Republic of Cuba

National name: República de Cuba

President: Fidel Castro (1976)

Total area: 42,803 sq mi (110,860 sq km)

Population (2006 est.): 11,382,820 (growth rate: 0.3%); birth rate: 11.9/1000; infant mortality rate: 6.2/1000; life expectancy: 77.4; density per sq mi: 266

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Havana, 2,686,000 (metro. area), 2,343,700 (city proper)

Other large cities: Santiago de Cuba, 554,400; Camagüey, 354,400; Holguin, 319,300; Guantánamo, 274,300; Santa Clara, 251,800

Monetary unit: Cuban Peso

Language: Spanish

Ethnicity/race: mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1%

Religions: predominantly Roman Catholic and Santería (Afro-Cuban syncretic religion)

Literacy rate: 97% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $37.24 billion; per capita $3,300 . Real growth rate: 5.5%. Inflation: 4.2%. Unemployment: 1.9%. Arable land: 33%. Agriculture: sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans; livestock. Labor force: 4.6 million; note: state sector 78%, non-state sector 22% (2005 est.); agriculture 21.2%, industry 14.4%, services 64.4% (2004). Industries: sugar, petroleum, tobacco, construction, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery, pharmaceuticals. Natural resources: cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, manganese, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land. Exports: $2.388 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee. Imports: $6.916 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): petroleum, food, machinery and equipment, chemicals. Major trading partners: Netherlands, Canada, China, Russia, Spain, Venezuela, U.S., Italy, Mexico (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 574,400 (2002); mobile cellular: 17,900 (2002). Radio broadcast stations: AM 169, FM 55, shortwave 1 (1998). Television broadcast stations: 58 (1997). . Internet hosts: 1,529 (2003). Internet users: 120,000; 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" (2004).

Transportation: Railways: total: 4,226 km; in addition, 7,742 km of track is in private use by sugar plantations (2004). Highways: total: 60,858 km; paved: 29,820 km (including 638 km of expressway); unpaved: 31,038 km (1999 est.). Waterways: 240 km (2004). Ports and harbors: Cienfuegos, Cienfuegos, Havana, Matanza. Airports: 170 (2004 est.).

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.

 

Go to Country details page