Demographics of Cape Verde

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Two Cape Verdean children playing

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Cape Verde, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

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. Most of them were Dutch, French, British (English), Arab and Jewish (from Lebanon and Morocco). All of these have been absorbed into the mixed population.[citation needed]

The high degree of genetic mixture of individuals is a result of centuries of migration. It is not unusual to encounter persons with dark skin, blond hair, and blue eyes, and persons with seemingly light caucasian skin and textured curly hair.

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, Mexico, Uruguay, Argentina, and Senegal. Cape Verdean populations also settled Spain, Germany, Canada, and other CPLP countries (Angola, Brazil and Guinea-Bissau). Since after 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 Creolo, 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, Bahá'ís and Muslims.

Population[edit]

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

According to the 2019 revision of the World Population Prospects[2][3] the total population was 543,767 in 2018, 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 178,000 32.6 59.8 7.6
1955 195,000 35.8 57.9 6.2
1960 211,000 42.1 53.2 4.8
1965 240,000 48.5 47.3 4.2
1970 274,000 48.2 47.8 4
1975 311,000 45.8 49.6 4.6
1980 300,000 46 48.7 5.3
1985 328,000 44.5 50.5 5
1990 348,000 45.4 49.8 4.8
1995 395,000 44.5 50.5 5
2000 437,000 41.7 52.9 5.3
2005 473,000 37 57.2 5.8
2010 496,000 31.8 62.3 5.9

Vital statistics[edit]

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*
1950-1955 9 000 4 000 5 000 49.0 22.6 26.3 6.57 139
1955-1960 10 000 4 000 5 000 48.0 21.1 26.9 6.76 132
1960-1965 10 000 4 000 6 000 45.0 18.7 26.3 6.97 125
1965-1970 11 000 4 000 6 000 41.4 16.4 25.0 6.97 117
1970-1975 12 000 4 000 8 000 41.1 13.4 27.7 6.86 96
1975-1980 13 000 4 000 9 000 41.6 11.6 30.0 6.62 78
1980-1985 13 000 3 000 10 000 41.3 10.3 31.0 6.10 65
1985-1990 14 000 3 000 11 000 40.9 9.2 31.7 5.63 54
1990-1995 14 000 3 000 11 000 36.5 7.9 28.6 4.93 44
1995-2000 13 000 3 000 10 000 31.6 6.7 24.9 4.15 37
2000-2005 12 000 3 000 9 000 26.2 5.8 20.5 3.28 28
2005-2010 11 000 3 000 8 000 21.9 5.2 16.7 2.60 21
* 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[5]

Year Population (x1000) Live births Deaths Natural increase Crude birth rate Crude death rate Rate of natural increase TFR
2009 13 044 2 897 10 147 25,6 5,7 19,9
2010 13 415 2 917 10 498 25,9 5,6 20,3

Fertility and births[edit]

Total fertility rate (TFR) (wanted fertility rate) and crude birth rate (CBR):[6]

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):[7]

Region Total fertility rate Percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant Mean number of children ever born to women age 40-49
Santo Antão 2.9 3.8 6.0
São Vicente 2.0 3.4 4.0
São Nicolau 3.3 4.4 4.2
Sal 3.2 7.0 3.9
Boa Vista 2.4 10.0 4.4
Maio 2.6 1.7 4.3
Santiago 3.1 5.4 4.5
Praia Urbano 3.2 5.1 4.5
Santiago Norte 2.7 6.2 4.3
Resto Santiago 3.3 4.6 4.8
Fogo 3.1 6.3 5.6
Brava 2.8 7.0 5.0

Life expectancy[edit]

Period Life expectancy in
Years[8]
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[edit]

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019.[9]

  • One birth every 46 minutes
  • One death every 180 minutes
  • One net migrant every 360 minutes
  • Net gain of one person every 76 minutes

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook.[10]

Population[edit]

568,373 (July 2018 est.)

Age structure[edit]

Population pyramid of Cape Verde in 2017
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[edit]

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[edit]

1.32% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 83rd

Birth rate[edit]

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

Death rate[edit]

6 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 163rd

Net migration rate[edit]

-0.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.) Country comparison to the world: 128th

Total fertility rate[edit]

2.21 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 95th

Urbanization[edit]

urban population: 65.7% of total population (2018)
rate of urbanization: 1.97% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Sex ratio[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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

Genetics[edit]

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.[11]

Ethnic groups[edit]

Creole (Mulatto) 71%, African 28%, European 1%[12]

Religions[edit]

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% [12]

Languages[edit]

Portuguese (official), Crioulo (a blend of Portuguese and West African words)[12]

Literacy[edit]

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)[edit]

total: 12 years (2017)
male: 12 years (2017)
female: 12 years (2017)

Dependency ratios[edit]

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[edit]

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

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Cape Verde: Population". Caperverde.com. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  2. ^ ""World Population prospects – Population division"". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  3. ^ ""Overall total population" – World Population Prospects: The 2019 Revision" (xslx). population.un.org (custom data acquired via website). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  4. ^ a b "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. ^ "United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  6. ^ "Server Error". microdata.worldbank.org. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  7. ^ "Inquérito Demográfico e de Saúde Reprodutiva (IDSR-II)" (PDF). Dhsprogram.com. 2005. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  8. ^ "World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations". esa.un.org. Retrieved 2018-08-26.
  9. ^ "Cape Verde Population 2019", World Population Review
  10. ^ "The World FactBook - Cameroon", The World Factbook, July 12, 2018 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  11. ^ 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. PMID 12942365.
  12. ^ a b c "Africa :: CAPE VERDE". CIA The World Factbook.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook document: "2008 edition".

External links[edit]

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