Fertility decline in Cape Verde in five years

In 2021, the birth rate in Cape Verde fell again, for the fifth year in a row, to 7,632, according to data compiled by Lusa from a report by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

According to that year’s vital statistics report, this downward trend in the number of live births in Cape Verde has been observed since 2016 (9,935), but in 2021 the drop was more significant compared to 8,944 the previous year.

As a result of this fall, out of 1312 births, the birth rate, corresponding to the number of births per thousand inhabitants, decreased from 16 to 14.

The global fertility rate in relation to the number of live births per thousand women of childbearing age (between 15 and 49) has also shown a decline in recent years, “particularly since 2016” when it was 70.3, to 51.7 in 2021.

“The average age of women at childbirth (regardless of birth order) in Cape Verde has been on an upward trend in recent years, from 26.1 years in 2015 to 27.6 years in 2021,” INE said in a statement.

Of the total number of live births registered in 2021, 6.2% are children of parents “where at least one of the parents is a foreigner”, according to INE, 6.9% of registrations in the same year “were made without the father’s name”. .

In 2021, Boa Vista had the “highest proportion” of live births without a father’s name, equivalent to 14.5% of the total number of births on the island.

In the 2021 vital statistics report, INE also reports that there were 2,263 marriages this year, an increase of 749 marriages compared to 2020.

“The data shows that people are getting married later and later, regardless of gender, and therefore there is an increase in the average age of marriage with a decrease in the difference in the average age of newlyweds. The average age at marriage for women has increased from 36 in 2020 to 37 in 2021, and for men from 40 to 41 over the same period,” adds INE.