Between 1979 and 2019, EBID’s cumulative interventions in favour of Cape Verde amounted to UA 25.26 million, i.e. USD 34.68 million or CFAF 20.61 billion for 7 projects. These interventions in favour of Cape Verde represent 1.55% of EBID’s total cumulative commitments to Member States.
Capo Verde Economic Outlook
Cabo Verde has made remarkable social progress compared to its regional peers. In 2007, it graduated from a least developing country to middle-income status. According to the national statistics institute, the incidence of poverty fell to 35% in 2015 from 57% in 2001 and extreme poverty to 11% from 30%, using the national extreme poverty line of €1.2 per person per day in 2015. Inequality also declined, the consumption-based Gini index fell to 0.42 in 2015 from 0.53 in 2001. The Human Development Index, which measures a country’s standard of living, ranked Cabo Verde at 125 out of 189 countries in 2017–––putting the country in the medium human development category. The majority of the population has access to electricity (90%), water supply (64%), sanitary facilities (80%) and internet facilities (48%).
The Cabo Verdean economy maintained a solid growth performance in 2018, with an estimated growth rate of 5.0% in 2019, up from 0.6% in 2014. The strong growth performance is being driven by strong dynamism in the industry, fishery, commerce, and tourism sectors. The outlook is positive as growth is projected at 5.0% in 2020, on the back of higher remittance inflows, continued growth in the tourism sector and increased public spending. Inflation rate remained subdued at an estimated 1.2% in 2019 though it has been increasing over time.
The fiscal deficit narrowed slightly from 2.8% of GDP in 2018 to 2.2% in 2019. The decline was due to the implementation of fiscal reforms to contain public debts and support fiscal sustainability under the authorities’ latest Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF). The stock of public debt is very high, reaching an estimated 116.3% of GDP in 2019 (up from 110% in 2017) ––well above the sustainable threshold level of 50% of GDP. According to IMF Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA), Cabo Verde is assessed as a high risk of external debt distress. The current account deficit narrowed slightly from 4.5% of GDP in 2018 to an estimated 4.4% of GDP in 2019.
The business environment remains relatively strong and competitive compared to its regional peers. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), Cabo Verde ranks 110th out of 137 countries in 2017-18 global competitiveness review and ranked 137 among 190 economies in the World Bank ease of doing business survey 2020, with only Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire scoring better in the sub-region.