Cuba
North America · Caribbean
Time-capsule Caribbean with a musical culture all its own; the US embargo limits access.
At a Glance
📈Cuba's Human Development Index
0.764
High human development#84 of 191 countries worldwide, #14 of 23 in North America.
Higher than 56% of countries with data. UNDP Human Development Report.
UNDP builds the index from three dimensions: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable, and a decent standard of living. They are measured by life expectancy at birth, mean and expected years of schooling, and gross national income per capita.
Closest indicators in this dataset
World Bank, own vintages. UNDP’s own component values are not carried here, so these are related measures rather than the index inputs.
Nearest countries by HDI
Full HDI ranking, all 191 countries →Cuba
Cuba is a Caribbean island of remarkable cultural vitality, where the music, art, and architecture of a vanished era are preserved in a state of vivid, improvised life. Havana is unlike any other city on earth, a place where classic cars, crumbling colonial grandeur, and extraordinary human creativity coexist on every street corner. The country rewards travellers who engage with its people and culture rather than those seeking conventional resort comforts.
- Highest doctor-to-patient ratio in the world — and exports doctors to over 60 countries.
- University education is free, including medicine and law.
- Classic American cars dominate the roads not from nostalgia but because of the US embargo.
Quick Facts
Capital
Havana
Language
Spanish
Currency
$ CUC
Area
103,800 km²
Nomad Hub
Fixed Broadband
4Mbps
Unemployment
1.7%
Education Spend
8.4%
Cost of Living
41.8
20-Year Trend + IMF Forecast
Income & inflation over time
HDI since 1990
0.684 → 0.764 (+0.080)Year by year →UNDP Human Development Report, 2023-24 edition. 33 annual values, none interpolated; hover any point for its year.
Twenty years here
Year by year →The world report →World Bank observations, first to last available year per indicator (roughly 2005–2024; each series has its own window).
Thinking about Cuba for real?
The matcher weighs your budget, timeline and dealbreakers against the same data on this page, then answers with the places that actually fit.
Find your match →💬Quick answers
What is Cuba's Human Development Index?
Cuba's Human Development Index is 0.764 (UNDP Human Development Report), ranked #84 of 191 countries.
Is Cuba safe?
Cuba scores 2.14 on the Global Peace Index (lower is more peaceful), ranked #108 of 160 countries by the Institute for Economics & Peace. That measures national-level peace, not street crime; both are covered below.
How expensive is Cuba?
Numbeo's cost-of-living index puts Cuba at 41.8 (New York = 100); that is #72 cheapest of 143 countries with data.
What is life expectancy in Cuba?
Life expectancy at birth in Cuba is 78.3 yrs (World Bank), ranked #51 of 195 countries.