*Cuba, Geography

Location:
  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
Area:
 total area:
  110,860 km2
 land area:
  110,860 km2
 comparative area:
  slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Land boundaries:
  total 29 km, US Naval Base at Guantanamo 29 km
 note:
  Guantanamo is leased and as such remains part of Cuba
Coastline:
  3,735 km
Maritime claims:
 exclusive economic zone:
  200 nm
 territorial sea:
  12 nm
International 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, petroleum
Land use:
 arable land:
  23%
 permanent crops:
  6%
 meadows and pastures:
  23%
 forest and woodland:
  17%
 other:
  31%
Irrigated land:
  8,960 km2 (1989)
Environment:
  averages one hurricane every other year
Note:
  largest country in Caribbean

*Cuba, People

Population:
  10,957,088 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
  1% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
  17.08 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
  6.5 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
  -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  10.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population:
  76.72 years
 male:
  74.59 years
 female:
  78.99 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  1.83 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
 noun:
  Cuban(s)
 adjective:
  Cuban
Ethnic divisions:
  mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1%
Religions:
  nominally Roman Catholic 85% prior to Castro assuming power
Languages:
  Spanish
Literacy:
  age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
 total population:
  94%
 male:
  95%
 female:
  93%
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)

*Cuba, Government

Names:
 conventional long form:
  Republic of Cuba
 conventional short form:
  Cuba
 local long form:
  Republica de Cuba
 local short form:
  Cuba
Digraph:
  CU
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
Legal system:
  based on Spanish and American law, with large elements of Communist legal
  theory; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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
Elections:
 National Assembly of People's Power:
  last held December 1986 (next to be held February 1993); results - PCC is
  the only party; seats - (510 total; after the February election, the
  National Assembly will have 590 seats) indirectly elected from slates
  approved by special candidacy commissions
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, Executive Committee 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 (Tribunal Supremo Popular)
Leaders:
 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)

*Cuba, Government

Member of:
  CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, ICAO, IFAD, ILO, IMO, INMARSAT, 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
Diplomatic representation in US:
 chief of mission:
  Principal Officer Alfonso FRAGA Perez (since August 1992)
 chancery:
  2630 and 2639 16th Street NW, US Interests Section, Swiss Embassy,
  Washington, DC 20009  telephone:
  (202) 797-8518 or 8519, 8520, 8609, 8610
US diplomatic representation:
 chief of mission:
  Principal Officer Alan H. FLANIGAN
 US Interests Section:
  USINT, Swiss Embassy, Calzada entre L Y M, Vedado Seccion, Havana
 mailing address:
  USINT, Swiss Embassy, Calzada Entre L Y M, Vedado, Havava
 telephone:
  32-0051, 32-0543
 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

*Cuba, Economy

Overview:
  Since Castro's takeover of Cuba in 1959, the economy has been run in the
  Soviet style of government ownership of substantially all the means of
  production and government planning of all but the smallest details of
  economic activity. Thus, Cuba, like the former Warsaw Pact nations, has
  remained in the backwater of economic modernization. The economy contracted
  by about one-third between 1989 and 1992 as it absorbed the loss of $4
  billion of annual economic aid from the former Soviet Union and much smaller
  amounts from Eastern Europe. The government implemented numerous energy
  conservation measures and import substitution schemes to cope with a large
  decline in imports. To reduce fuel consumption, Havana has cut back bus
  service and imported approximately 1 million bicycles from China,
  domesticated nearly 200,000 oxen to replace tractors, and halted a large
  amount of industrial production. The government has prioritized domestic
  food production and promoted herbal medicines since 1990 to compensate for
  lower imports. Havana also has been shifting its trade away from the former
  Soviet republics and Eastern Europe toward the industrialized countries of
  Latin America and the OECD.
National product:
  GNP - exchange rate conversion - $14.9 billion (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate:
  -15% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
  $1,370 (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  NA%
Unemployment rate:
  NA%
Budget:
  revenues $12.46 billion; expenditures $14.45 billion, including capital
  expenditures of $NA (1990 est.)
Exports:
  $2.1 billion (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
 commodities:
  sugar, nickel, shellfish, tobacco, medical products, citrus, coffee
 partners:
  Russia 30%, Canada 10%, China 9%, Japan 6%, Spain 4% (1992 est.)
Imports:
  $2.2 billion (c.i.f., 1992 est.)
 commodities:
  petroleum, food, machinery, chemicals
 partners:
  Russia 10%, China 9%, Spain 9%, Mexico 5%, Italy 5%, Canada 4%, France 4%
  (1992 est.)
External debt:
  $6.8 billion (convertible currency, July 1989)
Industrial production:
  NA
Electricity:
  3,889,000 kW capacity; 16,248 million kWh produced, 1,500 kWh per capita
  (1992)
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

*Cuba, Economy

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
Economic aid:
  Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89),
  $710 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $18.5 billion
Currency:
  1 Cuban peso (Cu$) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates:
  Cuban pesos (Cu$) per US$1 - 1.0000 (linked to the US dollar)
Fiscal year:
  calendar year

*Cuba, Communications

Railroads:
  12,947 km total; Cuban National Railways operates 5,053 km of 1.435-meter
  gauge track; 151.7 km electrified; 7,742 km of sugar plantation lines of
  0.914-m and 1.435-m gauge
Highways:
  26,477 km total; 14,477 km paved, 12,000 km gravel and earth surfaced (1989
  est.)
Inland waterways:
  240 km
Ports:
  Cienfuegos, Havana, Mariel, Matanzas, Santiago de Cuba; 7 secondary, 35
  minor
Merchant marine:
  73 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 511,522 GRT/720,270 DWT; includes 42
  cargo, 10 refrigerated cargo, 1 cargo/training, 11 oil tanker, 1 chemical
  tanker, 4 liquefied gas, 4 bulk; note - Cuba beneficially owns an additional
  38 ships (1,000 GRT and over) totaling 529,090 DWT under the registry of
  Panama, Cyprus, and Malta
Airports:
 total:
  186
 usable:
  166
 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
Telecommunications:
  broadcast stations - 150 AM, 5 FM, 58 TV; 1,530,000 TVs; 2,140,000 radios;
  229,000 telephones; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

*Cuba, Defense Forces

Branches:
  Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) - including Ground Forces, Revolutionary
  Navy (MGR), Air and Air Defense Force (DAAFAR), Ministry of the Armed Forces
  Special Troops, Border Guard Troops, Territorial Militia Troops (MTT), Youth
  Labor Army (EJT)
Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49 3,087,255; females age 15-49 3,064,663; males fit for
  military service 1,929,698; females fit for military service 1,910,733;
  males reach military age (17) annually 90,409; females reach military age
  (17) annually 87,274 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
  exchange rate conversion - $1.2-1.4 billion; 10% of GNP in 1990 plan was for
  defense and internal security
Note:
  the breakup of the Soviet Union, the key military supporter and supplier of
  Cuba, has resulted in substantially less outside help for Cuba's defense
  forces