Cuba

Airports

total: 187 usable: 167 with permanent-surface runways: 73 with runways over 3,659 m: 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 12 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 19

Highways

total: 26,477 km paved: 14,477 km unpaved: gravel or earth 12,000 km (1989)

Inland waterways

240 km

Merchant marine

64 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 444,038 GRT/627,741 DWT, bulk 2, cargo 36, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 4, oil tanker 10, passenger cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 10 note: Cuba beneficially owns an additional 34 ships (1,000 GRT and over) totaling 529,090 DWT under the registry of Panama, Cyprus, and Malta

Ports

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

Railroads

12,795 km total; Cuban National Railways operates 5,053 km of 1.435-meter gauge track, including 151.7 km electrified; in addition, sugar plantation lines consist of 7,742 km of 0.914-meter and 1.435-meter gauge track

Telecommunications

among the world's least developed telephone systems; 229,000 telephones; telephone density - 20.7 per 1,000 persons; broadcast stations - 150 AM, 5 FM, 58 TV; 1,530,000 TVs; 2,140,000 radios; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Branches

Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) - including ground forces, Revolutionary Navy (MGR), Air and Air Defense Force (DAAFAR), Territorial Militia Troops (MTT), Youth Labor Army (EJT), and Interior Ministry Border Guard Troops

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - approx. $600 million, 4% of GSP (gross social product) in 1993 was for defense

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 3,064,898; females age 15-49 3,088,810; males fit for military service 1,907,396; females fit for military service 1,927,306; males reach military age (17) annually 81,536 (1994 est.); females reach military age (17) annually 78,612 (1994 est.)

Note

Moscow, for decades the key military supporter and supplier of Cuba, cut off military aid by 1993

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); sector hurt by growing shortages of fuels and parts

Budget

revenues: $12.46 billion expenditures: $14.45 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1990 est.)

Currency

1 Cuban peso (Cu$) = 100 centavos

Economic aid

recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $710 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $18.5 billion

Electricity

capacity: 3,889,000 kW production: 16.248 billion kWh consumption per capita: 1,500 kWh (1992)

Exchange rates

Cuban pesos (Cu$) per US$1 - 1.0000 (non-convertible, official rate, linked to the US dollar)

Exports

$1.5 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: sugar, nickel, shellfish, tobacco, medical products, citrus, coffee partners: Russia 28%, Canada 9%, China 5%, Ukraine 5%, Japan 4%, Spain 4% (1993 est.)

External debt

$6.8 billion (convertible currency, July 1989)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Illicit drugs

transshipment point for cocaine bound for the US

Imports

$1.7 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.) commodities: petroleum, food, machinery, chemicals partners: Venezuela 20%, China 9%, Spain 9%, Mexico 7%, Italy 4%, Canada 7%, France 8% (1993 est.)

Industrial production

growth rate NA%

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

NA%

National product

GNP - purchasing power equivalent - $13.7 billion (1993 est.)

National product per capita

$1,250 (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate

-10% (1993 est.)

Overview

Cuba's heavily statist economy remains in a severe depression as a result of the loss of massive amounts of economic aid from the former Soviet Bloc. In 1989-93, GDP declined by about 40% and import capability fell by about 80%. Reduced imports of fuel, spare parts, and chemicals combined with rainy weather to cut the production of sugar - the country's top export - from 7 million tons in 1992 to 4.3 million tons in 1993, causing a loss of more than $400 million in export revenue. The government implemented several measures designed to stem the economic decline, e.g., legalizing the use of foreign currency by Cuban citizens in August 1993 in an attempt to increase remittances of foreign exchange from abroad. Authorities in September 1993 began permitting self-employment in over 100 mostly service occupations. Also in September the government broke up many state farms into smaller, more autonomous cooperative units in an attempt to increase worker incentives and boost depressed food production levels. Fuel shortages persisted throughout 1993; draft animals and bicycles continued to replace motor-driven vehicles, and the use of electricity by households and factories was cut from already low levels. With the help of foreign investment, tourism has been one bright spot in the economy, with arrivals and earnings reaching record highs in 1993. Government officials have expressed guarded optimism for 1994, as the country struggles to achieve sustainable economic growth at a much-reduced standard of living.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Area

total area: 110,860 sq km land area: 110,860 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Pennsylvania

Climate

tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October)

Coastline

3,735 km

Environment

current issues: overhunting threatens wildlife populations; deforestation natural hazards: averages one hurricane every other year international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Marine Life Conservation

International disputes

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

Irrigated land

8,960 sq km (1989)

Land boundaries

total 29 km, US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay 29 km note: Guantanamo is leased and as such remains part of Cuba

Land use

arable land: 23% permanent crops: 6% meadows and pastures: 23% forest and woodland: 17% other: 31%

Location

Caribbean, in the northern Caribbean Sea, 145 km south of Key West (Florida)

Map references

Central America and the Caribbean, North America, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources

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

Note

largest country in Caribbean

Terrain

mostly flat to rolling plains with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast

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

Capital

Havana

Constitution

24 February 1976

Digraph

CU

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Principal Officer Alfonso FRAGA Perez (since August 1992) represented by the Cuban Interests Section of the Swiss Embassy in Washington, DC chancery: 2630 and 2639 16th Street NW, US Interests Section, Swiss Embassy, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: (202) 797-8518 or 8519, 8520, 8609, 8610

Executive branch

chief of state and head of government: President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz (Prime Minister from February 1959 until 24 February 1976 when office was abolished; 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) cabinet: Council of Ministers; proposed by the president of the Council of State, appointed by the National Assembly

FAX

no service available at this time note: protecting power in Cuba is Switzerland - US Interests Section, Swiss Embassy

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

Independence

20 May 1902 (from Spain 10 December 1898; administered by the US from 1898 to 1902)

Judicial branch

People's Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo Popular)

Legal system

based on Spanish and American law, with large elements of Communist legal theory; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

unicameral

Member of

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

Names

conventional long form: Republic of Cuba conventional short form: Cuba local long form: Republica de Cuba local short form: Cuba

National Assembly of People's Power

(Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular) elections last held February 1993; seats - 589 total, indirectly elected from slates approved by special candidacy commissions

National holiday

Rebellion Day, 26 July (1953)

Political parties and leaders

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

Suffrage

16 years of age; universal

Type

Communist state

US Interests Section

USINT, Swiss Embassy, Calzada Entre L y M, Vedado Seccion, Havana mailing address: use street address telephone: 33-3351 or 33-3543

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Principal Officer Joseph SULLIVAN

Birth rate

16.59 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate

6.52 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Ethnic divisions

mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1%

Infant mortality rate

10.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Labor force

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

Languages

Spanish

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 76.89 years male: 74.72 years female: 79.18 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 94% male: 95% female: 93%

Nationality

noun: Cuban(s) adjective: Cuban

Net migration rate

-0.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Population

11,064,344 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

0.95% (1994 est.)

Religions

nominally Roman Catholic 85% prior to Castro assuming power

Total fertility rate

1.83 children born/woman (1994 est.)