“If we are currently growing at 6% to 7% [per year], and if we invest in crucial areas, I have no doubt that we can quickly reach double digits, and if we achieve this consistently over a decade, at most 12 years, we will reach $15,000 in per capita GDP, which will ‘catapult Cape Verde into a high-income country,'” said Vice Prime Minister Olavo Correia.
Key areas for investment include connectivity, digital transition, energy transition, and human capital development. Correia spoke at a press conference where he indicated that the 2026 State Budget marks the beginning of efforts for the archipelago to advance further, following its promotion to upper-middle-income status by the World Bank in 2025.
Upcoming legislative elections are scheduled for a date to be determined by the President, but Correia noted that Cape Verde is a “stable” and “predictable” country, and the next government will decide how to manage the budget and other instruments.
“The results we have achieved so far are what we have in hand to affirm that this ambition is attainable,” he detailed. Additionally, Correia highlighted “very positive trends in tourism and beyond.”
“If we manage to make significant progress in critical sectors, I have no doubt we will attract more private investments and more international public investments, not in the form of donations, but through other financing instruments,” he stated. However, he emphasized, “it has to be a collective mission, not just the government’s. It is a mission within our reach.”
Citing recent sports achievements as evidence, Correia remarked, “If you had asked me months ago if Cape Verde could be represented in the World Cups for football, basketball, handball, and the women’s African Cup, I would have said ‘no’ due to lack of funding for travel and other expenses. But it was possible.”
The 2026 budget amounts to 95.7 billion escudo (870 million euros) and anticipates an economic growth rate of around 6%, inflation of approximately 1.6%, an unemployment rate of 7.3%, and a budget deficit of 0.9% of GDP. Public debt is expected to decrease to 97.4% of GDP by 2026. The budget was approved by parliament in late November and promulgated a month later by President José Maria Neves.
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