New Cuban government data show that the country's private sector is accounting for more retail sales by value than the state for the first time since the early years following Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution.
Preliminary figures from the National Statistics Office indicate the "non-state" sector was responsible for 55% of retail sales of goods and services in 2024, up from 44 per cent in 2023.
The Cuban government has gradually expanded the role of private enterprise since the 1991 collapse of its former benefactor, the Soviet Union, reversing a 1968 policy that had nationalised all private businesses.
Correspondingly, the state-run economy has shrunk, contracting by 11 per cent over the last five years and marked by frequent blackouts, goods shortages, and high inflation.
The state still operates thousands of retail outlets, offering a limited variety of goods, including food, hygiene products and clothing.
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