Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Cuba instead of Cabo Verde, you would:
Health
live 2.0 years longer
In Cabo Verde, the average life expectancy is 76 years (73 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.
see 4.2 times more spent on your healthcare
Cabo Verde spends $617 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Cuba spends $2,575 as of 2023.
have 13.1 times more doctors per person
Cabo Verde has 7.3 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Cuba has 95.4 as of 2021.
have 16.9% more access to essential health services
Cabo Verde scores 71 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Cuba scores 83 as of 2021.
be 37.4% more likely to be obese
In Cabo Verde, 16.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Cuba, that number is 23.0% of people as of 2024.
Economy
be 85.3% less likely to be unemployed
In Cabo Verde, 11.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Cuba, that number is 1.8% as of 2025.
Life
be 12.7% more likely to be literate
In Cabo Verde, the literacy rate is 88.5% as of 2024. In Cuba, it is 99.7% as of 2021.
be 35.8% less likely to die during infancy
In Cabo Verde, approximately 10.6 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 29.5% fewer children
In Cabo Verde, there are approximately 12.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Cuba, there are 8.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 94.0% more on education
Cabo Verde spends 4.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Cuba spends 8.4% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 60.3% more on healthcare
Cabo Verde spends 5.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Cuba, that number is 9.4% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 3.9 times more coastline
Cabo Verde has a total of 965 km of coastline. In Cuba, that number is 3,735 km.
Safety
be 36.2% less likely to be murdered
Cabo Verde has a homicide rate of 7.0 per 100,000 people as of 2020. In Cuba, that number is 4.5 per 100,000 as of 2019.
be 67.3% less likely to die in a road accident
In Cabo Verde, road accidents kill 16.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Cuba, they kill 5.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 59.9% less strain on fresh water
Cabo Verde withdraws 60% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Cuba withdraws 24% as of 2022.
find 62.9% less home broadband
Cabo Verde has 8.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Cuba has 3.1 as of 2024.
Environment
be 47.5% less likely to die from air pollution
In Cabo Verde, air pollution causes 59.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Cuba, it causes 31.0 as of 2019.
emit 48.1% more CO2
Cabo Verde emits 1.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Cuba emits 1.9 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Cabo Verde vs. Cuba
Cuba: At a glance
How big is Cuba compared to Cabo Verde? See an in-depth size comparison.