Cuba’s communist regime admitted over the weekend that its population has dipped below 10 million, losing over 300,000 residents in 2024 due to record-low birthrates and mass emigration. The stark figures, revealed by a top statistics official, highlight the devastating toll of six decades of failed policies that have left the island in ruins.
At a glance:
- Cuba’s population fell to 9.75 million in 2024, down from 10.06 million in 2023.
- Births hit a 60-year low at 71,000, with deaths rising by an unreported number.
- Over 25% of Cubans are now 60 or older, signaling a shrinking workforce.
- More than 850,000 fled to the U.S. between 2022 and 2023, fleeing poverty and tyranny.
Dire Demographics Signal Crisis
Juan Carlos Alfonso Fraga, Deputy Chief of Cuba’s National Office of Statistics and Information, announced Saturday that the nation ended 2024 with 9,748,532 people—over 300,000 fewer than the 10,055,968 estimated in 2023.
Speaking at a government commission meeting, he revealed a grim 71,000 births for the year, the lowest in six decades, while noting an unspecified rise in deaths. More than a quarter of Cubans are over 60, leaving fewer young workers, students, and parents as the elderly population swells. Alfonso Fraga stressed the urgent need for new economic and social strategies, warning that kids, teens, and young adults—vital for labor, defense, and reproduction—are dwindling fast.
The collapse stems from over 60 years of communist mismanagement under the Castro regime, driving over 90% of Cubans into extreme poverty—many scavenging garbage for food. Experts noted an 18% population drop between 2022 and 2023, with 2022 births at 95,403 and 2021 at 99,096, well below the 2.1 fertility rate needed to sustain numbers. Alfonso Fraga warned in 2023 that Cuba hasn’t hit that mark since 1977, projecting a fall below 9 million by 2054. Antonio Aja Díaz, a Havana University demographics expert, called it a reality to tackle, not a problem to dodge, urging planning that prioritizes these shifts.
Mass Exodus and Euthanasia Add Insult
Cuba’s humanitarian disaster has sparked the worst migrant wave in its history—over 850,000 reached the U.S. between 2022 and 2023, dwarfing the 1980 Mariel exodus and 1994 rafter crisis. Fleeing a nation on the brink, Cubans abandon a regime that legalized euthanasia in December 2023, dubbed a “right” to a “dignified death” amid this collapse. With 11.08 million estimated in March 2023, the loss of over 1.33 million in under two years lays bare the failure of socialism—leaving an aging, shrinking populace to bear the weight of decades of ruin.
