The figure, the highest in decades, reflects the collapse of health services on the Island, one of the flags of the socialist discourse.
LIMA, Peru – During the last Plenary Session of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) in Havana, the Castro regime recognized that the capital has the highest infant mortality rate in the country, with 14 deaths per thousand live births.
The figure, which is the highest in decades, reflects the breakdown of health services on the Island, for years one of the banners of socialist discourse and which the dictatorship has used as a propaganda showcase for its health system.
The Havana statistics are even more than four points above the infant mortality rate at the national level, which, according to Prime Minister Manuel Marrero, closed 2025 at 9.7 per thousand live births, an increase of 2.6 points compared to 2024, when it was recorded at 7.1.
The PCC authorities also shared other negative indicators in Havana during the last year, among them, they reported that the physical production planned for the city was at 50.2; Retail commercial circulation was not honored and housing construction reached just 41%.
Infant mortality and other setbacks
Last December, Marrero admitted the “deterioration” of infant mortality while avoiding updating data on maternal mortality, a relevant and related indicator that already showed an alarming increase of 4.9% in 2024.
During the first half of 2025, the outlook was negative on the Island in relation to maternal mortality, which rose to 56.3 per 100,000 live births, compared to 37.4 in the same period of 2024. Guantánamo, Holguín and Santiago de Cuba appeared among the most affected territories in the first half of this year.
The prime minister also spoke about demographic declines, including population aging and a drop in the number of nationals for the coming decades.
The projection of the Cuban population for the period 2025-2050 maintains the trend of low fertility and more people dying than being born.
Marrero confirmed that it was forecast to close 2025 with 9,600,000 inhabitants, and the population is projected to decrease to 7,700,000 in 2050. The proportion of older adults will go from 25.7% to 36.4%, and the working-age population will reduce from 5,900,000 to 4,100,000 people.
The setbacks in the so-called Maternal and Child Program, historically one of the pillars of the official narrative about the achievements of the Revolution, reveal a systemic collapse that can no longer be hidden with disguised figures or triumphalist speeches. The decrease in the number of births, combined with the increase in maternal and infant deaths, paints a gloomy picture for public health in Cuba.
