8 Billion Lives
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Where you could be born / Africa / Western Africa

Born in Cabo Verde

About 1 in 20,642 people born in 2023 started life in Cabo Verde. A boy can expect to live 73 years and a girl 79, up from 44 and 46 in 1950. Most people live in cities, and 91% have basic drinking water.

1 in 20,642
odds of being born here
6,400 births · Ranked 177th of 230
73 / 79
years of life, boys / girls
Was 44 / 46 in 1950
$3,888
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 134th of 203 · extrapolated
76%
live in a city
The rest live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 31 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 208 in every 1,000 births to 12.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

0255075100195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth72.9 years for boys, 79.2 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 511.8 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year3,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.7World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles95%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV0.9%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year53 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 6.5 children on average in 1950. Now it is 1.5, below the 2.1 it takes to keep a population steady.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman1.52UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth28.6 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 49 and the poorest fifth 6.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2015
6%Poorest fifth
10%Second
14%Middle
22%Fourth
49%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $3,888 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth49% / 6% (2015)World Bank PIP
Unemployment11.9% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises3.7% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person4.3% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming10% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed38% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment96% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Praia, with 137,868 people.

76%
live in cities
99%
have electricity at home
91%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Praia137,868
Mindelo69,013
Espargos24,500
Assomada21,297
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Kabuverdianu91%
Portuguese76%
Portuguese is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Praia137,868
São Vicente69,013
Sal24,500
Santa Catarina21,297

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

People on the move

About 28% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Portugal, France, Angola.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Portugal76,835
France34,814
Angola9,497
Residents born abroad3.1% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 27.9% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostPortugal (76,835), France (34,814), Angola (9,497)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $356.8 million a year (2025)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

77% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 6%.

77%
of older people receive a pension (2023)
6%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2023)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 2024417Our World in Data, from WHO

Now live it.

Born in Cabo Verde, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Cabo Verde

Elsewhere in Africa

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences