Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in China instead of Cuba, you would:

Health

be 74.8% less likely to be obese

In Cuba, 24.6% of adults are obese as of 2016. In China, that number is 6.2% of people as of 2016.

live 3.5 years less

In Cuba, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In China, that number is 76 years (74 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2020.

Economy

make 79.7% more money

Cuba has a GDP per capita of $12,300 as of 2016, while in China, the GDP per capita is $22,100 as of 2023.

be 4.0 times more likely to be unemployed

In Cuba, 1.2% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In China, that number is 4.7% as of 2023.

Life

be 41.0% less likely to die during childbirth

In Cuba, approximately 39.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In China, 23.0 women do as of 2020.

be 63.7% 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 China, on the other hand, 6.8 children do as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 71.9% less on education

Cuba spends 12.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2010. China spends 3.6% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 55.2% less on healthcare

Cuba spends 12.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In China, that number is 5.6% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 3.9 times more coastline

Cuba has a total of 3,735 km of coastline. In China, that number is 14,500 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

China: At a glance

China (sometimes abbreviated PRC) is a sovereign country in East/Southeast Asia, with a total land area of approximately 9,326,410 sq km. For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, MAO's successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight. Since the early 1990s, China has increased its global outreach and participation in international organizations.
Read more

How big is China compared to Cuba? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about China.or Cuba It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.