HAVANA (AP) — Cuba’s elderly are among those bearing the heaviest burden of the island’s deepening economic crisis, which has worsened since the start of the year after an oil embargo imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Even before the latest downturn, Cuba already had one of the oldest populations in Latin America, shaped by long life expectancy and low birth rates.
By the end of 2024, nearly 26% of Cuba’s population was age 60 or older, according to the country’s National Bureau of Statistics, almost twice the regional average of 14.2% reported by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Many are former state workers living on meager pensions, facing cuts to long-subsidized goods and increasing loneliness as younger Cubans continue to emigrate. Over the past five years, Cuba’s population has fallen by nearly 1.5 million, largely because of…
