Praia, Cape Verde, 28 Aug – The population of Cape Verde is forecast to increase by 30 percent before 2020, to 630,000 people, according to the projections of a demographic study carried out by the country’s National Statistics Institute (INE).

Currently, the Cape Verdean population totals 484,000 people, which means that the growth forecast by INE represents an annual average increase of 2.9 percent.
In 2020, the number of Cape Verdeans aged over 18 is expected to be over 370,000, which is more than the 255,000 registered on the 2005 electoral roll, INE said.

All of the country’s municipal areas, with the exception of Santo Antão and the islands of Brava and S. Nicolau, will see their populations increase.

The trend of migration from rural to urban areas will continue, according to INE, and the population will remain young despite a slight increase in the average life expectancy and some growth of the older population. (macauhub)