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CUBA

The native Amerindian population of Cuba began to decline after the European discovery of the island by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1492 and following its development as a Spanish colony during the next several centuries. Large numbers of African slaves were imported to work the coffee and sugar plantations and Havana became the launching point for the annual treasure fleets bound for Spain from Mexico and Peru. Spanish rule was severe and exploitative and occasional rebellions were harshly suppressed. It was US intervention during the Spanish-American War in 1898 that finally overthrew Spanish rule. The subsequent Treaty of Paris established Cuban independence, which was granted in 1902 after a three-year transition period. Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule has held the regime together since then. Cuba's Communist revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The country is now slowly recovering from a severe economic recession in 1990, following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies, worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually. Cuba portrays its difficulties as the result of the US embargo in place since 1961. Illicit migration to the US - using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, air flights, or via the southwest border - is a continuing problem. Some 2,500 Cubans attempted the crossing of the Straits of Florida in 2003; the US Coast Guard apprehended about 60% of the individuals. The Coast Guard aprehended 2,810 individuals attempting to cross the Straits of Florida in fiscal year 2006

LOCATION 

Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, 150 km south of Key West, Florida.

POPULATION

11,308,764 (July 2004 est.) mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1% nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented illicit migration is a continuing problem; Cubans attempt to depart the island and enter the US using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, direct flights, or falsified visas; some 2,500 Cubans took to the Straits of Florida in 2002; the US Coast Guard interdicted about 60% of these migrants; Cubans also use non-maritime routes to enter the US; some 1,500 Cubans arrived overland via the southwest border and direct flights to Miami in 2002.

NATURAL RESOURCES

Cobalt, nickel, iron ore, chromium, copper, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land

NATURAL CHALLENGES 

The east coast is subject to hurricanes from August to November (in general, the country averages about one hurricane every other year); droughts are common. Air and water pollution; biodiversity loss; deforestation.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Communist state

name: Havana
geographic coordinates: 23 08 N, 82 22 W
time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

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

20 May 1902 (from Spain 10 December 1898; administered by the US from 1898 to 1902)); not acknowledged by the Cuban Government as a day of independence

Triumph of the Revolution, 1 January (1959)

24 February 1976; amended July 1992 and June 2002

based on Spanish civil law and influenced by American legal concepts, with large elements of Communist legal theory; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

16 years of age; universal

chief of state: 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); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
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 and appointed by the National Assembly or the 31-member Council of State, elected by the Assembly to act on its behalf when it is not in session
elections: president and vice presidents elected by the National Assembly for a term of five years; election last held 6 March 2003 (next to be held in 2008)
election results: Fidel CASTRO Ruz reelected president; percent of legislative vote - 100%; Raul CASTRO Ruz elected vice president; percent of legislative vote - 100%
note: due to an ongoing health problem, Fidel CASTRO Ruz provisionally transferred power to his brother Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz on 31 July 2006, in accordance with the Cuban Constitution; CASTRO has not yet reclaimed control of the government

unicameral National Assembly of People's Power or Asemblea Nacional del Poder Popular (609 seats, elected directly from slates approved by special candidacy commissions; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 19 January 2003 (next to be held in 2008)
election results: percent of vote - PCC 97.6%; seats - PCC 609

People's Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo Popular (president, vice president, and other judges are elected by the National Assembly)

only party - Cuban Communist Party or PCC [Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary]

MILITARY

Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR): Revolutionary Army (ER), Revolutionary Navy (Marina de Guerra Revolucionaria, MGR), Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force (DAAFAR), Youth Labor Army (EJT) (2005)

17 years of age; both sexes are eligible for military service (2004)

males age 17-49: 2,967,865
females age 17-49: 2,913,559 (2005 est.)

males age 17-49: 2,441,927
females age 17-49: 2,396,741 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49: 91,901
females: 87,500 (2005 est.)

$694 million (2005 est.)

1.8% (2005 est.)

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

ECONOMICS 

The government continues to balance the need for economic loosening against a desire for firm political control. It has undertaken limited reforms to increase enterprise efficiency and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods, and services. A major feature of the economy is the dichotomy between relatively efficient export enclaves and inefficient domestic sectors. The average Cuban's standard of living remains at a lower level than before the depression of the 1990s, which was caused by the loss of Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies. The government reluctantly allows a large dollar market sector, fueled by tourism and remittances from Cubans abroad. In 2006, high metals prices continued to boost Cuban earnings from nickel and cobalt production. Havana continued to invest in the country's energy sector to mitigate electrical blackouts that have plagued the country since 2004.

$3,900 (2006 est.)

Revenues: $17.21 billion
Expenditures: $18.28 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

Oil - proved reserves: 532 million bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production: 600 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 600 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:            0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves: 42.62 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

Debt - external: $12.52 billion (convertible currency); another $15 billion -$20 billion owed to Russia (2004 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $68.2 million (1997 est.)

Internet hosts: 1,529 (2003)

Internet users: 120,000 (2001)

CONFLICTS 

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

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Territorial waters and air space serve as transshipment zone for cocaine and heroin bound for the US and Europe; established the death penalty for certain drug-related crimes in 1999.

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Data and Tables: US CIA Feb. 9, 2007