Overview of salary injustices in Cuba

The National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) has just published the salary statistics —“Average Salary in Figures. Cuba 2025”—, which provides information on the evolution of this indicator at a time of particular weakness for the Cuban economy, close to a humanitarian crisis. This publication offers data on the evolution of salaries in the provinces and in the main sectors of activity, and allows for a connection with the historical series of this indicator.

Considering these initial remarks, it is noted that the average monthly salary in Cuba reached an amount of 6,930 pesos in 2025 (15 dollars, based on the average exchange rate of the peso against the dollar recorded during that year). Compared to the previous year, the average salary increased by 18.7%, which is equivalent to 1,091 pesos (2.4 dollars).

It is important to highlight two significant considerations regarding this salary evolution in 2025.

The first is the low absolute amount, which increases the structural drift of the high level of impoverishment that exists in the Cuban economy, as a consequence of these very low salary compensations that barely offset the effort and dedication to the jobs.

And the second point is that almost the entire modest nominal increase in salaries is consumed by the inflation recorded in the Cuban economy in 2025, which, it is worth noting, was 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. However, some of the categories most related to the necessary daily expenses of families (snacks, lunch and dinner, breakfast), in restaurants and hotels, experienced increases of 21.5%, while alcoholic beverages saw a spectacular rise of 69.8%. Price increases that effectively negate any salary hike.

It is worth noting that the communist leaders have deliberately established this expansive wage dynamic, which does not allow for the accumulation of purchasing power due to inflation, since the adoption of the so-called "ordering task." Its most detrimental effect on the economy has been to drag it into this dynamic of wage increases that do not offset the uncontrolled rise in prices, leading to a continuous impoverishment of the majority of the population that only earns income in Cuban pesos.

In the graph, the consequences of the inadequate wage policy of the "ordering task" are evident, which distorted the previous evolution of prices and salaries. The relative stability of these indicators, experienced until 2020, was disrupted starting in 2021, leading to an index value (base 100=2010) of 1,547 by 2025. As a result, nominal wages have increased, but Cubans do not perceive a higher level of purchasing power; rather, the opposite is true.

From the information regarding the nominal salary, several additional considerations can be made.

Nothing about a homogeneous landscape. The wage disparities among Cubans are particularly pronounced. The chart organizes economic activities based on Relative level (percentage change in salary) and Absolute level, the weight of each activity in relation to the total. The results reflect differences, inequalities, and injustices in an economic model that, however, claims to be just the opposite. Since 2021, the average of activities has experienced a nominal salary increase of 80%.

And here come the facts. Construction, by far, is the activity that pays the highest salaries (a staggering 120% above the average) and also experiences the greatest growth in earnings (an impressive 292.2%). At first glance, it's an appealing field to work in.

Curiously, the next sectors are electricity, gas, and water services, where annoying outages and supply cuts of all kinds occur, accompanied by salary increases well above the average (a remarkable 249.1%) and a high participation rate (91 points). Below this, the lowest levels appear in "state" activities, such as Other social services, which see only a 28.7% increase and fall 25 points below the average.

Education, Culture and Sports, and Administration and Defense also experience smaller salary increases and are situated nearly 30 points below the average.

On the other hand, the differences in salaries received for various activities are also evident throughout the territory. Havana is the province where salaries have increased the most (growing 9.2 times since 2015) and at the same time, it records the highest level compared to the average, at 11% above. Artemisa and Villa Clara also have salary levels that are above the average.

In contrast to these specific cases, Guantánamo stands out on the other end with a growth of 8.1, but is positioned 17 points below the average. In Isla de la Juventud, salaries grow only 7.5, and the participation in the total is almost 20% lower than the average.

The economy of communist central planning, which suppresses the allocation effects of the market, has led to this scenario of wage inequalities and impoverishment that certainly does not help to restore the situation.