|
|
Background: |
The native Amerindian
population of Cuba began to decline after the European discovery of the
island by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1492 and following its development as a
Spanish colony during the next several centuries. Large numbers of African
slaves were imported to work the coffee and sugar plantations, and Havana
became the launching point for the annual treasure fleets bound for Spain
from Mexico and Peru. Spanish rule, marked initially by neglect, became
increasingly repressive, provoking an independence movement and occasional
rebellions that were harshly suppressed. It was US intervention during the
Spanish-American War in 1898 that finally overthrew Spanish rule. The
subsequent Treaty of Paris established Cuban independence, which was
granted in 1902 after a three-year transition period. Fidel CASTRO led a
rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule held the subsequent regime
together for nearly five decades. He stepped down as president in February
2008 in favor of his younger brother Raul CASTRO. Cuba's Communist
revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and
Africa during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The country is now slowly
recovering from a severe economic downturn in 1990, following the
withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies, worth $4 billion to $6 billion
annually. Cuba portrays its difficulties as the result of the US embargo
in place since 1961. Illicit migration to the US - using homemade rafts,
alien smugglers, air flights, or via the southwest border - is a
continuing problem. The US Coast Guard intercepted 2,864 individuals
attempting to cross the Straits of Florida in fiscal year 2006.
|
|
Location: |
Caribbean, island between the
Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, 150 km south of Key West,
Florida |
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Geographic coordinates: |
21 30 N, 80 00 W |
|
Map references: |
Central America and the
Caribbean |
|
Area: |
total: 110,860 sq km
land: 110,860 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
|
Area - comparative: |
slightly smaller than
Pennsylvania |
|
Land boundaries: |
total: 29 km
border countries: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay 29 km
note: Guantanamo Naval Base is leased by the US and remains
part of Cuba |
|
Coastline: |
3,735 km |
|
Maritime claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200
nm |
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Climate: |
tropical; moderated by trade
winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October)
|
|
Terrain: |
mostly flat to rolling plains,
with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast |
|
Elevation extremes: |
lowest point: Caribbean
Sea 0 m
highest point: Pico Turquino 2,005 m |
|
Natural resources: |
cobalt, nickel, iron ore,
chromium, copper, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land |
|
Land use: |
arable land: 27.63%
permanent crops: 6.54%
other: 65.83% (2005) |
|
Irrigated land: |
8,700 sq km (2003) |
|
Total renewable water resources: |
38.1 cu km (2000) |
|
Freshwater withdrawal
(domestic/industrial/agricultural): |
total: 8.2 cu km/yr
(19%/12%/69%)
per capita: 728 cu m/yr (2000) |
|
Natural hazards: |
the east coast is subject to
hurricanes from August to November (in general, the country averages about
one hurricane every other year); droughts are common |
|
Environment - current issues: |
air and water pollution;
biodiversity loss; deforestation |
|
Environment - international agreements: |
party to: Antarctic
Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life
Conservation |
|
Geography - note: |
largest country in Caribbean
and westernmost island of the Greater Antilles |
|
Population: |
11,423,952 (July 2008 est.)
|
|
Age structure: |
0-14 years: 18.5% (male
1,088,311/female 1,030,499)
15-64 years: 70.5% (male
4,029,381/female 4,025,154)
65 years and over: 10.9% (male
569,002/female 681,605) (2008 est.) |
|
Median age: |
total: 36.8 years
male: 36.1 years
female: 37.5 years (2008 est.)
|
|
Population growth rate: |
0.251% (2008 est.) |
|
Birth rate: |
11.27 births/1,000 population
(2008 est.) |
|
Death rate: |
7.19 deaths/1,000 population
(2008 est.) |
|
Net migration rate: |
-1.57 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2008 est.) |
|
Sex ratio: |
at birth: 1.06
male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64
years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83
male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2008
est.) |
|
Infant mortality rate: |
total: 5.93 deaths/1,000
live births
male: 6.64 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 5.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.) |
|
Life expectancy at birth: |
total population: 77.27
years
male: 75.02 years
female: 79.64 years (2008
est.) |
|
Total fertility rate: |
1.6 children born/woman (2008
est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: |
less than 0.1% (2003 est.)
|
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: |
3,300 (2003 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths: |
less than 200 (2003 est.)
