June 2017 – Cuba currently has a birth rate of 1.7, far below the replacement fertility rate. In other words, not enough children are being born to replace an aging population or provide citizens for the labor market. Cuba already has the oldest population in Latin America. In 50 years, experts say more than 40% of the country will be over 60 years old.
Contributing to the low birth rate is the government’s view of abortion.
“The government promotes abortion rampantly so many of the children are just not born. There’s an enormous abortion rate,” said Dr. Joseph Meaney, spokesman for Human Life International.
According to the New York Times, “the country exhibits 30 abortions for every 1,000 women of child bearing age.”
