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Cuba's Poverty Rate Jumps to 94 Percent in 2026
(MENAFN) Nearly all Cubans — 94% — are now living in extreme poverty, and eight in 10 have had to skip meals due to a lack of food or money, according to a new report from the Madrid-based Cuban Observatory for Human Rights.
That poverty rate jumped sharply from 89% in 2025 to 94% this year, the report found, using the World Bank's extreme poverty threshold as its benchmark. Researchers also found that 68% of those surveyed reported monthly household incomes under 20,000 Cuban pesos — roughly $30.
Power outages topped the list of the country's most pressing social problems, followed by food shortages, the rising cost of living, health care access, low salaries, and insecurity.
Housing conditions have also deteriorated significantly, the report said, with nearly half of respondents living in homes in need of repair. A quarter described their housing as needing urgent repairs, while 7% said they live in structures at risk of collapse.
Public services drew similarly bleak assessments. The electricity system received the harshest ratings, followed by garbage collection, phone and internet service, sewage systems, and health care.
According to the report, 95% of respondents rated the government's handling of the crisis negatively or very negatively, and 84% said they don't trust the economic measures authorities have introduced to address it.
Still, half of those surveyed said they expect a significant, positive shift for the Cuban people within the next six months. Among those hoping for change, 76% said they want it to include both political and economic reforms, while 9% said economic reform alone would suffice.
Yaxys Cires, strategy director at the Spain-based rights group, said the findings reflect the "growing impoverishment of Cuban families."
The survey was carried out between June 27 and July 29 across all 15 Cuban provinces and 79 municipalities, using face-to-face interviews conducted via mobile devices. Respondents were sampled by place of residence, gender, age and racial group, the group said.
That poverty rate jumped sharply from 89% in 2025 to 94% this year, the report found, using the World Bank's extreme poverty threshold as its benchmark. Researchers also found that 68% of those surveyed reported monthly household incomes under 20,000 Cuban pesos — roughly $30.
Power outages topped the list of the country's most pressing social problems, followed by food shortages, the rising cost of living, health care access, low salaries, and insecurity.
Housing conditions have also deteriorated significantly, the report said, with nearly half of respondents living in homes in need of repair. A quarter described their housing as needing urgent repairs, while 7% said they live in structures at risk of collapse.
Public services drew similarly bleak assessments. The electricity system received the harshest ratings, followed by garbage collection, phone and internet service, sewage systems, and health care.
According to the report, 95% of respondents rated the government's handling of the crisis negatively or very negatively, and 84% said they don't trust the economic measures authorities have introduced to address it.
Still, half of those surveyed said they expect a significant, positive shift for the Cuban people within the next six months. Among those hoping for change, 76% said they want it to include both political and economic reforms, while 9% said economic reform alone would suffice.
Yaxys Cires, strategy director at the Spain-based rights group, said the findings reflect the "growing impoverishment of Cuban families."
The survey was carried out between June 27 and July 29 across all 15 Cuban provinces and 79 municipalities, using face-to-face interviews conducted via mobile devices. Respondents were sampled by place of residence, gender, age and racial group, the group said.
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