (#130)UNDP HDR

World Bank Indicators Compare with another country

GDP (current USD)$3.1 BWorld Bank, 2025
GDP growth (annual)6.30%World Bank, 2025
GDP per capita (USD)$5,796World Bank, 2025
Population, total527,326World Bank, 2025
FDI net inflows (USD)$153.9 MWorld Bank, 2025
Inflation (consumer prices)2.34%World Bank, 2025
Unemployment (% labour force)11.94%World Bank, 2025
Internet use (% of people)74.74%World Bank, 2024
Trade (% of GDP)95.33%World Bank, 2025

Climate Readiness Full ranking

75out of 100
Advanced readiness
Climate adaptation readiness for Cabo Verde, from 5 of 5 measured indicators.
Energy access9595.0% · 30% weight
Governance readiness6060 / 100 CPI · 20% weight
Human readiness660.662 HDI · 20% weight
Economic readiness73$5,796, 2025 · 15% weight
Digital readiness6969.0% · 15% weight
This scores climate adaptation readiness (adaptive capacity), following the readiness dimension of the ND-GAIN framework. It is built only from measured values already held on this profile and normalised 0-100. It does not measure emissions or physical climate vulnerability: the platform does not yet hold emissions, hazard-exposure or natural-capital series. Energy access is the single most climate-specific indicator held; the other four are governance, economic, human-development and digital readiness proxies. The economic sub-score is relative to the African countries the platform covers.
How this is computed

Adaptive capacity to absorb climate finance and adapt, following the readiness dimension of the ND-GAIN framework. Built only from measured values already held on each country profile. It is not a measure of emissions or physical climate vulnerability, which the platform does not yet hold.

  • Energy access (30%) — World Bank, access to electricity (% of population). The single most climate and energy specific signal held: SDG 7 and the clean-energy transition.
  • Governance readiness (20%) — Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index (0-100). ND-GAIN governance readiness: the capacity to govern and deploy climate finance. Higher is cleaner.
  • Human readiness (20%) — UNDP, Human Development Index (0-1). ND-GAIN social readiness: the adaptive capacity of the population.
  • Economic readiness (15%) — World Bank, GDP per capita (current US$), latest measured year. ND-GAIN economic readiness: the capacity to finance adaptation. Scored relative to the covered set.
  • Digital readiness (15%) — World Bank, individuals using the Internet (% of population). Information systems for early warning and adaptation.

A country is scored only when at least 4 of the five indicators are held. Sub-scores are weighted and renormalised over the indicators that are present; nothing is estimated for one that is absent.

Country Facts

CapitalPraia
RegionWest Africa
CurrencyCape Verdean Escudo (CVE)
FX RegimeFixed peg to EUR (CVE 110.265 = 1 EUR)
Legal SystemPortuguese civil law
Time ZoneAtlantic/Cape_Verde

Focus Sectors

Tourism
Fisheries
Services
Renewable Energy
Maritime Services
ICT
Agriculture
Construction
Remittances

Regulations & Taxes

Corporate Income Tax22% standard (reduced rates for industrial/tourism)
VAT / Sales Tax15% standard