Cabo Verde
Cabo Verde has benefitted from preferential access to the EU market under the GSP+ since 2012, after having graduated out of the EBA and having ratified the 27 core international conventions on human and labour rights, environmental standards and good governance as required from GSP+ beneficiary countries. It is a lower-middle income economy with a per-capita income of $4,851 in 2023. EU imports from Cabo Verde amounted to about €78.6 million in 2023, and preferential imports under the GSP+ to €60.1 million. The EU is Cabo Verde's main trading partner.
What is the GSP+?
The GSP+ is a special incentive arrangement for Sustainable Development and Good Governance that supports vulnerable developing countries. Next to fulfilling the eligibility requirements of the Standard GSP, GSP+ countries are required to ratify 27 international conventions on human rights, labour rights, environmental protection and climate change, and good governance. In order to ensure effective implementation of the conventions as well as compliance with reporting obligations, the EU engages in monitoring activities with the GSP+ countries. GSP+ beneficiaries can benefit from complete duty suspensions for products across approximately 66% of all EU tariff lines.
At a glance: EU preferential imports from GSP+ beneficiary countries (2023, € million)
0.5M (2023)
Population
Parliamentary Republic
Government
5.5% (2023)
GDP Growth
3.7% (2023)
Inflation
$ 2.5B (2023)
GDP
Facts about Cabo Verde's economy
Island Economy
Cabo Verde is a small island economy with limited natural resources and arable land which explains the country's high dependence on the service sector.
Export Products
Cabo Verde's main export products are prepared or frozen fish (e.g. tuna, mackerel, skipjack, or squid) and other products made of fish, such as flours, meals, or pellets.
Trade Partners
Cabo Verde is highly dependent on the EU both as a destination for exports and as a source for imports. Trade with the EU accounted for 64% of total trade in 2023. Other international partners are the US, Togo, China, and Brazil. Their trade shares, however, are below 10%.
Economic Structure
Cabo Verde's GDP is dependent on the service sector, particularly the tourism industry, which contributes more than 57% to the GDP. Industry (17%) and agriculture (4%) only contribute a smaller share. With almost 12% of the GDP, remittances play an important role for the West African country.
Usage of GSP+ Preferences
Cabo Verde uses trade preferences granted under the GSP+ for 77% of its total exports. The preference utilisation rate, which represents the ratio of preferential imports to GSP+ eligible imports, dropped to 81% in 2023, down from 92% a year earlier.
Trade with the EU
Total trade with Cabo Verde summed up to €585 million in 2023. 62% of the country's imports originated in the EU in 2023, and 92% of its exports were destined for the EU market.
Cabo Verde and the EU
Imports from Cabo Verde by product section (2023, € million)
Imports from Cabo Verde over time (€ million)
CABO VERDE AND THE EU GSP
Economic Impact
Cabo Verde's economy concentrates on a small number of products which is reflected in the country's diversification score of 97.1% (2019). The minimum diversification threshold currently stands at 75%. In addition, Cabo Verde can be considered a vulnerable economy. The vulnerability score stood at 0.1 in 2019 with the threshold standing at 7.4%.
96%
A large share of Cabo Verde's exports to the EU in 2023 were eligible for tariff reductions under the GSP.
81%
Cabo Verde's preference utilisation rate in 2023.
81%
Share of zero-duty imports from Cabo Verde.
Preference utilisation and export diversification
EU imports from Cabo Verde (€ million)
Preference utilisation (%) vs. total eligible imports (in € million)
Most of the EU's imports from Cabo Verde are eligible for GSP+ preferences. Eligible imports were volatile over the years and contracted sharply in 2020 but since then strongly rebounded. Cabo Verde's preference utilisation rate was around 90% in most recent years but somewhat dropped to 81% in 2023 (from 92% a year earlier). The preference utilisation is particularly high for apparel and footwear (close to 100%). The utilisation rate of the most important product category, fish products, dropped to 89% in 2023, and that of fish (the second most important product), to 41%.
The largest product sections under the GSP+ (€ million, 2023)
These statistics indicate that the usage of preferences is highly concentrated in the fishery sector. Currently, about 84% of all preferential imports from Cabo Verde are fish products followed by a minor share of textile and footwear products. Between 2016 and 2018, total imports of processed fish products have increased by more than 60% which indicates that Cabo Verde makes an effort to tap higher value chains. However, since 2020 the overall GSP utilisation dropped by 10%. Overall, further diversification remains a challenge given the geographic and structural restrictions of Cabo Verde.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND MONITORING PRIORITIES
The COVID-19 pandemic hit Cabo Verde severely. The small archipelagic country is highly dependent on the tourism sector, and in 2020 the pandemic led to the worst drop in GDP in its history. The crisis reversed the substantial progress achieved on important economic and social development indicators and severely impacted the country’s public finances, placing Cabo Verde among the most indebted countries in the world. During the pandemic, Cabo Verde ensured a successful health policy and vaccination campaign. It also designed and timely implemented efficient measures to preserve the country’s economic and social fabric, which were adopted in close cooperation with international partners.
Monitoring priorities during the reporting period 2024-2025
Anti-discrimination legislation
Protection against child labour and exploitation
Collective bargaining
Labour non-discrimination
Equal remuneration
Combating drug trafficking
Implementation of environmental conventions
Combating corruption and money laundering
For the reporting period 2024-2025, the EU has focussed its monitoring activities on eight priority areas. Despite the difficult context, Cabo Verde maintained the effective implementation of international conventions and good rates in human rights and corruption perception indexes. Elections (local, parliamentary, and presidential) between October 2020 and October 2021 fully complied with international standards, including on transparency and peaceful acceptance of results.
EU-Cabo Verde Bilateral Development Cooperation
DG INTPA
Access all info about EU-Cabo Verde relations on the International Partnerships website.