Praia, Jan. 5, 2026 (Lusa) - The Cabo Verdean government claimed on Monday that it is possible to triple GDP per capita (wealth per inhabitant) within 10 to 12 years, turning the archipelago into a high-income country.
"If we grow 6% to 7% [per year], if we invest in crucial areas, I have no doubt that we can quickly reach double digits, and if we manage to do so consistently over a decade, in a maximum of 12 years, we will reach US$15,000" in GDP per capita, which will "catapult Cabo Verde into a high-income country," said Olavo Correia, deputy prime minister.
Among the crucial areas are connectivity, digital transition, energy transition and human capital qualification.
The minister responsible for Finance and the Digital Economy was speaking at a press conference in which he said that, with the state budget for 2026, "the journey begins" for the archipelago to climb another rung, after being promoted to upper-middle-income country by the World Bank in 2025.
In the meantime, there will be legislative elections in a few months (on a day to be set by the country's president), but Olavo Correia pointed out that Cabo Verde is a “stable” and “predictable” country and the next government will decide what to do with the state budget and other instruments, he said.
"The results we have achieved so far are what we have up our sleeve to affirm that it is possible" to achieve that ambition, he explained.
In addition, Olavo Correia relies on "very positive trends, in tourism and beyond".
"If we manage to make the leap in critical sectors, I have no doubt that we will attract more private investment and more international public investment, not in the form of donations, but with other financing instruments," he said.
However, "it will have to be a collective mission, not just the government's. It is a mission that is within our reach."
Olavo Correia drew on the country's recent sporting achievements to support his arguments.
"If you had asked me months ago whether Cabo Verde could be in the World Cup, basketball, handball and the Women's African Cup of Nations, I would certainly have said no, because there is no money for travel, for this or for that. But it was possible," he concluded.
The 2026 state budget amounts to 95.7 billion escudos (€870 million) and, at the macroeconomic level, forecasts gross domestic product (GDP) growth of around 6%, inflation of around 1.6%, an unemployment rate of 7.3% and a budget deficit of 0.9% of GDP.
As for public debt, it is expected to fall to 97.4% of GDP in 2026.
The document was approved by parliament at the end of November and promulgated a month later by the country's president, José Maria Neves.
LFO/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
