The latest census of Cape Verde has shown that the population has increased to 492,000 people. When the first population census was carried out in 1960, the population was just 201,000.
July 11 was a World Population Day, and the chairman of the National Statistics Institute, Antonio Duarte pointed out that the population of this tiny archipelago is extremely young with an average age of just 26.8 years. A massive 54% of the population is less than 25 years old, and the majority of people live in urban areas. The average Cape Verdean woman has 4.2 children, and the life expectancy at birth is now a very respectable 74 years.
The illiteracy rate on the island was 25.2% in 2000, and that has dropped considerably to just 17%. Maternal and child mortality rates have also shown significant improvement during the last few years. In short, the country is well on its way to achieving the majority of the Millennium Development Goals. The population of Cape Verde is forecast to increase to 630,000 people by 2020 which represents an average annual increase of nearly 3%.
The Millennium Development goals include important issues such as eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, ensuring every child has access to good primary education and improving maternal health and reducing child mortality. Other important issues include ensuring sustainable developments and making sure that everyone has access to clean drinking water.
Cape Verde has already achieved its aims of ensuring good primary education, gender equality, a reduction in child mortality and an improvement in maternal health. Other goals remain well on track to be achieved.
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