CUBA                                                                            
GEOGRAPHY                                                                       
Total area: 110,860 km2; land area: 110,860 km2                                 
                                                                                
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Pennsylvania                            
                                                                                
Land boundary: 29.1 km with US Naval Base at Guantanamo;                        
note--Guantanamo is leased and as such remains part of Cuba                     
                                                                                
Coastline: 3,735 km                                                             
                                                                                
Maritime claims:                                                                
                                                                                
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;                                                
                                                                                
Territorial sea: 12 nm                                                          
                                                                                
Disputes: US Naval Base at Guantanamo is leased to US and only                  
mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease          
                                                                                
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                                                      
                                                                                
Natural resources: cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, manganese,                 
salt, timber, silica                                                            
                                                                                
Land use: arable land 23%; permanent crops 6%; meadows and pastures             
23%; forest and woodland 17%; other 31%; includes irrigated 10%                 
                                                                                
Environment: averages one hurricane every other year                            
                                                                                
Note: largest country in Caribbean; 145 km south of Florida                     
                                                                                
PEOPLE                                                                          
Population: 10,732,037 (July 1991), growth rate 1.0% (1991)                     
                                                                                
Birth rate: 18 births/1,000 population (1991)                                   
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)                                    
                                                                                
Net migration rate: - 1 migrant/1,000 population (1991)                         
                                                                                
Infant mortality rate: 12 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)                       
                                                                                
Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 78 years female (1991)                 
                                                                                
Total fertility rate: 1.9 children born/woman (1991)                            
                                                                                
Nationality: noun--Cuban(s); adjective--Cuban                                   
                                                                                
Ethnic divisions: mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1%                 
                                                                                
Religion: 85% nominally Roman Catholic before Castro assumed power              
                                                                                
Language: Spanish                                                               
                                                                                
Literacy: 94% (male 95%, female 93%) age 15 and over can                        
read and write (1990 est.)                                                      
                                                                                
Labor force: 3,578,800 in state sector; services and government                 
30%, industry 22%, agriculture 20%, commerce 11%, construction 10%,             
transportation and communications 7% (June 1990); economically active           
population 4,620,800 (1988)                                                     
                                                                                
Organized labor: Workers Central Union of Cuba (CTC), only labor                
federation approved by government; 2,910,000 members; the CTC is an             
umbrella organization composed of 17 member unions                              
                                                                                
GOVERNMENT                                                                      
Long-form name: Republic of Cuba                                                
                                                                                
Type: Communist state                                                           
                                                                                
Capital: Havana                                                                 
                                                                                
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                                                                           
                                                                                
Independence: 20 May 1902 (from Spain 10 December 1898;                         
administered by the US from 1898 to 1902)                                       
                                                                                
Constitution: 24 February 1976                                                  
                                                                                
Legal system: based on Spanish and American law, with large                     
elements of Communist legal theory; does not accept compulsory ICJ              
jurisdiction                                                                    
                                                                                
National holiday: Revolution Day, 1 January (1959)                              
                                                                                
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,         
Council of Ministers                                                            
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly of the People's                
Power (Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular)                                     
                                                                                
Judicial branch: People's Supreme Court                                         
                                                                                
Leaders:                                                                        
                                                                                
Chief of State and Head of Government--President of the Council of              
State and President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz                
(became Prime Minister in February 1959 and 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)                                                                           
                                                                                
Political parties and leaders: only party--Cuban Communist Party                
(PCC), Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary                                        
                                                                                
Suffrage: universal at age 16                                                   
                                                                                
Elections:                                                                      
                                                                                
National Assembly of the People's Power--last held NA December                  
1986 (next to be held December 1991);                                           
results--PCC is the only party;                                                 
seats--(510 total) PCC 510 (indirectly elected)                                 
                                                                                
Communists: about 600,000 full and candidate members                            
                                                                                
Member of: CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBEC,                             
ICAO, IFAD, IIB, ILO, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES,                       
LAIA (observer), LORCS, NAM, OAS (excluded from formal participation            
since 1962), OPANAL (observer), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,            
WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO                                                  
                                                                                
Diplomatic representation: none; protecting power in the US is                  
Switzerland--Cuban Interests Section; Counselor Jose Antonio ARBESU             
Fraga; 2630 and 2639 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202)       
797-8518 or 8519, 8520, 8609, 8610;                                             
                                                                                
US--protecting power in Cuba is Switzerland--US Interests Section;              
Principal Officer Alan H. FLANIGAN; Calzada entre L y M, Vedado Seccion,        
Havana (mailing address is USINT, c/o International Purchasing Group,           
2052 NW 93rd Avenue, Miami, FL 33172); telephone 329-700                        
                                                                                
