If you lived in Cabo Verde instead of Cuba, you would:

Health

be 27.2% less likely to be obese

In Cuba, 23.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Cabo Verde, that number is 16.7% of people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

live 2.0 years less

In Cuba, the average life expectancy is 78 years (76 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024. In Cabo Verde, that number is 76 years (73 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2024.

View global rankings →

see 76.1% less spent on your healthcare

Cuba spends $2,575 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Cabo Verde spends $617 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

have 92.3% fewer doctors per person

Cuba has 95.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Cabo Verde has 7.3 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

have 14.5% less access to essential health services

Cuba scores 83 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Cabo Verde scores 71 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Economy

be 6.8 times more likely to be unemployed

In Cuba, 1.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Cabo Verde, that number is 11.9% as of 2025.

View global rankings →

Life

have 41.8% more children

In Cuba, there are approximately 8.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Cabo Verde, there are 12.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 11.3% less likely to be literate

In Cuba, the literacy rate is 99.7% as of 2021. In Cabo Verde, it is 88.5% as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 55.9% more likely to die during infancy

In Cuba, approximately 6.8 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Cabo Verde, on the other hand, 10.6 children do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Expenditures

spend 48.5% less on education

Cuba spends 8.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Cabo Verde spends 4.3% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

View global rankings →

spend 37.6% less on healthcare

Cuba spends 9.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Cabo Verde, that number is 5.8% of GDP as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Geography

see 74.2% less coastline

Cuba has a total of 3,735 km of coastline. In Cabo Verde, that number is 965 km.

View global rankings →

Safety

be 56.7% more likely to be murdered

Cuba has a homicide rate of 4.5 per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Cabo Verde, that number is 7.0 per 100,000 as of 2020.

View global rankings →

be 3.1 times more likely to die in a road accident

In Cuba, road accidents kill 5.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Cabo Verde, they kill 16.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Infrastructure

find 2.7 times more home broadband

Cuba has 3.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Cabo Verde has 8.3 as of 2024.

View global rankings →

live with 2.5 times more strain on fresh water

Cuba withdraws 24% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Cabo Verde withdraws 60% as of 2022.

View global rankings →

Environment

emit 32.5% less CO2

Cuba emits 1.9 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Cabo Verde emits 1.3 tonnes as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 90.3% more likely to die from air pollution

In Cuba, air pollution causes 31.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Cabo Verde, it causes 59.0 as of 2019.

View global rankings →


Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this

Cabo Verde: At a glance

Cabo Verde is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 4,033 sq km. The uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century; Cabo Verde subsequently became a trading center for African slaves and later an important coaling and resupply stop for whaling and transatlantic shipping. Following independence in 1975, and a tentative interest in unification with Guinea-Bissau, a one-party system was established and maintained until multi-party elections were held in 1990. Cabo Verde continues to exhibit one of Africa's most stable democratic governments. Repeated droughts during the second half of the 20th century caused significant hardship and prompted heavy emigration. As a result, Cabo Verde's expatriate population is greater than its domestic one. Most Cabo Verdeans have both African and Portuguese antecedents.
Read more

How big is Cabo Verde compared to Cuba? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Cabo Verde or Cuba. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.