Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Namibia instead of Cuba, you would:
Health
be 20.5% less likely to be obese
In Cuba, 23.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Namibia, that number is 18.3% of people as of 2024.
be 37.7% less likely to die by suicide
Cuba has a suicide rate of 13.8 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Namibia, it is 8.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 15.0 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Cuba, 0.6% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Namibia, that number is 9.0% of people as of 2024.
live 10.7 years less
In Cuba, the average life expectancy is 78 years (76 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024. In Namibia, that number is 68 years (63 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2024.
see 58.5% less spent on your healthcare
Cuba spends $2,575 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Namibia spends $1,068 as of 2023.
have 94.2% fewer doctors per person
Cuba has 95.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Namibia has 5.5 as of 2022.
have 24.1% less access to essential health services
Cuba scores 83 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Namibia scores 63 as of 2021.
Economy
be 11.0 times more likely to be unemployed
In Cuba, 1.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Namibia, that number is 19.3% as of 2025.
Life
have 3.0 times more children
In Cuba, there are approximately 8.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Namibia, there are 25.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 4.0 times more 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 Namibia, 139.0 women do as of 2023.
be 12.1% less likely to be literate
In Cuba, the literacy rate is 99.7% as of 2021. In Namibia, it is 87.6% as of 2023.
be 5.4 times 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 Namibia, on the other hand, 36.4 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 43.3% less likely to have access to electricity
In Cuba, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Namibia, that number is 57% of people on average (75% in urban areas, and 34% in rural areas) as of 2023.
Geography
see 57.9% less coastline
Cuba has a total of 3,735 km of coastline. In Namibia, that number is 1,572 km.
Safety
be 2.5 times more likely to be murdered
Cuba has a homicide rate of 4.5 per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Namibia, that number is 11.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 4.1 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Cuba, road accidents kill 5.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Namibia, they kill 22.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 98.7% less strain on fresh water
Cuba withdraws 24% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Namibia withdraws 0% as of 2022.
use 15.7% less electricity
Cuba uses 1,462 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Namibia uses 1,232 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
emit 37.2% less CO2
Cuba emits 1.9 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Namibia emits 1.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 38.7% more likely to die from air pollution
In Cuba, air pollution causes 31.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Namibia, it causes 43.0 as of 2019.
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: Cuba vs. Namibia
Namibia: At a glance
How big is Namibia compared to Cuba? See an in-depth size comparison.