Map of Cuba | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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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 eventually provoked an independence movement and occasional rebellions that were harshly suppressed. US intervention during the Spanish-American War in 1898 assisted the Cubans in overthrowing Spanish rule. The Treaty of Paris established Cuban independence from the US in 1902 after which the island experienced a string of governments mostly dominated by the military and corrupt politicians. 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 faced a severe economic downturn in 1990 following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually. Cuba at times portrays the US embargo in place since 1961 as the source if its difficulties. 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 982 individuals attempting to cross the Straits of Florida in fiscal year 2009.


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Location: Caribbean island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean 150 km south of Key West Florida

Geographic coordinates: 21 30 N 80 00 W

Map reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: 110,860 km²
Rank: 105
Land: 109,820 km²
Water: 1040 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Pennsylvania

Land boundaries
Total: 29 km
Border countries: (1) 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

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
Extremes highest point: Pico Turquino 2005 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 km² (2003)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 38.1 km³ (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

Geography
Note: largest country in Caribbean and westernmost island of the Greater Antilles


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Population: 11,477,459 (July 2010 est.)
Rank: 73
Growth rate: 0.217% (2010 est.)
Growth rate rank: 181
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Cuban
Adjective: Cuban

Ethnic groups: white 65.1% mulatto and mestizo 24.8% black 10.1% (2002 census)

Languages: Spanish (official)

Religions: nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants Jehovah's Witnesses Jews and Santeria are also represented

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 18.3%
15-64 years: 70.4% (male 4,035,691/female 4,030,103)
65 years and over: 11.2% (male 584,478/female 703,242) (2010 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 37.8 years
Male: 37.1 years
Female: 38.6 years (2010 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.217% (2010 est.)
Rank: 181

Birth rate: 11.02 births/1000 population (2010 est.)
Rank: 177

Death rate: 7.29 deaths/1000 population (July 2010 est.)
Rank: 123

Net migration rate: -1.56 migrant(s)/1000 population (2010 est.)
Rank: 169

Population distribution

Urbanization
Urban population: 76% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 0% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: air and water pollution; biodiversity loss; deforestation
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
International agreements signed but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male/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 (2010 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 5.72 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 180
Male: 6.39 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 5 deaths/1000 live births (2010 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 77.64 years
Rank: 53
Male: 75.36 years
Female: 80.05 years (2010 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.61 children born/woman (2010 est.)
Rank: 178

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2007 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 138
People living with hivaids: 6,200 (2007 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 119
Deaths: fewer than 100 (2007 est.)
Deaths rank: 129

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: intermediate
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A
Vectorborne diseases: dengue fever (2009)

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures: 13.6% of GDP (2008)
Rank: 2

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 99.8%
Male: 99.8%
Female: 99.8% (2002 census)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 18 years
Male: 16 years
Female: 19 years (2009)

Youth unemployment


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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

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

Dependent areas

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

International law organization participation

Citizenship

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 ; First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers 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 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 five-year term; election last held on 24 February 2008 (next to be held in 2013)
Election results: Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz elected president; percent of legislative vote - 100%; 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 on 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 presidents and other judges are elected by the National Assembly)

Political parties and leaders: Cuban Communist Party or PCC [Fidel CASTRO Ruz first secretary]

International organization participation: ACP AOSIS 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 PetroCaribe RG UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO Union Latina UNWTO UPU 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 2,630 16th Street NW Washington DC 20,009; telephone: [1] (202) 797-8,518; FAX: [1] (202) 797-8,521
From the us: none; note - the US has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy headed by Chief of Mission Jonathan D. FARRAR; address: USINT Swiss Embassy Calzada between L and M Streets Vedado Havana; telephone: [53] (7) 833-3,551 through 3,559 (operator assistance required); FAX: [53] (7) 833-1653; 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; the blue bands refer to the three old divisions of the island: central occidental and oriental; the white bands describe the purity of the independence ideal; the triangle symbolizes liberty equality and fraternity while the red color stands for the blood shed in the independence struggle; the white star called La Estrella Solitaria (the Lone Star) lights the way to freedom and was taken from the flag of Texas
Note: design similar to the Puerto Rican flag with the colors of the bands and triangle reversed

National symbols

National anthem
Name: 'La Bayamesa'
Lyricsmusic: Pedro FIGUEREDO
Note: adopted 1940; Pedro FIGUEREDO first performed 'La Bayamesa' in 1868 during the Ten Years War against the Spanish; a leading figure in the uprising FIGUEREDO was captured in 1870 and executed in front of a firing squad; just prior to the fusillade he is reputed to have shouted 'Morir por la Patria es vivir' (To die for the country is to live) a line from the anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: The government continues to balance the need for economic loosening against a desire for firm political control. The government announced it would eliminate 500,000 state jobs by March 2011 and has expanded opportunities for self-employment. President CASTRO said such changes were needed to update the economic model to ensure the survival of socialism. 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

