Facts about Cuba

World Facts Index > Cuba > Havana, Varadero


Geography of Cuba

21 30 N, 80 00 W
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
3,735 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Pico Turquino 2,005 m
Natural resources:
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
Geography - note:
largest country in Caribbean and westernmost island of the Greater Antilles

Population of Cuba

11,423,952 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 19.1% (male 1,117,677/female 1,058,512)
15-64 years: 70.3% (male 4,001,161/female 3,999,303)
65 years and over: 10.6% (male 554,148/female 652,019)
Median age:
35.9 years
Growth rate:
Infant mortality:
6.22 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.41 years
male: 75.11 years
female: 79.85 years
Total fertility rate:
1.66 children born/woman
noun: Cuban(s)
adjective: Cuban
Ethnic groups:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97%
male: 97.2%
female: 96.9% 
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; Cubans also use non-maritime routes to enter the US including direct flights to Miami and over-land via the southwest border


Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Cuba
local long form: Republica de Cuba
Government type:
Communist state
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
National holiday:
Independence Day, 10 December (1898); note - 10 December 1898 is the date of independence from Spain, 20 May 1902 is the date of independence from US administration; Rebellion Day, 26 July (1953)
24 February 1976, amended July 1992 and June 2002
Legal system:
based on Spanish and American law, with large elements of Communist legal theory; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
16 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (president since 24 February 2008); First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Jose Ramon MACHADO Ventura (since 24 February 2008); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the president of the Council of State and appointed by the National Assembly or the 31-member Council of State, elected by the Assembly to act on its behalf when it is not in session
elections: president and vice presidents elected by the National Assembly for a term of five years; election last held 24 February 2008 (next to be held in 2013)
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly of People's Power or Asemblea Nacional del Poder Popular (609 seats, elected directly from slates approved by special candidacy commissions; members serve five-year terms)
Judicial branch:
People's Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo Popular (president, vice president, and other judges are elected by the National Assembly)


The government continues to balance the need for economic loosening against a desire for firm political control. It has rolled back limited reforms undertaken in the 1990s to increase enterprise efficiency and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods, and services. The average Cuban's standard of living remains at a lower level than before the downturn of the 1990s, which was caused by the loss of Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies. Since late 2000, Venezuela has been providing oil on preferential terms, and it currently supplies about 100,000 barrels per day of petroleum products. Cuba has been paying for the oil, in part, with the services of Cuban personnel in Venezuela, including some 20,000 medical professionals. In 2007, high metals prices continued to boost Cuban earnings from nickel and cobalt production. Havana continued to invest in the country's energy sector to mitigate electrical blackouts that had plagued the country since 2004.

$125.5 billion (2007 est.)
GDP growth rate:
GDP per capita:
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 5.5%
industry: 26.1%
services: 68.4%
Inflation rate:
Labor force:
4.6 million
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 21.2%
industry: 14.4%
services: 64.4%
revenues: $22.11 billion
expenditures: $23.65 billion
Electricity production by source:
fossil fuel: 93.9%
hydro: 0.6%
other: 5.4%
nuclear: 0%
Export partners:
Netherlands 24.5%, Canada 20%, China 9.3%, Spain 6.4%, Venezuela 4.9%
petroleum, food, machinery and equipment, chemicals
Import partners:
China 13.4%, Venezuela 13%, Spain 12.6%, US 7.7%, Canada 7.4%, Germany 5.9%, Italy 5.1%, Mexico 4.5%
Cuban peso (CUP)


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