Doctors: 1 per 2000 people

Major causes of death: Heart diseases, cancers, nutritional disorders

After 1979, Cuban physicians provided a basic health care system. There are free weekly clinics in each district, and treatment in subsidized state hospitals now matches the Caribbean average. In 1999 Cuba began its promised expansion of the general hospital.

From "The Financial Times World Desk Reference" © Dorling Kindersley 2004