Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 91.5% less likely to be obese

In Cuba, 24.6% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Vietnam, that number is 2.1% of people as of 2016.

live 4.1 years less

In Cuba, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In Vietnam, that number is 76 years (73 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

be 23.2% more likely to be unemployed

In Cuba, 1.2% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Vietnam, that number is 1.5% as of 2022.

Life

have 50.5% more children

In Cuba, there are approximately 9.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Vietnam, there are 14.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 3.2 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Cuba, approximately 39.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Vietnam, 124.0 women do as of 2020.

be 3.6 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 Vietnam, on the other hand, 14.8 children do as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 68.0% less on education

Cuba spends 12.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2010. Vietnam spends 4.1% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 62.4% less on healthcare

Cuba spends 12.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Vietnam, that number is 4.7% of GDP as of 2020.

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

Vietnam: At a glance

Vietnam (sometimes abbreviated SRV) is a sovereign country in East/Southeast Asia, with a total land area of approximately 310,070 sq km. The conquest of Vietnam by France began in 1858 and was completed by 1884. It became part of French Indochina in 1887. Vietnam declared independence after World War II, but France continued to rule until its 1954 defeat by communist forces under Ho Chi MINH. Under the Geneva Accords of 1954, Vietnam was divided into the communist North and anti-communist South. US economic and military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government, but US armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later, North Vietnamese forces overran the South reuniting the country under communist rule. Despite the return of peace, for over a decade the country experienced little economic growth because of conservative leadership policies, the persecution and mass exodus of individuals - many of them successful South Vietnamese merchants - and growing international isolation. However, since the enactment of Vietnam's "doi moi" (renovation) policy in 1986, Vietnamese authorities have committed to increased economic liberalization and enacted structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. The communist leaders, however, maintain control on political expression and have resisted outside calls to improve human rights. The country continues to experience small-scale protests from various groups - the vast majority connected to land-use issues, calls for increased political space, and the lack of equitable mechanisms for resolving disputes. Various ethnic minorities, such as the Montagnards of the Central Highlands and the Khmer Krom in the southern delta region, have also held protests.
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