Havana recorded the highest net migration rate in the country in 2025: -33.6 per thousand inhabitants, according to an infographic published by the National Office of Statistics and Information of Cuba (ONEI) based on data from its report "Demographic Indicators of Cuba and its Territories, 2025."
The capital far exceeds the national average, which stood at -25.6 per thousand inhabitants at the end of last year. Following Havana are Matanzas (-28.8) and Cienfuegos (-28.0), while Holguín (-19.8) and Las Tunas (-20.5) recorded the least negative values in the country.
The most revealing fact is that all Cuban provinces without exception showed a negative migration balance in 2025, meaning that in no corner of the island do more people arrive than those who leave.
In absolute terms, Havana lost 57,433 net residents due to migration during the year: 78,537 people left for abroad, while only 21,104 arrived from other Cuban provinces. The capital, which concluded 2025 with approximately 1,673,208 inhabitants, accounted for nearly a quarter of the total negative migration balance of the country, estimated at 245,264 people.
The status of Havana as the main departure point from the country is not coincidental: it hosts the José Martí International Airport and has the largest network of connections with the Cuban diaspora abroad.
The migratory exodus is just one of the three drivers of the Cuban demographic collapse. In 2025, deaths almost doubled births: 136,214 deaths compared to 68,064 births, resulting in a natural balance of -7.1 per thousand inhabitants. Combining both factors, Cuba lost 313,414 inhabitants in a single year and ended 2025 with 9,434,593 residents, down from over 11 million in 2020.
Aging further exacerbates the situation in the capital. Havana is the second oldest province in the country, with 29.1% of its population over 60 years old—almost double that of those under 14 years old (251,527)—according to the aging report released this week by ONEI. On a national level, 26.7% of Cubans are 60 years old or older, the highest proportion in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The fertility rate stands at 1.29 children per woman, a historic low since 1958 and significantly below the replacement level of 2.1. Arelis Rosalen Mora Pérez, a researcher at the Center for Demographic Studies (CEDEM), warned last July that "by the end of 2024, 50% of the people who left the country were young people and children under 35 years old."
Juan Carlos Alfonso Fraga, deputy chief of ONEI, summarized the magnitude of the crisis with a striking statement: “There is no similar experience”, pointing out that no country in the so-called Global South has experienced a population contraction of this magnitude outside of a war context.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA warned in June 2026) that if current trends continue, Cuba could have only 5.6 million inhabitants by 2100.
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