Cuba -- the country with the oldest population and highest legal abortion rate in all of Latin America -- is now encouraging young couples to have children and reverse what is increasingly viewed as the communist country's dire demographic situation.

The island nation has seen its birthrate drop dramatically since the 1970s, and experts predict that its population may shrink by as much as a third within the next 50 years, The New York Times reported. And by mid-century, more than 40 percent of Cubans may be over the age of 60.

Focus back on demographics

Observers who have been captivated by the recent rapprochement between the United States and Cuba are now once again turning their attention to the country's numbers issue, said Hazel Denton, a former World Bank economist who has studied Cuban demographics.

"We are all so excited about the trade and travel that we have overlooked the demographics problem," Denton said. "This is a significant issue," he said.

But many young Cubans feel that given an average state salary of just $20 per month, having kids is simply too expensive, the Business Insider reported. And Laura Rivera González, a married architecture student living in Havana, said it was simply more practical to hold off on starting a family.

"At the end of the day, we don't want to make things more difficult for ourselves," she said.

And Elisabeth Domínguez, who along with her husband, Eddy Marrero, earns about $70 a month, said the couple's income simply does not allow them to support a child.

"It's barely enough for the two of us," the 29-year-old said. "How could we afford a kid?"

It's the economy, stupid

Experts, thus, believe that the demographic struggle is mainly due to Cuba's dire economic situation and has little to do with the country's liberal abortion policy, which has led to a nearly 30 abortions for every 1,000 women of childbearing age, according to statistics compiled by the United Nations.

Still, as the aging population could soon overwhelm the state health care system and diminish the communist nation's workforce, Cuba's government is now making a push to persuade young citizens to start families, the New York Times said.

Authorities are circulating pro-pregnancy pamphlets, and -- according to women's accounts -- government doctors now frequently discouraged them from having abortions. Meanwhile, ordinary Cubans have noticed sudden shortages of condoms and birth control pills.

Related