Demographic crunch

For the third straight year, Cuba’s population is declining, El Pais reports.

As more young people emigrate and fewer women have babies, the proportion of elderly and retired (and frequently dependent) citizens is increasing. When you add the fact that many young people do not work in the formal economy because salaries aren’t worth it – a phenomenon covered recently in the state media and just last week in the Herald – this looks like the beginning of a demographic train wreck.

A Cuban population researcher told El Pais that the government has approved “economic, social, cultural, and legal” measures to restore population growth. We’ll see.