Aging in Cuba and Its Response

Abstract

As the only socialist country in the Western Hemisphere, Cuba enjoys a global reputation for its high-quality and efficient universal health care. Despite Cuba's slow economic development and material shortage due to the impact of the U.S. embargo, its national health indicators are far higher than those of developing countries and comparable to those of developed countries. However, everything is a double-edged sword. Cuba's medical and health policy guarantee has also significantly accelerated its population transformation. The population growth rate has changed from low growth to zero growth. Cuba has become one of the countries with the most severe population decline globally and the only developing country at the end of the population transformation in the world. At the same time, Cuba was one of the first developing countries to face the problem of an aging population, with the increasing trend of population aging, its response and policy renewal reforms also provide important references and insights for developing countries experiencing aging in the future.