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 CatholicChristianity. 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
178,000
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
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*
1950–1955
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)
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]
^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. PMID12942365. S2CID63381583.
