Cuba
,Xinhua
Updated: 2004-11-11 11:00

Republic of Cuba

National flag of Cuba

National name: República de Cuba

President: Fidel Castro (1976)

Area: 42,803 sq mi (110,860 sq km)

Population (2003 est.): 11,263,429 (growth rate: 0.5%); birth rate: 11.9/1000; infant mortality rate: 7.2/1000; density per sq mi: 263

Capital and largest city(1994 est.): Havana, 2,241,000

Other large cities (1994 est.): Santiago de Cuba, 440,084; Camagüey, 293,961; Holguin, 242,085; Guantánamo, 207,796; Santa Clara, 205,400

Monetary unit: Cuban Peso

Languages: Spanish

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

Religion: at least 85% nominally Roman Catholic before Castro assumed power

Literacy rate: 94% (1990)

Map of Cuba

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2001 est.): $25.5 billion; per capita $2,300. Real growth rate: 3%. Inflation: 0.5%. Unemployment: 4.1%. Arable land: 33.04%. Agriculture: sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans; livestock. Labor force: 4.3 million (2000 est.); agriculture 24%, industry 25%, services 51% (1999). Industries: sugar, petroleum, tobacco, chemicals, construction, services, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery, biotechnology. Natural resources: cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, manganese, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land. Exports: $1.7 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.): sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee. Imports: $4.9 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.): petroleum, food, machinery, chemicals, semifinished goods, transport equipment, consumer goods. Major trading partners: Russia, Canada, Netherlands, Spain, Venezuela, Italy.

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 473,031 (2000); mobile cellular: 2,994 (1997). Radio broadcast stations: AM 169, FM 55, shortwave 1 (1998). Radios: 3.9 million (1997). Television broadcast stations: 58 (1997). Televisions: 2.64 million (1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 5 (2001). Internet users: 60,000 (2001).

Transportation: Railways: total: 4,807 km; in addition, 7,162 km of track is in private use by sugar plantations (2000 est.). Highways: total: 60,858 km; paved: 29,820 km (including 638 km of expressway); unpaved: 31,038 km (1997 est.). Waterways: 240 km. Ports and harbors: Cienfuegos, Havana, Manzanillo, Mariel, Matanzas, Nuevitas, Santiago de Cuba. Airports: 172 (2001).

International disputes: U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased to U.S. and only mutual agreement or U.S. abandonment of the area can terminate the lease.