Differences and Similarities Between Australia & Cuba

Differences and similarities between Australia & Cuba

The two countries, Australia and Cuba are on the opposite side of the world and seem to be completely different countries. Although that’s not that’s not the case. Here its shows some differences and some similarities covering the living standards, health, education, personal activities, government, social connections and the environment.

Material Living Standards [pic 1]

The living standards in each country are very diverse. The national average income for each person in Australia is $42,450 compared to Cuba where they are only making $5980 as their income. This is a $36,470 difference. The people in these countries especially Cuba cannot do much about it as their minimum wage is just a few cents every hour. Unlike Cuba, Australia has one of the highest minimum wages in the world with Australia at $16.88 an hour. Although this sum is for persons over the age of 21, children at the age of 16 can be making only $11 an hour. Australia’s consumption for electricity is quite high being ranked only 16th with using 213.5 billion kWh. Cuba is ranked a lot lower with only being 79th and using 13.64 billion kWh. Although Cuba isn’t the most wealthy country, the people that live there are mostly always happy with themselves and their lives.

Health

The whole health system in Cuba is government run as there are no private hospitals or medical clinics available. It also has the highest amount of spending on health in the world with being 91.5%. Cuba has 67.2 doctors per 10000 population on average while in Australia we have less than half of that number being only 32.7 doctors per 10000 population. Even though Cuba has more doctors we have more choices when it comes to health care. Not only do we have government run health systems, we have private hospitals where we get a more diverse choice of doctors and private rooms to yourself. Although this does come at a cost. Depending on the type of private health cover you have, determines how well covered you are in private hospitals. In Cuba the average life expectancy is 79 years unlike Australia where it is 82 years. The leading causes of death in Australia are coronary heart disease closely followed by dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Similarly to Australia, Cuba’s leading cause of death is coronary heart disease then followed by stroke and lung cancer.

Education

With the highest literacy rate in the world, Cuba’s schooling system starts with 6 years of primary education. The children then continue on to do 3 years in middle school. When they finally reach secondary school to complete their final years, they have the choice of doing either completing with Pre University secondary or doing technical and professional education. The ones that choose to do Pre University end up with being awarded the Bachillerato while the other students who choose to complete the technical and professional education leads to two types of qualification 1 being a skilled worker and 2 being a middle level technician. During these times an element of social service is also added which is completed in the holidays. After these studies have concluded, there are multiple choices to continue on with later. In Australia, every child begins off in kindergarten before heading to primary school. At the end of primary school they move onto high school which can be either a new school if they attend public school or it can be the same school if they go to a private school. Although that’s not always the case. There are many private schools that are available although these are very expensive.

Personal activities including work

There are many different things that you can do in either country being Cuba or Australia. Cuba is known for having really good Cuban Cigars. These were seen as a delicacy.

The work isn’t as readily available in Cuba as it is in Australia. In Cuba it is very hard to find paid work as a foreigner although there is a lot of voluntary work available. Depending on when you finished school in Cuba depends on what type of job is available. Children with a secondary school diploma will most likely get into the fields farming either working as a tobacco farmer to help with the cigars or as planting sugar cane. These jobs involve a lot of hard labour so sometimes an alternative is joining the Cuban army. Recently there have been some advances in the Cuban economy which has now allowed them to work in tourist related work such as waiters, barmen bus and coach drivers and hotel related jobs. This is similar to students in Australia who have chosen to go along with a trade rather than going on to University.  Cubans who have left school with a tertiary education or a degree from University, they would most likely get some more reasonable work. Most University grad students become either a doctor or engineer. Their pay isn’t great either as all of the job placements are under the government and the government doesn’t pay very well due to the communist system. Jobs in Australia get paid different amount depending on the level that it is.

Political Voice and Government

The government in Australia is a democracy but also a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state of Australia. The government in Cuba is a little different as it is a totalitarian communist state. It headed by General Raul Castro while Australia has a prime minister named Malcolm Turnbull. Cuba has been governed by a highly centralised system which is run by the Communist Party of Cuba. This party is the only authorised political party and is known as the “the highest leading force of society and the state.” This political structure seems to be very strong and solid. The political voice has improved immensely in both countries especially now how Barack Obama has embraced Cuba. In Australia, as a free country, anyone is able to protest for whatever their need is to whereas in Cuba as it is not a free country as its communist and they do not have the rights to go and protest whenever they choose to. Australians all have the right vote for various things along with our Prime Minister every year to couple of years. They also had the opportunity previously to vote on whether Australia should become a republic.  

Social connections and relationships

Having social connections with other people matters. It enhances our wellbeing and quality of life. In Australia, there is a foundation called the Red Cross Foundation where their job is to make sure that everyone is included in society. This includes having different relationships with people and getting more involved with the community. This program also offers help to people with mental illnesses especially if they feel as though they are being isolated from their social group, and the homeless people. There are a lot of people in this foundation who are willing to step out to support and help others get back on their feet. In Cuba this is not necessarily the case. Considering their government is communist, it has led to many unfair connections to the people of Cuba. Due to limitations by the USA, Cuba experiences extremely limited and expensive internet access. In 2011, only about 25% Of Cubans had internet access. Their way of getting internet otherwise was going to Government run internet cafes which can cost them around $6 to $10 for an hour.  Although considering it’s so slow there isn’t a lot that you can do except check emails and if you’re lucky, surf the web.