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
Population: 10,732,037 (July 1991), growth rate 1.0% (1991)
Birth rate: 18 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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
Ethnic divisions: mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1%
Religion: 85% nominally Roman Catholic before Castro assumed power
Language: Spanish
Literacy: 94% (male 95%, female 93%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
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
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
Legal system: based on Spanish and American law, with large
elements of Communist legal theory; does not accept compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
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
Leaders:
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
Elections:
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
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.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment: 6% overall, 10% for women (1989)
Budget: revenues $12.46 billion; expenditures $14.45 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1990 est.)
commodities--capital goods, industrial raw materials, food,
petroleum;
partners--USSR 71%, other Communist countries 15% (1988)
External debt: $6.8 billion (convertible currency, July 1989)
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),
$18.5 billion
Exchange rates: Cuban pesos (Cu$) per US$1--1.0000 (linked to the
US dollar)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
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.)
Inland waterways: 240 km
Ports: Cienfuegos, Havana, Mariel, Matanzas, Santiago de Cuba;
7 secondary, 35 minor
Merchant marine: 87 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
638,462 GRT/925,380 DWT; includes 54 cargo, 9 refrigerated cargo, 2
cargo/training, 12 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1
chemical tanker, 3 liquefied gas, 6 bulk; 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
Civil air: 59 major transport aircraft
Airports: 205 total, 176 usable; 75 with permanent-surface runways;
3 with runways over 3,659 m; 12 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 25 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
DEFENSE FORCES
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
Defense expenditures: $1.2-$1.4 billion, 6% of GNP (1989 est.)
