Cabo Verde
Last updated December 22, 2025
Composite GEFRI Score
Severely underprepared
Cabo Verde is severely underprepared (37th percentile worldwide). Key structural conditions limit capacity to plan, implement, and sustain forward-looking reforms. Higher scores indicate a system that is better prepared to anticipate and shape the future of learning.
- Global percentile
- 37th
- Global rank
- #113
- Regional rank
- #6
- Viewing data for
Country profile
Cabo Verde trails global peers in Innovation (19, 4th percentile). A coordinated reform effort is needed to strengthen education futures readiness.
Wide gaps between dimensions reveal structural weaknesses that slow coordinated progress. Literacy or tertiary enrollment gaps thin the talent pipeline and limit the country’s capacity to develop future-ready skills.
Sparse R&D investment and a small research workforce slow experimentation and delay new ideas from reaching learners. Girls outperform boys in secondary pathways, adding pressure to address male dropout risks.
Human Capital presents a near-term leapfrog opportunity: performance is just below the global average, backed by enough observed data to support forward planning. Regionally, Cabo Verde leads most clearly in Governance, sitting well above the peer average.
Note: Most indicators rely on observed data, offering a dependable evidence base for decisions.
Key insights
- Falls below many peers at the 37th percentile.
- Places 113th worldwide.
- Holds a regional position of 6th within Sub-Saharan Africa .
- Scores range from Governance (63.7) to Access & Parity (10.0), reflecting variation across dimensions.
- Leads regional peers most clearly in Governance.
Regional peers: Sub-Saharan Africa
Composite GEFRI score
| Global rank | Regional rank | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 67 | 1 | South Africa | 57.14 |
| 68 | 2 | Mauritius | 56.87 |
| — | — | SeychellesMicrostate | 55.72 |
| 74 | 3 | Botswana | 55.44 |
| 108 | 4 | Namibia | 43.86 |
| 111 | 5 | Ghana | 40.92 |
| 113 | 6 | Cabo Verde | 39.81 |
| 115 | 7 | Sierra Leone | 38.84 |
| — | — | Sao Tome and PrincipeFCSMicrostate | 38.53 |
| 119 | 8 | Eswatini | 37.54 |
| 127 | 9 | Senegal | 35.31 |
| 128 | 10 | Gabon | 34.39 |
| 130 | 11 | Rwanda | 33.46 |
| 132 | 12 | Kenya | 33.01 |
| 136 | 13 | Cote d'Ivoire | 31.71 |
| 138 | 14 | Gambia, The | 30.79 |
| 140 | 15 | Lesotho | 29.76 |
| 141 | 16 | Equatorial Guinea | 29.48 |
| 142 | 17 | Benin | 29.14 |
| 143 | 18 | Zambia | 28.93 |
| 144 | 19 | ZimbabweFCS | 28.92 |
| 146 | 20 | Tanzania | 28.51 |
| 147 | 21 | Togo | 28.14 |
| 148 | 22 | CameroonFCS | 27.69 |
| 150 | 23 | Mauritania | 25.98 |
| 151 | 24 | ComorosFCS | 25.84 |
| 152 | 25 | Angola | 25.63 |
| 154 | 26 | Congo, Rep.FCS | 24.72 |
| 155 | 27 | MozambiqueFCS | 24.40 |
| 156 | 28 | NigeriaFCS | 24.09 |
| 157 | 29 | EthiopiaFCS | 24.04 |
| 158 | 30 | Madagascar | 23.66 |
| 159 | 31 | Malawi | 23.03 |
| 160 | 32 | MaliFCS | 23.02 |
| 161 | 33 | Burkina FasoFCS | 22.80 |
| 162 | 34 | Uganda | 22.60 |
| 164 | 35 | Guinea | 22.13 |
| 166 | 36 | Liberia | 21.10 |
| 167 | 37 | NigerFCS | 20.37 |
| 168 | 38 | SudanFCS | 20.10 |
| 169 | 39 | BurundiFCS | 18.87 |
| 170 | 40 | Guinea-BissauFCS | 18.69 |
| 171 | 41 | EritreaFCS | 18.19 |
| 172 | 42 | Congo, Dem. Rep.FCS | 17.22 |
| 174 | 43 | ChadFCS | 15.73 |
| 175 | 44 | South SudanFCS | 15.65 |
| 176 | 45 | Somalia, Fed. Rep.FCS | 14.75 |
| 177 | 46 | Central African RepublicFCS | 13.33 |