Population and Demographics

Cuba's birth rate (11.4 births per thousand population in 2006) is one of the lowest in the Western Hemisphere. Its overall population has increased continuously from around 7 million in 1961 to over 11 million now, but the rate of increase has slowed in the last decades. The decrease in fertility rate - from 3.2 children per woman in 1970 to 1.6 in 2006 - is the third greatest in the Western Hemisphere, with only Guadeloupe and Jamaica showing larger decreases.

Immigration and emigration have had noticeable effects on the demographic profile of Cuba during the 20th century. Between 1900 and 1930, close to a million Spaniards arrived from Spain. Since 1959, over a million Cubans have left the island, primarily to Miami, Florida, where a vocal, well-educated and economically successful exile community exists (Cuban-American lobby). The emigration that occurred immediately after the Cuban Revolution was primarily of the upper and middle classes that were predominantly white, thus contributing to a demographic shift along with changes in birth rates and racial identifications among the various ethnic groups. Seeking to normalise migration between the two countries - particularly after the chaos that accompanied the Mariel boatlift - Cuba and the United States in 1994 agreed (in what is commonly called the 1994 Clinton-Castro accords) to limit emigration to the United States. Under this, the United States grants a specific number of visas to those wishing to emigrate (20,000 since 1994) while those Cubans picked up at sea trying to emigrate without a visa are returned to Cuba.

Facts and Figures

• Population: 11,394,043
• Age Structure:
  • 0-14 years: 18.8% (male 1,100,672/female 1,042,327)
  • 15-64 years: 70.5% (male 4,019,648/female 4,016,429)
  • 65 years and over: 10.7% (male 554,043/female 660,924)
• Median Age:
  • Total: 36.3 years
  • Male: 35.7 years
  • Female: 37 years
• Population Growth Rate: 0.273%
• Birth Rate: 11.44 births/1,000 population
• Death Rate: 7.14 deaths/1,000 population
• Net Migration Rate: -1.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population
• Sex Ratio:
  • At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  • Under 15 years: 1.056 male(s)/female
  • 15-64 years: 1.001 male(s)/female
  • 65 years and over: 0.838 male(s)/female
  • Total population: 0.992 male(s)/female
• Infant Mortality Rate:
  • Total: 6.04 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Male: 6.76 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Female: 5.26 deaths/1,000 live births
• Life Expectancy at Birth:
  • Total population: 77.08 years
  • Male: 74.85 years
  • Female: 79.43 years
• Total Fertility Rate: 1.6 children born/woman
• HIV/AIDS:
  • Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1%
  • People living with HIV/AIDS: 3,300
• Ethnic Groups:
  • Mulatto 51%
  • White 37%
  • Black 11%
  • Chinese 1%
• Religions:
  • Nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to Castro assuming power
  • Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews and Santeria are also represented
• Languages: Spanish
• Literacy:
  • Total population: 97%
  • Male: 97.2%
  • Female: 96.9%