Quality of life comparison
If you lived in North Korea instead of Cuba, you would:
Health
be 72.4% less likely to be obese
In Cuba, 24.6% of adults are obese as of 2016. In North Korea, that number is 6.8% of people as of 2016.
live 7.9 years less
In Cuba, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In North Korea, that number is 72 years (68 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2022.
Economy
make 86.2% less money
Cuba has a GDP per capita of $12,300 as of 2016, while in North Korea, the GDP per capita is $1,700 as of 2015.
be 9.8 times more likely to be unemployed
In Cuba, 2.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In North Korea, that number is 25.6% as of 2013.
Life
have 40.6% more children
In Cuba, there are approximately 10.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In North Korea, there are 14.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
be 2.5 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Cuba, approximately 36.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In North Korea, 89.0 women do as of 2017.
be 5.4 times more likely to die during infancy
In Cuba, approximately 4.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In North Korea, on the other hand, 22.2 children do as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 74.0% less likely to have access to electricity
In Cuba, approximately 100% of the population has electricity access as of 2020. In North Korea, 26% of the population do as of 2019.
Geography
see 33.2% less coastline
Cuba has a total of 3,735 km of coastline. In North Korea, that number is 2,495 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.
North Korea: At a glance
How big is North Korea compared to Cuba? See an in-depth size comparison.