Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Cuba instead of Panama, you would:
Health
be 45.5% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Panama, 1.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Cuba, that number is 0.6% of people as of 2024.
be 39.1% less likely to be obese
In Panama, 37.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Cuba, that number is 23.0% of people as of 2024.
have 5.9 times more doctors per person
Panama has 16.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Cuba has 95.4 as of 2021.
live 1.5 years less
In Panama, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2024. In Cuba, that number is 78 years (76 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024.
see 22.4% less spent on your healthcare
Panama spends $3,318 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Cuba spends $2,575 as of 2023.
be 4.2 times more likely to die by suicide
Panama has a suicide rate of 3.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Cuba, it is 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 79.1% less likely to be unemployed
In Panama, 8.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Cuba, that number is 1.8% as of 2025.
Life
be 43.3% less likely to die during infancy
In Panama, approximately 12.0 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Cuba, on the other hand, 6.8 children do as of 2024.
have 45.7% fewer children
In Panama, there are approximately 15.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Cuba, there are 8.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 3.4 times more on education
Panama spends 2.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Cuba spends 8.4% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 12.6% more on healthcare
Panama spends 8.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Cuba, that number is 9.4% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 50.0% more coastline
Panama has a total of 2,490 km of coastline. In Cuba, that number is 3,735 km.
Safety
be 26.0% less likely to die in a road accident
In Panama, road accidents kill 7.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Cuba, they kill 5.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 83.0% less home broadband
Panama has 18.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Cuba has 3.1 as of 2024.
live with 26.6 times more strain on fresh water
Panama withdraws 1% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Cuba withdraws 24% as of 2022.
use 46.2% less electricity
Panama uses 2,715 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Cuba uses 1,462 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
emit 30.3% less CO2
Panama emits 2.7 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Cuba emits 1.9 tonnes as of 2024.
be 82.4% more likely to die from air pollution
In Panama, air pollution causes 17.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Cuba, it causes 31.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Panama vs. Cuba
Cuba: At a glance
How big is Cuba compared to Panama? See an in-depth size comparison.