Washington, Oct. 17, 2025 (Lusa) - The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Cabo Verde on Friday downplayed the World Bank's downward revision of the country's growth forecast for this year, arguing that the figures are within the margin of "normal variation".
At issue is the Africa Pulse report, released last week by the World Bank, which lowered Cabo Verde's gross domestic product (GDP) growth outlook for 2025 from 5.9% to 5.4%.
"We are practically growing at the limit of our potential, between 5% and 7%. Therefore, it is within that margin, in terms of what we consider today to be Cabo Verde's economic growth potential: between 5% and 7%," Olavo Correia downplayed.
"Therefore, within that margin, this variation is normal. But what we have to do, and are doing, is reform the economy so that our economic growth potential can increase," he said.
In an interview on Friday with Lusa, in Washington, on the sidelines of the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, Olavo Correia admitted challenges in the energy, connectivity, sanitation, health, training sectors and attraction of large private investment, advocating the need for structural reforms in these sectors, so they do not become "bottlenecks to economic growth itself".
"What we are doing now is structural reforms (...). We have to work to ensure that the Cabo Verdean economy grows between 5% and 7% in the short term and then accelerate reforms so that our potential doubles and we can achieve growth levels above 10%, between 10% and 12%," he specified.
The minister considers that Cabo Verde is growing at a "good level", "well above sub-Saharan Africa" and "world growth", but stressed that this pace is still insufficient for the country's current demands.
When asked by Lusa about the timeframe for Cabo Verde to achieve double-digit economic growth, the minister estimated between two and three years, provided that reforms are accelerated and the country achieves a level of "service excellence" in the sectors that are crucial to driving this growth.
On another front, Olavo Correia predicts that within 10 years Cabo Verde will cease to be an upper-middle-income country and become a high-income country.
In view of the external risks to which the nation is vulnerable, the Government remains optimistic, although it admits to a slight downward trend in forecasts.
"The global economy has proven to be very resilient. What we had predicted a year ago, such as trade wars and their consequences on the global economy, is not happening. The global economic picture, although showing some contraction, demonstrates great resilience. Therefore, we are not afraid of the future," he stressed.
Despite this, Cabo Verde must preserve its macroeconomic stability, which is an important asset for the country, according to Olavo Correia, who insisted on the need to continue working so that economic growth can be much higher than the current level.
The Deputy Prime Minister also emphasised the importance of a stable macroeconomic environment, to which "inflation below 2%, a budget deficit between 0% and 1%, a positive primary balance, an economy growing above 5%, international reserves at historic levels covering more than eight months of imports for the first time in Cabo Verde's history, and unemployment at historically low levels".
"Therefore, we are optimistic about global economic growth, but we have work to do," he said.
The goal is to create more skilled and better-paid jobs so that Cabo Verdeans can remain in the country "in a dignified manner".
Regarding the growing demand for Cabo Verde as a tourist destination, the minister acknowledged a deficit in supply capacity and assured that ways are being sought to diversify the Cabo Verdean economy so that it is a "tourist economy, but also a greener, bluer, more digital, smarter, more inclusive economy, and that requires reforms".
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