Cuba Reports Fuel Shortage and Economic Contraction in 2026

U.S. administration. The delivery represented one-eighth of the island's monthly requirement and was exhausted by the end of April. Cuba's economy contracted nearly 5 percent by the end of 2025. 5 percent contraction for 2026, the lowest growth rate among 33 countries analyzed.

Residents report limited access to electricity and water.

In Pinar del Río province, many households receive two to three hours of electricity per day. Public transportation runs sporadically and food prices remain elevated. One resident described dividing limited food supplies among three children and missing school days due to hunger. Her household remains connected to the electrical grid serving a pediatric hospital and water system.

8 million people, mostly between ages 15 and 60, have left Cuba in the last five years. The population has declined to approximately eight million, according to economist Juan Carlos Albizu-Campos Espiñeira. 7 percent. Deaths have exceeded births for the past five years.

One delivery driver reported that his 93-year-old grandmother emigrated to Spain in recent weeks after family members obtained Spanish citizenship under historical memory laws.