This question was prompted partly by the fact that we have visited both countries this year, and partly by the fact that the two countries have had such different histories.
Of course there is no definitive way to measure an intangible quality like happiness. However there are some pretty tangible indicators (income, infant mortality, homicide rate and literacy) which could be expected to have a material impact on a normal person's happiness.
Using these tangible indicators, it is amazing how one sided the comparison is - starting off with incomes as reported by the CIA:
Just about everybody in Cuba is able to read
Cuba's homicide rate is comparable to Chile - a country with nearly double the per capita income
The infant mortality rate in Cuba speaks to the strength of its healthcare system. In fact, medical care is a significant source of foreign currency for the country.
You could argue that this is an unfair comparison - that Cuba is simply a richer country - always was, always will be.
One way to address this argument is to compare "Happiness" outcomes against incomes. The intuition behind this, is simply that you would expect wealthier countries to be able to offer better health care, education etc.
The above chart builds on this intuition. The X axis is simply per
capita income. The Y axis is a custom Happiness Index which assigns an equal weight to Literacy, Homicide Rate and Infant Mortality. The dots above the line represent those countries delivering better outcomes than you might expect given their income levels. You can see that Cuba is punching way above its income weight.
There may be the odd reader who thinks I am "cooking the books" to show the Cuban government in a good light. For that reason I have also highlighted how Venezuela is experiencing much worse outcomes than you would expect given income levels in that country, despite the similarity with Cuba in terms of official ideology.
The normal response for a foreigner wanting to get involved with Guatemala's many development challenges is to pick up a hammer and build something. People who know me, know that I cannot be trusted to do anything remotely handy. So I have had to settle for building spreadsheets instead - no judgements please!
Backing up, where the heck is Guatemala?
Things have been a bit quiet with Michele away, luxuriating in decadent Victoria. I have had enough time on my hands to trawl through the databases of the World Bank, the IMF and the CIA World Factbook, with a view to answering some questions that I had. For instance, as a glass half full kind of person, I was curious to know if life was actually getting any better in this country.
Conditions remain difficult in many ways:
Guatemala is still one of the most unequal countries on the planet
Family planning is slow to make headway in a traditional, impoverished country, like Guatemala. The country's population has risen four fold in the last fifty years:
Thirty per cent of the population have to try and get by on US$2 a day:
The homicide rate is terrifying if you work as a journalist or bus driver, or if you live in Guatemala City.
However some things are actually improving:
Military spending has come down:
Inflation is down
Incomes are rising slowly - albeit from a very low level
Increased rates of literacy are testimony to improvements in the education system:
Similarly the dramatic decline in the rate of infant mortality speaks to a healthier population and better health care provision
Finally, fewer children are actually going hungry
