Country Reports

Country name

Republic of Cuba

Government type

Communist state

Administrative divisions

14 provinces and 1 special municipality; Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Cienfuegos, Ciudad de La Habana, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, Isla de la Juventud (special municipality), La Habana, Las Tunas, Matanzas, Pinar del Rio, Sancti Spiritus, Santiago de Cuba, Villa Clara

Capital

Havana

Independence

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

National holiday

Triumph of the Revolution, 1 January (1959)

Area

110,860 sq km (42,803 sq miles)

Location

Caribbean. Cuba is an island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, and the largest country in Caribbean and the westernmost island of the Greater Antilles

Land Borders

US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay (which is leased by the US and remains part of Cuba)

Coastline

3,735 km

Population

11,2 million (UN, 2009)

Nationality

Cuban(s)

Languages

Spanish

Ethnic groups

White, black, mulatto, mestizo

Major religion

Christianity

Highest peak

Pico Turquino 2,005 m

Climate

Tropical climate; November to April; dry season moderated by trade winds; May to October; rainy season

Time zone

UCT/GMT-5

Currency

1 Cuban peso = 100 centavos (CUP; nonconvertible Cuban peso, and CUC; convertible Cuban peso)

Telephone

+53

Internet domain

.cu

GNI per capita

est. to upper middle income from US$ 3,946 to US$12,195 (World Bank, 2009)

Natural resources

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

Agriculture products

Sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans; livestock, fish and seafood

Industries

Nickel, steel, cement, sugar, tobacco, shellfish, medical products, citrus, coffee, petroleum, construction, agricultural machinery, pharmaceuticals