Cuba

Communist stateIndependence 20 May 1902 (from Spain 10 December 1898

Cuba as the 1991 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 69 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

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CapitalHavana
Area110,860 km2
1991

Every edition of Cuba

Populationas each edition published it
10.73 million July 1991 · 10.62m in 1990
Population growth% a year
Not in this edition 1% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 34.5 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
Not in this edition 76.72 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
1.9 children per woman 1991 · 1.9 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
12 deaths per 1,000 live births 1991 · 12 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
Not in this edition $1,370 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
Not in this edition -15% in 1993

Geography

11 fields
Total area
110,860km2
land area: 110,860 km2Comparative area: slightly smaller than Pennsylvania

Land boundary

29.1 km with US Naval Base at Guantanamo; note--Guantanamo is leased and as such remains part of Cuba

Coastline

3,735 km Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes

US Naval Base at Guantanamo is leased to US and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease

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

Natural resources

cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, manganese, salt, timber, silica

Land use

  • arable land 23%;
  • permanent crops 6%;
  • meadows and pastures 23%;
  • forest and woodland 17%;
  • other 31%;
  • includes irrigated 10%

Environment

averages one hurricane every other year

Note

largest country in Caribbean; 145 km south of Florida

People

14 fields
Population
10,732,037
(July 1991), growth rate 1.0% (1991)

Per 1,000 population(1991)

Birth
18Death
7

Ethnic divisions

mulatto 51%white 37%black 11%Chinese 1%
Literacy
94%
(male 95%, female 93%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Net migration rate

- 1 migrant/1,000 population (1991)

Infant mortality rate

12 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Life expectancy at birth

73 years male, 78 years female (1991)

Total fertility rate

1.9 children born/woman (1991)

Nationality

noun--Cuban(s); adjective--Cuban

Religion

85% nominally Roman Catholic before Castro assumed power

Language

Spanish

Labor force

  • 3,578,800 in state sector;
  • services and government 30%, industry 22%, agriculture 20%, commerce 11%, construction 10%, transportation and communications 7% (June 1990);
  • economically active population 4,620,800 (1988)

Organized labor

  • Workers Central Union of Cuba (CTC), only labor federation approved by government;
  • 2,910,000 members;
  • the CTC is an umbrella organization composed of 17 member unions

Government

Communist state

17 fields

National Assembly of the People's Power, 510 seats, elected NA December 1986seats by party

PCC (indirectly elected) 510

Long-form name

Republic of Cuba

Type

Communist state

Capital

Havana

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)

Constitution

24 February 1976

National holiday

Revolution Day, 1 January (1959)

Executive branch

president of the Council of State, first vice president of the Council of State, Council of State, president of the Council of Ministers, first vice president of the Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers

Legislative branch

unicameral National Assembly of the People's Power (Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular)

Judicial branch

People's Supreme Court Chief of State and Head of Government--President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz (became Prime Minister in February 1959 and President since 2 December 1976); First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (since 2 December 1976)

Political parties and leaders

only party--Cuban Communist Party (PCC), Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary

Suffrage

  • universal at age 16 National Assembly of the People's Power--last held NA December 1986 (next to be held December 1991);
  • results--PCC is the only party;
  • seats--(510 total) PCC 510 (indirectly elected)

Communists

about 600,000 full and candidate members

Member of

CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBEC, ICAO, IFAD, IIB, ILO, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), LORCS, NAM, OAS (excluded from formal participation since 1962), OPANAL (observer), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation

  • none;
  • protecting power in the US is Switzerland--Cuban Interests Section;
  • Counselor Jose Antonio ARBESU Fraga;
  • 2630 and 2639 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20009;
  • telephone (202) 797-8518 or 8519, 8520, 8609, 8610;
  • US--protecting power in Cuba is Switzerland--US Interests Section;
  • Principal Officer Alan H. FLANIGAN;
  • Calzada entre L y M, Vedado Seccion, Havana (mailing address is USINT, c/o International Purchasing Group, 2052 NW 93rd Avenue, Miami, FL 33172);
  • telephone 329-700

Flag

  • five equal horizontal bands of blue (top and bottom) alternating with white;
  • a red equilateral triangle based on the hoist side bears a white five-pointed star in the center

Economy

The economy, centrally planned and largely state owned, is highly dependent on the agricultural sector and foreign trade.

16 fields
Unemployment
6%overall
10% for women (1989)
External debt
$6.8billion
(convertible currency, July 1989)

Budget

Revenues
$12.46 billionExpenditures
$14.45 billion
expenditures, including capital expenditures of $NA (1990 est.)

