Two Cape Verdean children playing marbles.

The Cape Verde archipelago was uninhabited when the Portuguese discovered it in 1456. African slaves were brought to the islands to work on Portuguese plantations. As a result, Cape Verdeans are mulattos, who have mixed African and European origins. European ancestors also include Spanish and Italian seamen who were granted land by the Portuguese Empire, followed by Portuguese settlers, exiles, and Portuguese Jews who were victims of the Inquisition. Many foreigners from other parts of the world settled Cape Verde as their permanent country. Most of them were Dutch, French, British (English), Arab and Jewish (from Lebanon and Morocco), Chinese (especially from Macau), American, and Brazilian (including people of Portuguese and African descent). All of these have been absorbed into the mestiço population. 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. Portugal, the Netherlands, Italy, Argentina, France, 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 have been admitted every year at Portuguese high schools, polytechnical institutes and universities, through bilateral agreements between the Portuguese Government and the Cape Verdean Government.

Although the official language is Portuguese, most Cape Verdeans speak Cape Verdean Creole (Crioulo in Portuguese, Kriolu or Kriol in Cape Verdean Creole). There is a rich repertoire of literature and songs in Creole. In religion, the majority follow Roman Catholic Christianity. There are also some Protestants, Bahá'ís and Muslims.

Demographic data

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

Population

♠ = estimate ♦ = calculation † = secondary source ‡ = official source

sources

• World Gazeteer: http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?geo=-58&men=gpro
• FAOSTAT: http://www.fao.org/statistics/yearbook/vol_1_1/xls/a01.xls
• CIA: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cv.html#People
• UNDP (HDR): http://hdrstats.undp.org/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_CPV.html
• ESA: World Population Prospects

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook.

Age structure

(source: CIA World Factbook)

0-14 years: 37.9% (male 80,594/female 79,126)

15-64 years: 55.3% (male 113,450/female 119,423)

65 years and over: 6.7% (male 10,542/female 17,844) (2006 est.)

Median age

(source: CIA World Factbook)

Total: 19.8 years

Male: 19 years

Female: 20.7 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate

(source: CIA World Factbook)

0.64% (2006 est.)

Birth rate

(source: CIA World Factbook)

24.87 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate

(source: CIA World Factbook)

6.55 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate

(source: CIA World Factbook)

-11.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio

(source: CIA World Factbook)

At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

Under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female

Total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate

(source: CIA World Factbook)

Total: 46.52 deaths/1,000 live births

Male: 51.63 deaths/1,000 live births

Female: 41.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

(source: CIA World Factbook)

Total population: 70.73 years

Male: 67.41 years

Female: 74.15 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate

(source: CIA World Factbook)

3.38 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS

(source: CIA World Factbook)

Adult prevalence rate: 0.035% (2001 est.)

People living with HIV/AIDS: 775 (2001)

Deaths: 225 (as of 2001)

Nationality

(source: CIA World Factbook)

Noun: Cape Verdean(s)

Adjective: Cape Verdean

Religions

(source: CIA World Factbook)

Main article: Religion in Cape Verde

Roman Catholic; Protestant (mostly Church of the Nazarene), Buddhist 0.2%^{citation needed}

Languages

(source: CIA World Factbook)

Portuguese, Creole

Literacy

(source: CIA World Factbook)

Definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Total population: 76.6%

Male: 85.8%

Female: 69.2% (2003 est.)

References

This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook (2006 edition) which, as a US government publication, is in the public domain.

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Demography of Cape Verde

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