TOR WS 4.2 Inclusive Development

In the last decade, Cabo Verde’s largely tourism-driven economic growth has resulted in significant progress on meeting the basic needs of the population, and it is now one of the few African countries expected to realize most, if not all, of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. However, despite some promising achievements, poverty reduction continues at a slow rate and unemployment has reached worrying levels, especially among the youth population. According to the latest data, the youth unemployment rates in Cabo Verde reached 34.5% (15-24) and 19.7% (25-34), in contrast to the national average of 16.4%. Further, regional disparities have increased with the divergence in development opportunities and prospects specific to each island and there is a widening rural-urban divide, with the poor mainly in the rural areas.