Cuba

Overview

Cuba lands at #30 of 72 on the Cooked Index — #30 Most Cooked. The clearest fault line runs through criminal justice policy: incarceration rate (Incarceration 794/100k) is worse than 97% of countries tracked. Political institutions isn't far behind — political polarization trails 39% of the field. And housing policy rounds out the picture: housing cost burden (30% cost-burdened by housing) sits worse than 53% of countries. Same scoreboard, different departments.

Cuba scores 32 out of 100, the global median sits at 27 — so this is 5 points above that line (higher means more cooked). Where the system is holding up: billionaires hoarded (0 billionaires) — better than 85% of countries tracked. None of this is really about Cuba specifically — it's about what's propping up the criminal justice policy numbers underneath.

Sources: World Prison Brief (2025) · V-Dem + Global Peace Index (2025) · OECD Affordable Housing Database (HC1.2) (2024)