What countries border Cuba?
What is the current weather in Cuba?
What is Cuba famous for?
What is the capital of Cuba?
Capital | Havana |
Government Type | Communist state |
Currency | Cuban pesos (CUP) |
Total Area |
42,803 Square Miles 110,860 Square Kilometers |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, 150 km south of Key West, Florida |
Language | Spanish (official) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.3% |
GDP - per capita (PPP) | $11,600.00 (USD) |
What is the population of Cuba?
Ethnic Group - note | data represent racial self-identification from Cuba's 2012 national census |
Ethnic Groups | White 64.1%, Mulatto or mixed 26.6%, Black 9.3% |
Languages | Spanish (official) |
Nationality Noun |
noun: Cuban(s) adjective: Cuban |
Population | 10,966,038 |
Population Growth Rate | -0.17% |
Population in Major Urban Areas | 2.149 million HAVANA (capital) |
Urban Population |
urban population: 77.5% of total population rate of urbanization: 0.19% annual rate of change |
Population: Male/Female |
male: 5,441,507 female: 5,524,531 |
What type of government does Cuba have?
Executive Branch |
Chief of State: President Miguel DIAZ-CANEL Bermudez (since 19 April 2018); Vice President Salvador Antonio VALDES Mesa (since 10 October 2019) Head of government: Prime Minister Manuel MARRERO Cruz (since 21 December 2019); Deputy Prime Ministers Ramiro VALDES Menendez, Ines Maria CHAPMAN Waugh, Jorge Luis TAPIA Fonseca, Alejandro GIL Fernandez, Ricardo CABRISAS Ruiz (since 21 December 2019), and Jorge Luis PERDOMO DI-LELLA (since 20 April 2021) Cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the president and appointed by the National Assembly Elections/appointments: president and vice president indirectly elected by the National Assembly for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 19 April 2023 (next to be held in 2028) Election results: 2023: Miguel DIAZ-CANEL Bermudez (PCC) reelected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 97.7%; Salvador Antonio VALDES Mesa (PCC) reelected vice president; percent of National Assembly vote - 93.4% 2018: Miguel DIAZ-CANEL Bermudez (PCC) elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 98.8%; Salvador Antonio VALDES Mesa (PCC) elected vice president; percent of National Assembly vote - 98.1% Note - on 19 April 2018, DIAZ-CANEL succeeded Raul CASTRO as president of the Councils of State and Ministers; on 10 October 2019 he was elected to the newly created position of President of the Republic, which replaced the position of President of the Councils of State and Ministers |
Suffrage | 16 years of age; universal |
Citizenship |
Citizenship by birth: yes Citizenship by descent only: yes Dual citizenship recognized: no Residency requirement for naturalization: unknown |
National Holiday | Triumph of the Revolution (Liberation Day), 1 January (1959) |
Constitution |
History: several previous; the latest drafted on 14 July 2018, approved by the National Assembly on 22 December 2018, and approved by referendum on 24 February 2019 Amendments: proposed by the National Assembly of People’s Power; passage requires approval of at least two-thirds majority of the National Assembly membership; amendments to constitutional articles on the authorities of the National Assembly, Council of State, or any rights and duties in the constitution also require approval in a referendum; constitutional articles on the Cuban political, social, and economic system cannot be amended |
Independence | 20 May 1902 (from Spain 10 December 1898; administered by the US from 1898 to 1902); not acknowledged by the Cuban Government as a day of independence |
What environmental issues does Cuba have?
Overview |
With an area of more than 44,000 square miles (114,447 sq. km.), Cuba is the largest island in the West Indies, accounting for more than one-half of the total Caribbean land mass. The island is more than 745 miles (1,200 km.) long and ranges from 20 to 125 miles (35-200 km.) in width. Cuba's coastline is highly uneven and is broken into hundreds of bays, inlets, and narrow, shallow rivers. The Isle of Youth (known as the Isle of Pines in pre-Revolution days), and some 1,600 keys and islets lie offshore. The deep-water harbors of Havana, Guantánamo, and Bahía Honda rank among the world's finest. Topographically, three-fifths of Cuba displays flat or gently rolling fields and wide, fertile valleys--ideal for sugar cane and tobacco that have been the agricultural staples of the Cuban economy. The northern coast is low and somewhat rocky; the southern coast is more marshy. Most of what remains, particularly at the southeastern end of the island, forms steep and at times formidable mountains. Three mountain ranges dominate the Cuban terrain, but by far the best known and most rugged is the eastern Sierra Maestra, where peaks rise to almost 6,000 feet (1,829 m.) above sea level. |
Climate |
Cuba is bordered on the south by the Caribbean Sea and on the north by the Gulf of Mexico and the Straits of Florida. Prevailing trade winds combine with warm waters of the Gulf Stream to produce a mild and semitropical climate. Cuba's mean temperature is about 77°F (25°C) in winter and only slightly more, perhaps 80°F to 85°F (26°C), in summer. Averages range only between 70°F (21°C) and 82°F (27°C) for the coldest and warmest months. Summer readings as high as 100°F (37°C) have been recorded. Occasional near-freezing temperatures occur only in mountain areas. Relative humidity varies from 60% to 70% in the daytime and from 80% to 90% during the night, regardless of the season, of which there are only two. The dry season lasts from November to April. During the May through October rainy season, