Cuba vs Liberia
Liberia and Cuba are almost exactly the same size.
CubaLiberiaCuba moved onto Liberia · Equal-area projection
0.99×
Cuba is 0.99× the area of Liberia. Put the other way, Liberia is 1.01× the size of Cuba.
 Cuba |  Liberia | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaAbout the same area | 109,884 km²#104 of 194 | 111,369 km²#102 of 194 |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 3 |
| People | ||
| PopulationCuba: 1.91× the population | 10,937,203#88 of 194 · 2025 | 5,731,206#116 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityCuba: 1.93× the density | 100 / km²#89 of 194 | 51 / km²#133 of 194 |
| Urban populationCuba: 1.38× the urban share | 77%#54 of 192 · 2025 | 56%#117 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateLiberia: 2.66× the births per woman | 1.45 per woman#146 of 192 · 2024 | 3.86 per woman#29 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthLiberia: 2.48 points higher | −0.39%#176 of 192 · 2025 | +2.09%#43 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateLiberia: 3.56× the birth rate | 8.6 per 1,000#161 of 192 · 2024 | 30.6 per 1,000#27 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateCuba: 1.3× the death rate | 10.4 per 1,000#29 of 192 · 2024 | 8.0 per 1,000#70 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Liberia: 24.1 points higher | 15.0%#162 of 192 · 2025 | 39.1%#28 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Cuba: 13.7 points higher | 17.0%#46 of 192 · 2025 | 3.3%#158 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationLiberia: 0.3 per 1,000 higher | −2.0 per 1,000#144 of 192 · 2025 | −1.7 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadCuba: 3.02× the refugees for its size | 2.69 per 1,000#35 of 190 · 2025 | 0.89 per 1,000#63 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyCuba: 16.0 years longer | 78.3 years#50 of 192 · 2024 | 62.3 years#177 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityLiberia: 9.29× the infant mortality | 6.8 per 1,000 births#135 of 191 · 2024 | 63.2 per 1,000 births#5 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsCuba: 53× the doctors per person | 9.54 per 1,000#1 of 178 · 2021 | 0.18 per 1,000#153 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolment | 43.1%#85 of 145 · 2024 | — |
| Human Development IndexCuba: 0.252 higher | 0.762#96 of 190 · 2023 | 0.510#174 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | — | $830#174 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPCuba: 20.5× the economy | $107.35B2020 | $5.25B2025 |
| Income group | Upper-middle income | Low income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | — | $1,981#177 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthLiberia: 6.1 points higher | −1.1%#180 of 187 · 2024 | +5.0%#45 of 187 · 2025 |
| Inflation | — | +8.3%#27 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentLiberia: 1.71× the unemployment | 1.7%#164 of 178 · 2025 | 2.9%#144 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 33.6%#27 of 149 · 2016 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 35.3#70 of 149 · 2016 |
| Jobs in agricultureLiberia: 25.6 points higher | 15.5% of jobs#91 of 178 · 2025 | 41.1% of jobs#39 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryCuba: 8.6 points higher | 16.9% of jobs#115 of 178 · 2025 | 8.3% of jobs#163 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesCuba: 17.1 points higher | 67.6% of jobs#62 of 178 · 2025 | 50.5% of jobs#115 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentLiberia: 9.5 points higher | 0.0% of GDP#162 of 184 · 2020 | 9.5% of GDP#20 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | 42.5% of GDP#61 of 168 · 2024 | — |
| Military spending | — | 0.8% of GDP#125 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersCuba: 2.19× the share online | 71%#117 of 184 · 2024 | 32%#163 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsCuba: 2.28× the mobile subscriptions | 73 per 100#155 of 191 · 2024 | 32 per 100#189 of 191 · 2022 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaLiberia: 1.89× the forest share | 35% of land#84 of 192 · 2024 | 66% of land#18 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personCuba: 12.7× the CO₂ per person | 1.91 t a year#104 of 185 · 2024 | 0.15 t a year#174 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyLiberia: 71.9 points higher | 20.9%#103 of 190 · 2021 | 92.8%#3 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricityCuba: 65.1 points higher | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 34.9%#184 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Liberia: 1.9× the air pollution | 9.4 µg/m³#158 of 191 · 2023 | 17.9 µg/m³#98 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landCuba: 11.6 points higher | 15.6% of land#111 of 191 · 2025 | 4.0% of land#171 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landCuba: 22.8 points higher | 28.0% of land#34 of 190 · 2024 | 5.2% of land#128 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressCuba: 79.7× the water stress | 23.9%#62 of 176 · 2022 | 0.3%#168 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationLiberia: 1.79× the rain and snow | 1,335 mm#68 of 180 · 2022 | 2,391 mm#15 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityCuba: 0.45 higher | +0.31#79 of 193 · 2025 | −0.14#113 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionCuba: 0.23 higher | −0.73#135 of 193 · 2025 | −0.96#152 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | 4.5 per 100,000#51 of 146 · 2019 | — |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | One-party statecommunist state | Presidential republic |
| Capital | Havana | Monrovia |
| Currency | Cuban peso (CUP) | Liberian dollar (LRD) |
| Official languages | Spanish | English |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 | UTC |
| Calling code | +53 | +231 |
| Region | Caribbean, North America | Western Africa, Africa |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Cuba sits at about 22° N and is stretched to 1.16× its true area; Liberia at 6° N is stretched to 1.01×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Cuba bigger than Liberia?
- No. Cuba and Liberia are almost exactly the same size. Cuba covers 109,884 km² and Liberia covers 111,369 km².
- How many times does Cuba fit into Liberia?
- About 1.0 times: Liberia has 1.01× the area of Cuba.
- Why do Cuba and Liberia look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Cuba is drawn about 1.16× its true area there and Liberia about 1.01×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Cuba or Liberia?
- Cuba: 10,937,203 people against 5,731,206. Density: Cuba 100 per km², Liberia 51 per km².
- Where do people live longer, Cuba or Liberia?
- In Cuba: life expectancy at birth is 78.3 years, against 62.3 — 16.0 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Cuba and Liberia have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Cuba: one-party state; Liberia: presidential republic.