This is not a small detail. Upper-middle-income status is the category that includes countries like Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, and China. Cabo Verde — a small Atlantic archipelago of half a million people — just crossed that threshold. The World Bank elevated it in July 2025. What got it there: → GDP growth of 7.3% in 2024 — one of the highest rates in West Africa → Inflation at 1% — its lowest level in recent history → Public debt declining from 144% of GDP in 2021 to 107