Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Italy instead of Cuba, you would:
Health
live 5.7 years longer
In Cuba, the average life expectancy is 78 years (76 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024. In Italy, that number is 84 years (82 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2024.
be 39.1% less likely to be obese
In Cuba, 23.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Italy, that number is 14.0% of people as of 2024.
see 93.9% more spent on your healthcare
Cuba spends $2,575 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Italy spends $4,993 as of 2024.
be 49.3% less likely to die by suicide
Cuba has a suicide rate of 13.8 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Italy, it is 7.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
have 56.1% fewer doctors per person
Cuba has 95.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Italy has 41.9 as of 2022.
Economy
be 3.7 times more likely to be unemployed
In Cuba, 1.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Italy, that number is 6.4% as of 2025.
Life
be 82.9% less likely to die during childbirth
In Cuba, approximately 35.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Italy, 6.0 women do as of 2023.
be 66.2% less 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 Italy, on the other hand, 2.3 children do as of 2024.
have 26.9% fewer children
In Cuba, there are approximately 8.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Italy, there are 6.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 26.6% more likely to have internet access
In Cuba, approximately 70.5% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Italy, about 89.2% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 51.8% less on education
Cuba spends 8.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Italy spends 4.1% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 10.0% less on healthcare
Cuba spends 9.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Italy, that number is 8.4% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 2.0 times more coastline
Cuba has a total of 3,735 km of coastline. In Italy, that number is 7,600 km.
Infrastructure
find 10.3 times more home broadband
Cuba has 3.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Italy has 31.8 as of 2024.
use 3.5 times more electricity
Cuba uses 1,462 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Italy uses 5,137 kWh as of 2024.
live with 24.4% more strain on fresh water
Cuba withdraws 24% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Italy withdraws 30% as of 2022.
Environment
be 51.6% less likely to die from air pollution
In Cuba, air pollution causes 31.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Italy, it causes 15.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.7 times more CO2
Cuba emits 1.9 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Italy emits 5.1 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook, United Nations SDG Indicators (2019). How we calculate this
Compare further: Cuba vs. Italy
Italy: At a glance
How big is Italy compared to Cuba? See an in-depth size comparison.