Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Africa instead of Cuba, you would:
Health
be 47.8 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Cuba, 0.4% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In South Africa, that number is 19.1% of people as of 2020.
live 14.3 years less
In Cuba, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In South Africa, that number is 65 years (64 years for men, 67 years for women) as of 2022.
be 15.0% more likely to be obese
In Cuba, 24.6% of adults are obese as of 2016. In South Africa, that number is 28.3% of people as of 2016.
Economy
be 11.0 times more likely to be unemployed
In Cuba, 2.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In South Africa, that number is 28.5% as of 2019.
Life
have 83.6% more children
In Cuba, there are approximately 10.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In South Africa, there are 18.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
be 3.3 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Cuba, approximately 36.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In South Africa, 119.0 women do as of 2017.
be 6.3 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 South Africa, on the other hand, 25.9 children do as of 2022.
Expenditures
spend 46.9% less on education
Cuba spends 12.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2010. South Africa spends 6.8% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 19.5% less on healthcare
Cuba spends 11.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In South Africa, that number is 9.1% of GDP as of 2019.
Geography
see 25.1% less coastline
Cuba has a total of 3,735 km of coastline. In South Africa, that number is 2,798 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.
South Africa: At a glance
How big is South Africa compared to Cuba? See an in-depth size comparison.