NAVIGATION
|
HOME
• FLAG FINDER
• MAP FINDER
• SOURCES
• ADD YOURSELF TO THE ATLAS! COUNTRIES A-D • COUNTRIES E-K • COUNTRIES L-R • COUNTRIES S-Z |
NAVIGATION
Republic of Cuba
Republica de Cuba
INTRODUCTION
|
Background:
|
Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule has held the country together since then. Cuba's Communist revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. 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. Havana portrays its difficulties as the result of the US embargo in place since 1961. Illicit migration to the US - using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, or falsified visas - is a continuing problem. Some 2,600 Cubans attempted the crossing of the Straits of Florida in 2001; the US Coast Guard apprehended only about 35% of the individuals. |
GEOGRAPHY
|
Location:
|
Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, 150 km south of Key West, Florida |
|
Geographic coordinates:
|
21 30 N, 80 00 W |
|
Map references:
|
Central America and the Caribbean |
|
Area:
|
total: 110,860 sq km
water: 0 sq km land: 110,860 sq km |
|
Area - comparative:
|
slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
|
Land boundaries:
|
total: 29 km
border countries: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay 29 km note: Guantanamo Naval Base is leased by the US and thus remains part of Cuba |
|
Coastline:
|
3,735 km |
|
Maritime claims:
|
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
|
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 |
|
Elevation extremes:
|
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Pico Turquino 2,005 m |
|
Natural resources:
|
cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, manganese, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land |
|
Land use:
|
arable land: 33.04%
other: 59.35% (1998 est.) permanent crops: 7.61% |
|
Irrigated land:
|
870 sq km (1998 est.) |
|
Natural hazards:
|
the east coast is subject to hurricanes from August to October (in general, the country averages about one hurricane every other year); droughts are common |
|
Environment - current issues:
|
air and water pollution; biodiversity loss; deforestation |
|
Environment - international agreements:
|
party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
|
Geography - note:
|
largest country in Caribbean and westernmost island of the Greater Antilles |
PEOPLE
|
Population:
|
11,224,321 (July 2002 est.) |
|
Age structure:
|
0-14 years: 20.6% (male 1,188,125; female 1,125,743)
15-64 years: 69.3% (male 3,902,162; female 3,880,531) 65 years and over: 10.1% (male 520,849; female 606,911) (2002 est.) |
|
Population growth rate:
|
0.35% (2002 est.) |
|
Birth rate:
|
12.08 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
|
Death rate:
|
7.35 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
|
Net migration rate:
|
-1.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
|
Sex ratio:
|
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
|
Infant mortality rate:
|
7.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total population: 76.6 years
female: 79.15 years (2002 est.) male: 74.2 years |
|
Total fertility rate:
|
1.6 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
|
0.03% (1999 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
|
2,800 (2001 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
|
120 (1999 est.) |
|
Nationality:
|
noun: Cuban(s)
adjective: Cuban |
|
Ethnic groups:
|
mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1% |
|
Religions:
|
nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented |
|
Languages:
|
Spanish |
|
Literacy:
|
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
male: 96.2% female: 95.3% (1995 est.) total population: 95.7% |
|
People - note:
|
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 3,000 Cubans took to the Straits of Florida in 2001; the US Coast Guard interdicted about 25% of these migrants; Cubans also use non-maritime routes to enter the US; some 2,400 Cubans arrived overland via the southwest border and direct flights to Miami in 2000 |