1993 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1993 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 110,860 km2 land area: 110,860 km2 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
averages one hurricane every other year
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
Irrigated land
8,960 km2 (1989)
Land boundaries
total 29 km, US Naval Base at Guantanamo 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
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
People and Society
Birth rate
17.08 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate
6.5 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Ethnic divisions
mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1%
Infant mortality rate
10.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 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: 76.72 years male: 74.59 years female: 78.99 years (1993 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 94% male: 95% female: 93%
Nationality
noun: Cuban(s) adjective: Cuban
Net migration rate
-0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Population
10,957,088 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate
1% (1993 est.)
Religions
nominally Roman Catholic 85% prior to Castro assuming power
Total fertility rate
1.83 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Government
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
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)
Constitution
24 February 1976
Digraph
CU
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,
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
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 National Assembly of the People's Power (Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular)
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
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
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
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 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
Washington, DC 20009 telephone
(202) 797-8518 or 8519, 8520, 8609, 8610
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
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
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $710 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $18.5 billion
Electricity
3,889,000 kW capacity; 16,248 million kWh produced, 1,500 kWh per capita (1992)
Exchange rates
Cuban pesos (Cu$) per US$1 - 1.0000 (linked to the US dollar)
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.)
External debt
$6.8 billion (convertible currency, July 1989)
Fiscal year
calendar year
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.)
Industrial production
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 - exchange rate conversion - $14.9 billion (1992 est.)
National product per capita
$1,370 (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate
-15% (1992 est.)
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.
Unemployment rate
NA%
Communications
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
Highways
26,477 km total; 14,477 km paved, 12,000 km gravel and earth surfaced (1989 est.)
Inland waterways
240 km
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
Ports
Cienfuegos, Havana, Mariel, Matanzas, Santiago de Cuba; 7 secondary, 35 minor
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
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
Military and Security
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)
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $1.2-1.4 billion; 10% of GNP in 1990 plan was for defense and internal security
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.)
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