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 67
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 172

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 109
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 4.2%
Industry: 22.7%
Services: 72.9% (2010 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: 0.8% (2010 est.)
Rank: 151

Labor force: 5.164 million
Rank: 72
Note: state sector 78% non-state sector 22% (2010 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 20%
By occupation industry: 19.4%
By occupation services: 60.6% (2005)

Unemployment rate: 1.7% (2009 est.)
Rank: 12

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt: 34.7% of GDP (2009 est.)
Rank: 84

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices: -0.5% (2009 est.)
Rank: 13

Central bank discount rate: NA%

Commercial bank prime lending rate: NA%

Stock of narrow money: $11.74 billion (31 December 2009 est)
Rank: 69

Stock of broad money: $35.61 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 71

Stock of domestic credit: $NA

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance: $539 million (2009 est.)
Rank: 75

Exports: $2.879 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 120
Commodities: sugar nickel tobacco fish medical products citrus coffee
Partners: China 25.68% Canada 20.31% Spain 6.79% Netherlands 4.53% (2009)

Imports: $8.91 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 88
Commodities: petroleum food machinery and equipment chemicals
Partners: Venezuela 30.51% China 15.48% Spain 8.3% US 6.87% (2009)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $4.647 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 67

Debt external: $19.42 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 72

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $NA (31 December 2009 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $4.138 billion (2006 est.)
Rank: 61

Exchange rates: Cuban pesos (CUP) per US dollar - 0.9259 (2010) 0.9259 (2009) 0.9259 (2008) 0.9259 (2007) 0.9231 (2006)


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Electricity
Production: 16.89 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Production rank: 73
Consumption: 13.93 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Consumption rank: 77
Exports: 0 kWh (2008 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2008 est.)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 400 million m³ (2008 est.)
Production rank: 68
Consumption: 400 million m³ (2008 est.)
Consumption rank: 96
Exports: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Exports rank: 67
Imports: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Imports rank: 183
Proven reserves: 70.79 billion m³ (1 January 2010 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 57

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 1.168 million (2009)
Main lines in use rank: 71
Mobile cellular: 443,000 (2009)
Mobile cellular rank: 162

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; national fiber-optic system under development; 95% of switches digitized by end of 2006; mobile-cellular telephone service is expensive and must be paid in convertible pesos which effectively limits subscribership
Domestic: fixed-line density remains low at less than 10 per 100 inhabitants; mobile-cellular service expanding but remains less than 5 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) (2009)

Broadcast media: government owns and controls all broadcast media with private ownership of electronic media prohibited; government operates 4 national TV networks and many local TV stations; government operates 6 national radio networks an international station and many local radio stations; Radio-TV Marti is beamed from the US (2007)

Internet
Country code: .cu
Hosts: 3,025 (2010)
Hosts rank: 145
Users: 1.606 million
Users rank: 79
Users 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' (2009)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: 3.8% of GDP (2006 est.)
Rank: 27

Military and security forces

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)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 136 (2010)
Rank: 43
With paved runways total: 65
With paved runways over 3047 m: 7
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 9
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 17
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 5
With paved runways under 914 m: 27 (2010)
With unpaved runways total: 71
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 13
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 58 (2010)

Heliports

Pipelines: gas 41 km; oil 230 km (2009)

Railways
Total: 8,598 km
Rank: 24
Standard gauge: 8,322 km 1.435-m gauge (176 km electrified)
Narrow gauge: 276 km 1.000-gauge
Note: 4,533 km of the track is used by sugar plantations; 4,257 km is standard gauge; 276 km is narrow gauge (2006)

Roadways
Total: 60,858 km
Rank: 75
Paved: 29,820 km (includes 638 km of expressway)
Unpaved: 31,038 km (2000)

Waterways: 240 km (almost all navigable inland waterways are near the mouths of rivers) (2010)
Rank: 95

Merchant marine
Total: 5
Rank: 129
By type: cargo 2 passenger 1 refrigerated cargo 2
Registered in other countries: 6 (Cyprus 1 former Netherlands Antilles 1 Panama 4) (2010)

Ports and terminals: Antilla Cienfuegos Guantanamo Havana Matanzas Mariel Nuevitas Bay Santiago de Cuba Tanamo


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Disputes international: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased to US and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the facility can terminate the lease

Refugees and internally displaced persons

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 (2008)