Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Cuba instead of Barbados, you would:
Health
live 1.9 years longer
In Barbados, the average life expectancy is 76 years (74 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2024. In Cuba, that number is 78 years (76 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024.
be 41.7% less likely to be obese
In Barbados, 39.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Cuba, that number is 23.0% of people as of 2024.
see 2.2 times more spent on your healthcare
Barbados spends $1,153 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Cuba spends $2,575 as of 2023.
have 3.2 times more doctors per person
Barbados has 29.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Cuba has 95.4 as of 2021.
be 3.9 times more likely to die by suicide
Barbados has a suicide rate of 3.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Cuba, it is 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 73.2% less likely to be unemployed
In Barbados, 6.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Cuba, that number is 1.8% as of 2025.
Life
be 25.3% less likely to die during infancy
In Barbados, approximately 9.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Cuba, on the other hand, 6.8 children do as of 2024.
have 22.5% fewer children
In Barbados, there are approximately 11.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Cuba, there are 8.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 2.4 times more on education
Barbados spends 3.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Cuba spends 8.4% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 73.7% more on healthcare
Barbados spends 5.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Cuba, that number is 9.4% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 38.5 times more coastline
Barbados has a total of 97 km of coastline. In Cuba, that number is 3,735 km.
Safety
be 46.0% less likely to die in a road accident
In Barbados, road accidents kill 10.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Cuba, they kill 5.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 72.6% less strain on fresh water
Barbados withdraws 88% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Cuba withdraws 24% as of 2022.
find 91.8% less home broadband
Barbados has 37.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Cuba has 3.1 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 24.2% less CO2
Barbados emits 2.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Cuba emits 1.9 tonnes as of 2024.
be 63.2% more likely to die from air pollution
In Barbados, air pollution causes 19.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Cuba, it causes 31.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Barbados vs. Cuba
Cuba: At a glance
How big is Cuba compared to Barbados? See an in-depth size comparison.