Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 3.0 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Cuba, 0.4% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Russia, that number is 1.2% of people as of 2017.

live 7.2 years less

In Cuba, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In Russia, that number is 72 years (67 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 2.2 times more money

Cuba has a GDP per capita of $12,300 as of 2016, while in Russia, the GDP per capita is $27,500 as of 2022.

be 3.1 times more likely to be unemployed

In Cuba, 1.2% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Russia, that number is 3.9% as of 2022.

Life

be 64.1% less likely to die during childbirth

In Cuba, approximately 39.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Russia, 14.0 women do as of 2020.

be 55.4% 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 Russia, on the other hand, 6.4 children do as of 2022.

have 15.2% fewer children

In Cuba, there are approximately 9.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Russia, there are 8.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 23.9% more likely to have internet access

In Cuba, approximately 71.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Russia, about 88.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 71.1% less on education

Cuba spends 12.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2010. Russia spends 3.7% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 39.2% less on healthcare

Cuba spends 12.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Russia, that number is 7.6% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 10.1 times more coastline

Cuba has a total of 3,735 km of coastline. In Russia, that number is 37,653 km.

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

Russia: At a glance

Russia is a sovereign country in Central Asia, with a total land area of approximately 16,377,742 sq km. Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy, was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new ROMANOV Dynasty continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific. Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th century, more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia. Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 contributed to the Revolution of 1905, which resulted in the formation of a parliament and other reforms. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the imperial household. The communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR. The brutal rule of Iosif STALIN (1928-53) strengthened communist rule and Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize communism, but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into Russia and 14 other independent republics. Since then, Russia has shifted its post-Soviet democratic ambitions in favor of a centralized semi-authoritarian state in which the leadership seeks to legitimize its rule through managed national elections, populist appeals by President PUTIN, and continued economic growth. Russia has severely disabled a Chechen rebel movement, although violence still occurs throughout the North Caucasus.
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How big is Russia compared to Cuba? See an in-depth size comparison.

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