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When the Portuguese 'discovered'
the islands that make up Cape Verde, they were uninhabited. Situated halfway
between Portugal and South America, the ten islands and five islets made for an ideal trading station for
all sorts of goods including the slave trade. However, when that trade
ended, there was little use for Cape Verde as it was no longer required for
transit, nor did it have any meaningful natural resources. Despite this, its strategic
importance allowed it to remain as a supply destination for ships travelling to
and from the Americas with its harbour Port Mindelo on the island of Sao
Vicente coming to prominence in the 19th century. However, without generating
revenue, Portugal was unwilling to invest in its colony, but neither was it
prepared to let it go leading to increasing resentment from the island settlers.
Well over a century later, as
Portugal's government collapsed, the Cape Verde islands were granted
independence from Portugal in 1975 and briefly toyed with the idea of becoming
part of Guinea-Bissau however opted for full independence. As with many newly
established Africa nations, a one-party system was created however full
multi-party elections were held in Cape Verde in 1990. Today, Cape Verde is considered a
good example of African democracy with a population of some 549,935 (2019), mainly descendants from the first Portuguese colonists. Having no transnational border issues by
definition, the biggest problem Cape Verde faces are droughts leading to many
leaving the islands in favour of a steady supply of food, water and better
living conditions elsewhere. In fact more people from Cape Verde now live off the islands
than actually live on them.
The money they send 'home' helps
sustain the country's economy. Cape Verde is also affected by plagues of locusts
which sweep in from the African mainland at regular intervals badly damaging
much needed crops in a country that is already dependent on foreign food aid to
feed its inhabitants. 80% of the population are employed in agriculture however that only accounts for around 12% of GDP. Crops include maize and beans, with bananas, sugar cane, sweet potatoes and cassava also being grown. Despite this, 90% of food needs to be imported to the island with exported crops mainly being bananas and coffee.
Cape Verde is in 126th place out of
189 countries and territories in 2019 when ranked in terms of life expectancy,
literacy, access to knowledge and living standards, making it the highest ranked country in West Africa, with a life expectancy of 72.78 years (2018). Poverty, however remains rife and, for a country very much dependant on the tourist industry, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the economy hard. 54% of the country's rural population (and 16% in urban areas) do not have access to flushing toilets (just 20% of the population has access to a sewer, and 27% of the population has to resort to open defecation) or other sanitation improvements and one in five is reliant on lakes, rivers and the sea to keep clean in the absence of available water.
Despite many improvements in the water and sanitation sector over the last two decades, Cape Verde still faces significant challenges in overcoming its water and sanitation crisis relying on the energy intensive process of desalinization for clean water. Primary school education in Cape Verde is mandatory between the ages of 6-14 and free for children ages 6-12 and while primary school enrolment is pretty much
universal, only 27% of all children attend secondary school, especially girls who are expected to focus on water collection and other domicilliary tasks. School attendance is also hit by the regular outbreaks of cholera with few doctors on the islands to
nroamly abandoned when these outbreaks occur.
Cape Verde Profile: Volunteer in Cape Verde
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Cape Verde Profile: Praia Profile
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Cape Verde Profile: Child Sponsor Cape Verde
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Cape Verde Profile: Cape Verde Map
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Cape Verde Profile: Cape Verde News
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