Country Comments

Cabo Verde, also called Cape Verde, is a group of islands that lie 385 miles (620 km) off the west coast of Africa. The country has more than twice as many people than the renewable resources can support. As a result there is a heavy reliance on imported foodstuffs. Soil loss through wind and water erosion is a serious challenge. The very limited water supply is a grave liability, and there are no domestic sources of energy except firewood, wind, and sunlight. (1)

The government has made a major effort to plant drought-resistant acacia trees and build dikes, retaining dams, and terracing in order to curb intense water erosion, improve water retention in the subsoil, and improve and expand the limited areas available for subsistence and small-scale commercial farming.

Cabo Verde benefits from a relatively high rate of youth literacy at 98 percent (2) and its percentage use of contraception by women is higher than most African countries. As a result, since 2000, the fertility rate has dropped from 4 children per mother to just over replacement level. This welcoming trend, if it continues, will eventually help move the country toward sustainability.

(1) Britannica 2020

(2) Borgen Project