HAVANA, July 22, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Cuba's population fell in 2025, official statistics show, extending a downward streak as the country faces an unprecedented wave of migration.

The communist island is reeling from its worst economic crisis in decades -- one made worse by a fuel blockade and sanctions imposed by US President Donald Trump.

Cuba's population fell to 9.4 million in 2025, down from 9.7 million a year before, according to data from Cuba's National Statistics Institute (ONEI) released Tuesday.

The population was just over 10 million in 2023.

The negative net migration at the end of 2025 was around 245,000 people, fueled by the economic crisis.

Cuba is "the oldest country in Latin America and the Caribbean," where people over 60 make up around 27 percent of the population.

The working-age segment of the population has shrunk by more than 1.2 million people over the past five years.

In 2025, the number of deaths was "almost double" the number of births, ONEI said.

The fertility rate was 1.29 children per woman for a second consecutive year, the lowest figure since 1958.