Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Saudi Arabia instead of Cuba, you would:
Health
see 34.9% more spent on your healthcare
Cuba spends $2,575 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Saudi Arabia spends $3,475 as of 2023.
be 93.1% less likely to die by suicide
Cuba has a suicide rate of 13.8 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Saudi Arabia, it is 0.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 74.5% more likely to be obese
In Cuba, 23.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Saudi Arabia, that number is 40.1% of people as of 2024.
have 64.3% fewer doctors per person
Cuba has 95.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Saudi Arabia has 34.1 as of 2023.
have 10.8% less access to essential health services
Cuba scores 83 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Saudi Arabia scores 74 as of 2021.
Economy
be 73.7% more likely to be unemployed
In Cuba, 1.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Saudi Arabia, that number is 3.0% as of 2025.
Life
be 80.0% 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 Saudi Arabia, 7.0 women do as of 2023.
be 30.9% 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 Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, 4.7 children do as of 2024.
have 91.4% more children
In Cuba, there are approximately 8.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Saudi Arabia, there are 16.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 41.9% more likely to have internet access
In Cuba, approximately 70.5% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Saudi Arabia, about 100.0% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 46.9% less on education
Cuba spends 8.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Saudi Arabia spends 4.5% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 39.3% less on healthcare
Cuba spends 9.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Saudi Arabia, that number is 5.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 29.3% less coastline
Cuba has a total of 3,735 km of coastline. In Saudi Arabia, that number is 2,640 km.
Safety
be 78.9% less likely to be murdered
Cuba has a homicide rate of 4.5 per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Saudi Arabia, that number is 0.9 per 100,000 as of 2019.
be 3.4 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Cuba, road accidents kill 5.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Saudi Arabia, they kill 18.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 14.3 times more home broadband
Cuba has 3.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Saudi Arabia has 44.1 as of 2024.
use 8.1 times more electricity
Cuba uses 1,462 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Saudi Arabia uses 11,911 kWh as of 2023.
live with 40.7 times more strain on fresh water
Cuba withdraws 24% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Saudi Arabia withdraws 974% as of 2022.
Environment
be 2.9 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Cuba, air pollution causes 31.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Saudi Arabia, it causes 91.0 as of 2019.
emit 9.7 times more CO2
Cuba emits 1.9 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Saudi Arabia emits 18.5 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Cuba vs. Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: At a glance
How big is Saudi Arabia compared to Cuba? See an in-depth size comparison.