|
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Major infectious diseases: |
degree of risk:
intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea
and hepatitis A
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever (2008)
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|
Nationality: |
noun: Cuban(s)
adjective: Cuban |
|
Ethnic groups: |
mulatto 51%, white 37%, black
11%, Chinese 1% |
|
Religions: |
nominally 85% Roman Catholic
prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews,
and Santeria are also represented |
|
Languages: |
Spanish |
|
Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and
over can read and write
total population: 99.8%
male: 99.8%
female: 99.8% (2002 census) |
|
People - note: |
illicit emigration is a
continuing problem; Cubans attempt to depart the island and enter the US
using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, direct flights, or falsified visas;
Cubans also use non-maritime routes to enter the US including direct
flights to Miami and over-land via the southwest border |
|
Country name: |
conventional long form:
Republic of Cuba
conventional short form: Cuba
local
long form: Republica de Cuba
local short form: Cuba |
|
Government type: |
Communist state |
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Capital: |
name: Havana
geographic coordinates: 23 07 N, 82 21 W
time
difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends
last Sunday in October |
|
Administrative divisions: |
14 provinces (provincias,
singular - provincia) and 1 special municipality* (municipio especial);
Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Cienfuegos, Ciudad de La Habana, Granma,
Guantanamo, Holguin, Isla de la Juventud*, La Habana, Las Tunas, Matanzas,
Pinar del Rio, Sancti Spiritus, Santiago de Cuba, Villa Clara |
|
Independence: |
20 May 1902 (from Spain 10
December 1898; administered by the US from 1898 to 1902); not acknowledged
by the Cuban Government as a day of independence |
|
National holiday: |
Triumph of the Revolution, 1
January (1959) |
|
Constitution: |
24 February 1976; amended July
1992 and June 2002 |
|
Legal system: |
based on Spanish civil law and
influenced by American legal concepts, with large elements of Communist
legal theory; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
|
Suffrage: |
16 years of age; universal
|
|
Executive branch: |
chief of state:
President of the Council of State and President of the Council of
Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (president since 24 February 2008); First
Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the
Council of Ministers Gen. Jose Ramon MACHADO Ventura (since 24 February
2008); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of
government
head of government: President of the Council of
State and President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz
(president since 24 February 2008); First Vice President of the Council of
State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Jose Ramon
MACHADO Ventura (since 24 February 2008)
cabinet: Council of
Ministers proposed by the president of the Council of State and appointed
by the National Assembly or the 31-member Council of State, elected by the
Assembly to act on its behalf when it is not in session
elections: president and vice presidents elected by the
National Assembly for a term of five years; election last held 24 February
2008 (next to be held in 2013)
election results: Gen. Raul
CASTRO Ruz elected president; percent of legislative vote - 100%; Gen.
Jose Ramon MACHADO Ventura elected vice president; percent of legislative
vote - 100% |
|
Legislative branch: |
unicameral National Assembly of
People's Power or Asemblea Nacional del Poder Popular (number of seats in
the National Assembly is based on population; 614 seats; members elected
directly from slates approved by special candidacy commissions to serve
five-year terms)
elections: last held 20 January 2008 (next to
be held in January 2013)
election results: Cuba's Communist
Party is the only legal party, and officially sanctioned candidates run
unopposed |
|
Judicial branch: |
People's Supreme Court or
Tribunal Supremo Popular (president, vice president, and other judges are
elected by the National Assembly) |
|
Political parties and leaders: |
Cuban Communist Party or PCC
[Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders: |
NA |
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International organization participation: |
ACP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, ICAO,
ICC, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM
(observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS (excluded from
formal participation since 1962), OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
|
|
Diplomatic representation in the US: |
none; note - Cuba has an
Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Jorge
BOLANOS Suarez; address: Cuban Interests Section, Swiss Embassy, 2630 16th
Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; telephone: [1] (202) 797-8518; FAX: [1]
(202) 797-8521 |
|
Diplomatic representation from the US: |
none; note - the US has an
Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer
Michael E. PARMLY; address: USINT, Swiss Embassy, Calzada between L and M
Streets, Vedado, Havana; telephone: [53] (7) 833-3551 through 3559
(operator assistance required); FAX: [53] (7) 833-3700; protecting power
in Cuba is Switzerland |
|
Flag description: |
five equal horizontal bands of
blue (top, center, and bottom) alternating with white; a red equilateral
triangle based on the hoist side bears a white, five-pointed star in the
center |
|
Economy - overview: |
The government continues to
balance the need for economic loosening against a desire for firm
political control. It has rolled back limited reforms undertaken in the
1990s to increase enterprise efficiency and alleviate serious shortages of
food, consumer goods, and services. The average Cuban's standard of living
remains at a lower level than before the downturn of the 1990s, which was
caused by the loss of Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies. Since late
2000, Venezuela has been providing oil on preferential terms, and it
currently supplies about 100,000 barrels per day of petroleum products.
