Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 13.8% less likely to be obese

In Cuba, 24.6% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Guatemala, that number is 21.2% of people as of 2016.

live 6.7 years less

In Cuba, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In Guatemala, that number is 73 years (71 years for men, 75 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

be 2.3 times more likely to be unemployed

In Cuba, 1.2% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Guatemala, that number is 2.7% as of 2023.

Life

have 2.2 times more children

In Cuba, there are approximately 9.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Guatemala, there are 21.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 2.5 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Cuba, approximately 39.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Guatemala, 96.0 women do as of 2020.

be 16.4% less likely to be literate

In Cuba, the literacy rate is 99.7% as of 2021. In Guatemala, it is 83.3% as of 2021.

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 Guatemala, on the other hand, 26.2 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 28.2% less likely to have internet access

In Cuba, approximately 71.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Guatemala, about 51.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 75.8% less on education

Cuba spends 12.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2010. Guatemala spends 3.1% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

spend 48.0% less on healthcare

Cuba spends 12.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Guatemala, that number is 6.5% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 89.3% less coastline

Cuba has a total of 3,735 km of coastline. In Guatemala, that number is 400 km.

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

Guatemala: At a glance

Guatemala is a sovereign country in Central America/Caribbean, with a total land area of approximately 107,159 sq km. The Maya civilization flourished in Guatemala and surrounding regions during the first millennium A.D. After almost three centuries as a Spanish colony, Guatemala won its independence in 1821. During the second half of the 20th century, it experienced a variety of military and civilian governments, as well as a 36-year guerrilla war. In 1996, the government signed a peace agreement formally ending the internal conflict, which had left more than 200,000 people dead and had created, by some estimates, about 1 million refugees.
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How big is Guatemala compared to Cuba? See an in-depth size comparison.

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