Overview

The economy, centrally planned and largely state owned, is highly dependent on the agricultural sector and foreign trade. Sugar provides about 75% of export revenues and over half is exported to the USSR. The economy has stagnated since 1985 under policies that have deemphasized material incentives in the workplace, abolished farmers' informal produce markets, and raised prices of government-supplied goods and services.

In 1990 the economy probably fell 3%, largely as a result of declining trade with the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Recently the government has been trying to increase trade with Latin America and China. Cuba has had difficulty servicing its foreign debt since 1982. The government currently is encouraging foreign investment in tourist facilities.

Other investment priorities include sugar, basic foods, and nickel. The annual $4 billion Soviet subsidy, a main prop to Cuba's threadbare economy, is likely to show a substantial decline over the next few years in view of the USSR's mounting economic problems. Instead of highly subsidized trade, Cuba will be shifting to trade at market prices in convertible currencies.

In early 1991, the shortages of fuels, spare parts, and industrial products in general had become so severe as to amount to a deindustrialization process in the eyes of some observers.

GNP

$20.9 billion, per capita $2,000; real growth rate - 3% (1990 est.)

Exports

  • $5.4 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
  • commodities--sugar, nickel, shellfish, citrus, tobacco, coffee;
  • partners--USSR 67%, GDR 6%, China 4% (1988)

Imports

  • $8.1 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
  • commodities--capital goods, industrial raw materials, food, petroleum;
  • partners--USSR 71%, other Communist countries 15% (1988)

Industrial production

3% (1988); accounts for 45% of GDP

Electricity

3,890,000 kW capacity; 16,267 million kWh produced, 1,530 kWh per capita (1990)

Industries

sugar milling, petroleum refining, food and tobacco processing, textiles, chemicals, paper and wood products, metals (particularly nickel), cement, fertilizers, consumer goods, agricultural machinery

Agriculture

  • accounts for 11% of GNP (including fishing and forestry);
  • key commercial crops--sugarcane, tobacco, and citrus fruits;
  • other products--coffee, rice, potatoes, meat, beans;
  • world's largest sugar exporter;
  • not self-sufficient in food (excluding sugar)

Economic aid

Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $695 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $18.5 billion

Currency

Cuban peso (plural--pesos); 1 Cuban peso (Cu$) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates

Cuban pesos (Cu$) per US$1--1.0000 (linked to the US dollar)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

8 fields

Merchant marine, 87 ships by typeone square, one ship

cargo 54refrigerated cargo 9cargo/training 2petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker 12chemical tanker 1liquefied gas 3bulk; note--Cuba beneficially owns an additional 37 ships (1,000 GRT and over) totaling 512,346 DWT under the registry of Panama, Cyprus, and Malta 687 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 638,462 GRT/925,380 DWT

Airports, 205 total, 176 usable

permanent-surface runways
75runways over 3,659 m
3runways 2,440-3,659 m
12runways 1,220-2,439 m
25

Networkskm

Highways
26,477 (1989 est.)Railroads
14,925Inland waterways
240
Highways: ; 14,477 km paved, 12,000 km gravel and earth surfaced · Railroads: ; Cuban National Railways operates 5,295 km of 1.435-meter gauge track; 199 km electrified; 9,630 km of sugar plantation lines of 0.914-1.435-meter gauge

Railroads

  • 14,925 km total;
  • Cuban National Railways operates 5,295 km of 1.435-meter gauge track;
  • 199 km electrified;
  • 9,630 km of sugar plantation lines of 0.914-1.435-meter gauge

Highways

26,477 km total; 14,477 km paved, 12,000 km gravel and earth surfaced (1989 est.)

Ports

Cienfuegos, Havana, Mariel, Matanzas, Santiago de Cuba; 7 secondary, 35 minor

Civil air

59 major transport aircraft

Telecommunications

  • stations--150 AM, 5 FM, 58 TV;
  • 1,530,000 TVs;
  • 2,140,000 radios;
  • 229,000 telephones;
  • 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Defense Forces

3 fields
Defense expenditures
$1.2
-$1.4 billion, 6% of GNP (1989 est.)

Branches

Revolutionary Armed Forces (including Ground Forces, Revolutionary Navy, Air and Air Defense Force), Ministry of Interior Special Troops, Border Guard Troops, Territorial Militia Troops, Youth Labor Army, Civil Defense, National Revolutionary Police

Manpower availability

  • eligible 15-49, 6,087,253;
  • of the 3,054,158 males 15-49, 1,914,080 are fit for military service;
  • of the 3,033,095 females 15-49, 1,896,449 are fit for military service;
  • 89,194 males and 85,968 females reach military age (17) annually

Central Intelligence Agency. “Cuba.” The World Factbook 1991. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/cuba/1991.

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