Cuba has been paying for the oil, in part, with the services of Cuban
personnel in Venezuela, including some 20,000 medical professionals. In
2007, high metals prices continued to boost Cuban earnings from nickel and
cobalt production. Havana continued to invest in the country's energy
sector to mitigate electrical blackouts that had plagued the country since
2004. |
|
GDP (purchasing power parity): |
$51.11 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
GDP (official exchange rate): |
$45.1 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
GDP - real growth rate: |
7% (2007 est.) |
|
GDP - per capita (PPP): |
$4,500 (2007 est.) |
|
GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture: 4.6%
industry: 26.1%
services: 69.3% (2007 est.) |
|
Labor force: |
4.853 million
note:
state sector 78%, non-state sector 22% (2007 est.) |
|
Labor force - by occupation: |
agriculture: 20%
industry: 19.4%
services: 60.6% (2005) |
|
Unemployment rate: |
1.9% (2007 est.) |
|
Population below poverty line: |
NA% |
|
Household income or consumption by percentage
share: |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
3.6% (2007 est.) |
|
Investment (gross fixed): |
14.2% of GDP (2007 est.) |
|
Budget: |
revenues: $35.01 billion
expenditures: $36.73 billion (2007 est.) |
|
Public debt: |
37.2% of GDP (2007 est.) |
|
Agriculture - products: |
sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee,
rice, potatoes, beans; livestock |
|
Industries: |
sugar, petroleum, tobacco,
construction, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery,
pharmaceuticals |
|
Industrial production growth rate: |
8% (2007 est.) |
|
Electricity - production: |
16.45 billion kWh (2006) |
|
Electricity - production by source: |
fossil fuel: 93.9%
hydro: 0.6%
nuclear: 0%
other: 5.4%
(2001) |
|
Electricity - consumption: |
13.87 billion kWh (2006) |
|
Electricity - exports: |
0 kWh (2006) |
|
Electricity - imports: |
0 kWh (2006) |
|
Oil - production: |
50,850 bbl/day (2006 est.)
|
|
Oil - consumption: |
150,000 bbl/day (2006 est.)
|
|
Oil - exports: |
0 bbl/day (2006) |
|
Oil - imports: |
98,100 bbl/day (2005) |
|
Oil - proved reserves: |
750 million bbl (1 January 2006
est.) |
|
Natural gas - production: |
1.058 billion cu m (2006)
|
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Natural gas - consumption: |
1.058 billion cu m (2006)
|
|
Natural gas - exports: |
0 cu m (2006) |
|
Natural gas - imports: |
0 cu m (2006) |
|
Natural gas - proved reserves: |
67.89 billion cu m (1 January
2006 est.) |
|
Current account balance: |
$-750 million (2007 est.)
|
|
Exports: |
$3.231 billion f.o.b. (2007
est.) |
|
Exports - commodities: |
sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish,
medical products, citrus, coffee |
|
Exports - partners: |
Netherlands 21.8%, Cuba
21.6%, China 18.7%, Spain 5.9% (2006) |
|
Imports: |
$10.86 billion f.o.b. (2007
est.) |
|
Imports - commodities: |
petroleum, food, machinery and
equipment, chemicals |
|
Imports - partners: |
Venezuela 26.6%, China 15.6%,
Spain 9.8%, Germany 6.4%, Cuba 5.6%, Italy 4.4%, US 4.3%, Brazil 4.2%
(2006) |
|
Economic aid - recipient: |
$87.8 million (2005 est.)
|
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: |
$4.247 billion (31 December
2007 est.) |
|
Debt - external: |
$16.79 billion (convertible
currency); another $15-20 billion owed to Russia (31 December 2007 est.)
|
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: |
$11.24 billion (2006 est.)
|
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: |
$4.138 billion (2006 est.)