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                              
                                                                                
ECONOMY                                                                         
Overview: The economy, centrally planned and largely state owned,               
is highly dependent on the agricultural sector and foreign trade. Sugar         
provides about 75% of export revenues and over half is exported to the          
USSR. The economy has stagnated since 1985 under policies that have             
deemphasized material incentives in the workplace, abolished farmers'           
informal produce markets, and raised prices of government-supplied goods        
and services. In 1990 the economy probably fell 3%, largely as a result         
of declining trade with the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Recently           
the government has been trying to increase trade with Latin America and         
China. Cuba has had difficulty servicing its foreign debt since 1982. The       
government currently is encouraging foreign investment in tourist               
facilities. Other investment priorities include sugar, basic foods, and         
nickel. The annual $4 billion Soviet subsidy, a main prop to Cuba's             
threadbare economy, is likely to show a substantial decline over the            
next few years in view of the USSR's mounting economic problems. Instead        
of highly subsidized trade, Cuba will be shifting to trade at market            
prices in convertible currencies. In early 1991, the shortages of fuels,        
spare parts, and industrial products in general had become so severe as         
to amount to a deindustrialization process in the eyes of some observers.       
                                                                                
GNP: $20.9 billion, per capita $2,000; real growth rate - 3%                    
(1990 est.)                                                                     
                                                                                
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%                                           
                                                                                
Unemployment: 6% overall, 10% for women (1989)                                  
                                                                                
Budget: revenues $12.46 billion; expenditures $14.45 billion,                   
including capital expenditures of $NA (1990 est.)                               
                                                                                
Exports: $5.4 billion (f.o.b., 1989);                                           
                                                                                
commodities--sugar, nickel, shellfish, citrus, tobacco, coffee;                 
                                                                                
partners--USSR 67%, GDR 6%, China 4% (1988)                                     
                                                                                
Imports: $8.1 billion (c.i.f., 1989);                                           
                                                                                
commodities--capital goods, industrial raw materials, food,                     
petroleum;                                                                      
                                                                                
partners--USSR 71%, other Communist countries 15% (1988)                        
                                                                                
External debt: $6.8 billion (convertible currency, July 1989)                   
                                                                                
Industrial production: 3% (1988); accounts for 45% of GDP                       
                                                                                
Electricity: 3,890,000 kW capacity; 16,267 million kWh produced,                
1,530 kWh per capita (1990)                                                     
                                                                                
Industries: sugar milling, petroleum refining, food and tobacco                 
processing, textiles, chemicals, paper and wood products, metals                
(particularly nickel), cement, fertilizers, consumer goods, agricultural        
machinery                                                                       
                                                                                
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)                   
                                                                                
Economic aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral                 
commitments (1970-88), $695 million; Communist countries (1970-89),             
$18.5 billion                                                                   
                                                                                
Currency: Cuban peso (plural--pesos); 1 Cuban peso (Cu$) = 100                  
centavos                                                                        
                                                                                
Exchange rates: Cuban pesos (Cu$) per US$1--1.0000 (linked to the               
US dollar)                                                                      
Fiscal year: calendar year                                                      
                                                                                
COMMUNICATIONS                                                                  
Railroads: 14,925 km total; Cuban National Railways operates                    
5,295 km of 1.435-meter gauge track; 199 km electrified; 9,630 km of            
sugar plantation lines of 0.914-1.435-meter gauge                               
                                                                                
Highways: 26,477 km total; 14,477 km paved, 12,000 km gravel                    
and earth surfaced (1989 est.)                                                  
                                                                                
Inland waterways: 240 km                                                        
                                                                                
Ports: Cienfuegos, Havana, Mariel, Matanzas, Santiago de Cuba;                  
7 secondary, 35 minor                                                           
                                                                                
Merchant marine: 87 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling                          
638,462 GRT/925,380 DWT; includes 54 cargo, 9 refrigerated cargo, 2             
cargo/training, 12 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1              
chemical tanker, 3 liquefied gas, 6 bulk; note--Cuba beneficially owns          
an additional 37 ships (1,000 GRT and over) totaling 512,346 DWT under          
the registry of Panama, Cyprus, and Malta                                       
                                                                                
Civil air: 59 major transport aircraft                                          
                                                                                
Airports: 205 total, 176 usable; 75 with permanent-surface runways;             
3 with runways over 3,659 m; 12 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 25 with             
runways 1,220-2,439 m                                                           
                                                                                
Telecommunications: stations--150 AM, 5 FM, 58 TV; 1,530,000 TVs;               
2,140,000 radios; 229,000 telephones; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth           
station                                                                         
                                                                                
DEFENSE FORCES                                                                  
Branches: Revolutionary Armed Forces (including Ground Forces,                  
Revolutionary Navy, Air and Air Defense Force), Ministry of Interior            
Special Troops, Border Guard Troops, Territorial Militia Troops, Youth          
Labor Army, Civil Defense, National Revolutionary Police                        
                                                                                
Manpower availability: eligible 15-49, 6,087,253; of the 3,054,158              
males 15-49, 1,914,080 are fit for military service; of the 3,033,095           
females 15-49, 1,896,449 are fit for military service; 89,194 males and         
85,968 females reach military age (17) annually                                 
                                                                                
Defense expenditures: $1.2-$1.4 billion, 6% of GNP (1989 est.)                  
                                                                                
