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The Cuban regime acknowledged its concern about the impact of internal migration ahead of the 2026 population and housing census, a phenomenon that, according to the authorities themselves, threatens the economic and social sustainability of rural areas.
The official Prensa Latina reported that during a meeting of the Government Commission for Demographic Attention, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz emphasized the urgency of having accurate and updated data to address what he described as "complex demographic trends".
According to Marrero, the next census will be crucial for "decision-making" and is already in the preparatory phase.
The agency emphasized that the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) is conducting seminars and a census trial in the municipality of Santa Cruz del Norte, Mayabeque province, with the aim of refining the methodology and logistics before the national rollout.
One of the concerns most troubling to the authorities is massive internal migration, a trend that has intensified due to the economic crisis and the deterioration of living standards.
Every year, thousands of Cubans leave the countryside or the eastern provinces in search of better opportunities in Havana, tourist areas, or regions where foreign currency is in circulation.
The director of the Center for Demographic Studies at the University of Havana, Antonio Aja, acknowledged that nearly 30% of the people who moved from rural areas in 2024 were young individuals between the ages of 15 and 34, which exacerbates rural depopulation and jeopardizes food production.
"It poses a threat to the economic and social sustainability of the territories," she warned.
The regime, however, avoids addressing the real causes of the problem — the lack of opportunities, low salaries, state abandonment of rural areas, and economic centralization — limiting itself to describing it as a “demographic challenge.”
The Commission also discussed other topics, such as the maternal and child health program, international cooperation, and the donations received, but the main focus of the meeting was the internal exodus of young Cubans, reflecting a country where fewer and fewer people see a future in their place of origin.
The 2026 census is shaping up to be an uncomfortable test for the regime: a mirror that could reflect, with official figures, the extent of the human exodus that the crisis, poverty, and lack of hope have caused within the island.
The Government of Cuba announced last year that it would postpone the population census until 2025, citing that the economic situation did not allow for the task to be carried out.
The Population Census in Cuba was initially scheduled for 2022, but the deep economic crisis the island is experiencing prevented it from taking place at that time, as justified by the government.
Official sources acknowledged to the international press the negative impact of the economic situation on the ONEI, but assured that the Cuban state has "very strong records."
Nevertheless, despite the census not being conducted, the regime claimed that the country is experiencing an unprecedented demographic crisis: in 2024 Cuba lost more than 300,000 residents and recorded its lowest birth rate in decades.
These data confirm an accelerated process of population decline that has been developing for years and has worsened due to the economic crisis, the massive exodus of Cubans, and the aging population.
On the other hand, according to an independent demographic study, the resident population in Cuba has alarmingly decreased in recent years and is now below eight million people.
This figure represents a 24% decline in just four years, a statistic that the author compares to war scenarios.
The study, conducted by the renowned Cuban economist and demographer Juan Carlos Albizu-Campos, which EFE had access to, estimates that by the end of 2024, there will be 8,025,624 people living on the island, significantly lower than the 9,748,532 reflected in official Cuban statistics.
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