Cuban Population Shrinking and Aging, Experts Say

Havana, July 11 (ACN) Demographic research proves that the Cuban population is decreasing and aging, said the deputy chief of the National Statistics and Information Office (ONEI) Juan Carlos Alfonso.

In a press conference marking World Population Day, the expert offered a demographic update on the Cuban population and noted that aging should not be considered as a problem, but a challenge instead because it shows the country’s achievement in terms of health, education and social security.

Up to 2021, stats reveal a 21.6 percent aging level, 8.9 birth rate per every one thousand inhabitants, while fertility levels fell to their lowest figures over the past 60 years, the expert noted.

These stats show how important is the assessment of demographic evolution as a national security issue.

By the end of March this year, the Cuban population was preliminarily calculated at 11 million 105 thousand and 814 inhabitants with a life expectancy of up to 78.45 years, Alfonso said and noted that a reduction of infant mortality has also been observed this year, after an increase of 7.6 per every one thousand live births under the COVID-19 pandemic.

The director of the Center for Studies on the Population and Development Diego Enrique Gonzalez said that the pandemic impacted many demographic indicators on the island, such as the abrupt increase of deaths, the low in births with less than 100 thousand babies for the first time ever.

In 2021, six citizens died in every one thousand inhabitants, a decrease that occurred in all Cuban territories. Despite those stats, Cuba is one of the most advance countries in demographic terms in this part of the world after reporting high life expectancy levels and low infant mortality rates.