Foreign Policy Blogs

Cuba's aging population (continued)

National Geographic photo

Demography updates of the day:

  • Cuba ended 2008 with a population of 11.24 million;
  • By 2025, the Cuban population will decline by 100,000;
  • By 2032, it will drop below 11 million;
  • The nation will officially have the oldest population in Latin America in only 15 years.

The island’s National Statistics Office cited aging and lower fertility rates as the cause for the decreasing population, but notably did not mention the effect of emigration on these population trends. It did mention that the costs of providing health and social services will increase, and that economic productivity will be negatively affected, as well.

 

Author

Melissa Lockhart Fortner

Melissa Lockhart Fortner is Senior External Affairs Officer at the Pacific Council on International Policy in Los Angeles, having served previously as Senior Programs Officer for the Council. From 2007-2009, she held a research position at the University of Southern California (USC) School of International Relations, where she closely followed economic and political developments in Mexico and in Cuba, and analyzed broader Latin American trends. Her research considered the rise and relative successes of Latin American multinationals (multilatinas); economic, social and political changes in Central America since the civil wars in the region; and Wal-Mart’s role in Latin America, among other topics. Melissa is a graduate of Pomona College, and currently resides in Pasadena, California, with her husband, Jeff Fortner.

Follow her on Twitter @LockhartFortner.