|
|
Currency (code): |
Cuban peso (CUP) and
Convertible peso (CUC) |
|
Currency code: |
CUP (nonconvertible Cuban peso)
and CUC (convertible Cuban peso) |
|
Exchange rates: |
Convertible pesos per US dollar
- 0.9259 (2007), 0.9231 (2006)
note: Cuba has two currencies in
circulation: the Cuban peso (CUP) and the convertible peso (CUC); in April
2005 the official exchange rate changed from $1 per CUC to $1.08 per CUC
(0.93 CUC per $1), both for individuals and enterprises; individuals can
buy 24 Cuban pesos (CUP) for each CUC sold, or sell 25 Cuban pesos for
each CUC bought; enterprises, however, must exchange CUP and CUC at a 1:1
ratio. |
|
Fiscal year: |
calendar year |
|
Telephones - main lines in use: |
972,900 (2006) |
|
Telephones - mobile cellular: |
152,700 (2006) |
|
Telephone system: |
general assessment:
greater investment beginning in 1994 and the establishment of a new
Ministry of Information Technology and Communications in 2000 has resulted
in improvements in the system; wireless service is expensive and must be
paid in convertible pesos which effectively limits mobile cellular
subscribership
domestic: national fiber-optic system under
development; 95% of switches digitized by end of 2006; fixed telephone
line density remains low, at less than 10 per 100 inhabitants; domestic
cellular service expanding but remains at only about 2 per 100 persons
international: country code - 53; fiber-optic cable laid to but
not linked to US network; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik
(Atlantic Ocean region) |
|
Radio broadcast stations: |
AM 169, FM 55, shortwave 1
(1998) |
|
Radios: |
3.9 million (1997) |
|
Television broadcast stations: |
58 (1997) |
|
Televisions: |
2.64 million (1997) |
|
Internet country code: |
.cu |
|
Internet hosts: |
3,388 (2007) |
|
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): |
5 (2001) |
|
Internet users: |
240,000
note:
private citizens are prohibited from buying computers or accessing the
Internet without special authorization; foreigners may access the Internet
in large hotels but are subject to firewalls; some Cubans buy illegal
passwords on the black market or take advantage of public outlets to
access limited email and the government-controlled 'intranet' (2006)
|
|
Airports: |
165 (2007) |
|
Airports - with paved runways: |
total: 70
over
3,047 m: 7
2,438 to 3,047 m: 9
1,524 to 2,437 m:
18
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 31 (2007) |
|
Airports - with unpaved runways: |
total: 95
1,524
to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 23
under 914 m: 71
(2007) |
|
Pipelines: |
gas 49 km; oil 230 km (2007)
|
|
Railways: |
total: 4,226 km
standard gauge: 4,226 km 1.435-m gauge (140 km electrified)
note: an additional 7,742 km of track is used by sugar
plantations; about 65% of this track is standard gauge; the rest is narrow
gauge (2006) |
|
Roadways: |
total: 60,858 km
paved: 29,820 km (includes 638 km of expressway)
unpaved: 31,038 km (1999) |
|
Waterways: |
240 km (2007) |
|
Merchant marine: |
total: 12 ships (1000
GRT or over) 35,030 GRT/51,388 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2,
cargo 3, chemical tanker 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated
cargo 2
foreign-owned: 1 (Spain 1)
registered in other
countries: 16 (Bahamas 1, Cyprus 2, Netherlands Antilles 1, Panama 11,
Spain 1) (2007) |
|
Ports and terminals: |
Cienfuegos, Havana, Matanzas
|
|
Military branches: |
Revolutionary Armed Forces
(Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias, FAR): Revolutionary Army (ER; includes
Territorial Militia Troops, MTT), Revolutionary Navy (Marina de Guerra
Revolucionaria, MGR; includes Marine Corps), Revolutionary Air and Air
Defense Force (DAAFAR), Youth Labor Army (EJT) (2008) |
|
Military service age and obligation: |
17-28 years of age for
compulsory military service; 2-year service obligation; both sexes subject
to military service (2006) |
|
Manpower available for military service: |
males age 17-49:
2,967,865
females age 17-49: 2,913,559 (2005 est.) |
|
Manpower fit for military service: |
males age 17-49:
2,441,927
females age 17-49: 2,396,741 (2005 est.) |
|
Manpower reaching military service age annually: |
males age 18-49: 91,901
females age 18-49: 87,500 (2005 est.) |
|
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: |
3.8% (2006 est.) |
|
Military - note: |
the collapse of the Soviet
Union deprived the Cuban Army of its major economic and logistic support,
and had a significant impact on equipment numbers and serviceability; the
army remains well trained and professional in nature; while the lack of
replacement parts for its existing equipment and the current severe
shortage of fuel have increasingly affected operational capabilities, Cuba
remains able to offer considerable resistance to any regional power (2008)
|
| Transnational Issues |
Cuba |
|
Disputes - international: |
US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay
is leased to US and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area
can terminate the lease |
|
Trafficking in persons: |
current situation: Cuba
is a source country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of
sexual exploitation and forced child labor; Cuba is a major destination
for sex tourism, which largely caters to European, Canadian, and Latin
American tourists and involves large numbers of minors; there are reports
that Cuban women have been trafficked to Mexico for sexual exploitation;
forced labor victims also include children coerced into working in
commercial agriculture
tier rating: Tier 3 - Cuba does not
fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking
and is not making significant efforts to do so |
|
Illicit drugs: |
territorial waters and air
space serve as transshipment zone for US- and European-bound drugs;
established the death penalty for certain drug-related crimes in 1999
|
|
