Food imports (% of merchandise imports) in Cape Verde
Cape Verde: Food imports (% of merchandise imports) was 32.6% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Food imports in Cape Verde, 1978–2024
Source: Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division. Measured in % of merchandise imports.
Analysis
Cape Verde recorded 32.6% for food imports in 2024.
The figure is up 61.1% on the previous year and up 14.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, food imports in Cape Verde peaked at 46.4% in 1980 and was at its lowest, 19.3%, in 2022.
Cape Verde ranks 8th of 196 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 31 years of available data.
Food imports (% of merchandise imports) in Cape Verde, year by year
| Year | % of merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 41.3% | — |
| 1979 | 45.2% | +9.4% |
| 1980 | 46.4% | +2.7% |
| 1997 | 34.7% | -25.2% |
| 1998 | 34.4% | -0.9% |
| 1999 | 31.8% | -7.6% |
| 2000 | 31.0% | -2.6% |
| 2001 | 33.7% | +8.8% |
| 2002 | 29.8% | -11.6% |
| 2003 | 30.8% | +3.1% |
| 2004 | 30.2% | -1.8% |
| 2005 | 30.5% | +1.0% |
| 2006 | 29.2% | -4.4% |
| 2007 | 25.7% | -11.9% |
| 2008 | 27.7% | +7.7% |
| 2009 | 29.4% | +6.5% |
| 2010 | 27.7% | -5.8% |
| 2011 | 25.4% | -8.5% |
| 2012 | 27.9% | +10.0% |
| 2013 | 32.2% | +15.1% |
| 2014 | 28.4% | -11.5% |
| 2015 | 32.5% | +14.1% |
| 2016 | 30.9% | -4.9% |
| 2017 | 30.1% | -2.5% |
| 2018 | 30.2% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 19.8% | -34.5% |
| 2020 | 22.0% | +11.2% |
| 2021 | 21.2% | -3.4% |
| 2022 | 19.3% | -9.3% |
| 2023 | 20.2% | +4.9% |
| 2024 | 32.6% | +61.1% |
Cape Verde compared with similar countries
- Cape Verde's 32.6% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 15.4%, 2.1× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Cape Verde's 32.6% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 21.1%, 1.5× the median. (46 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 43.3% | 41.3% | 45.2% | 2 |
| 1980s | 46.4% | 46.4% | 46.4% | 1 |
| 1990s | 33.7% | 31.8% | 34.7% | 3 |
| 2000s | 29.8% | 25.7% | 33.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 28.5% | 19.8% | 32.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.1% | 19.3% | 32.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Cape Verde
More private sector data for Cape Verde
- Merchandise trade 70.0% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 50.8% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 2.04 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 328.28 million current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 86.4% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 13.6% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 96.00 million current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 916.62 million current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 182.05 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0314 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is food imports in Cape Verde?
- Food imports in Cape Verde was 32.6% in 2024, according to Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division.
- What is the highest food imports recorded in Cape Verde?
- The highest recorded value was 46.4% in 1980.
- What is the lowest food imports recorded in Cape Verde?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.3% in 2022.
- How does Cape Verde rank for food imports?
- Cape Verde ranks 8th out of 196 countries with data for 2024.
- Is food imports rising or falling in Cape Verde?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Cape Verde data come from?
- The figures come from Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division, published as part of Food imports (% of merchandise imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Food comprises the commodities in SITC (Rev. 3) sections 0 (food and live animals), 1 (beverages and tobacco), and 4 (animal and vegetable oils and fats) and division 22 (oil seeds, oil nuts, and oil kernels). This indicator is expressed as a percentage of merchandise imports which is comprised of goods whose economic ownership is changed between a non-resident and a resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e.