Is Cuba a good place to live?

Answer 1

Cubans have a high life expectancy (78.24 years), low mortality during childhood (6.7 deaths per 1,000) are highly literate (99.8%) and usually attend 16 years of school. All of these things indicate that Cuba is a very good place to live.

But it's economy is low to moderate in terms of overall output. The Per Capita GDP adjusted for purchasing power parity is estimated at about $9,700 on the CIA World Factbook. This is similar to other Latin American countries. Presumably Cubans can do little discretionary spending compared to other countries, and lack some of the material comforts enjoyed in richer countries.

Cuba seems to be lagging in information technology. In 2008 it had only 13 Internet users per 100 people. The US had around 77, and most Latin American countries had 20-30 users per 100 people.

The World Bank keeps track of the percent of urban residents with access to "improved sanitation facilities." Cuba scores very well here and ranks 3rd in the Western Hemisphere at 99%of urbanites with access. The US and Canada both have 100% access. Cuba does less well in another World Bank Indicator, this one for access to "improved water sources." Only 91% of Cubans have access to such sources. This is about average in Latin America.

When the Cuban labor force is broken down by sector, about 20% work in agriculture, 20% in industry and 60% in services. Lots of services, very little agriculture and intermediate industry (2:18:80 in the UK for example) is the predominant pattern in highly developed countries. Cuba is not highly developed according to this indicator; rather, it is in line with the rest of Latin America.

However, Cuba has a below replacement level fertility rate - typically these are only seen in highly developed countries with big GDPs, almost no agriculture and a really big service industry. Cuba has none of these things, but it still has the lowest total fertility rate in the Western Hemisphere according to the World Bank. Low fertility in Cuba might be due to the very low mortality rates - if you know your baby will live a long life, you only have one or two.

Cuba also has a super-low unemployment rate: only 1.6% in 2009 according to the CIA World Factbook. Presumably this has something to do with the extremely high rate of state-employment: 78% of Cubans work for the state.

In terms of social and health indicators, Cuba appears to be doing more with less. However, Cuba is a net loser when it comes to Immigration. More people want to leave the country than want to join. This might be the biggest indicator of all: how people vote with their feet. Even though Cuba offers a healthy if modest life for most people born there, the exponentially higher earning potential in the nearby US draws many away from Cuba.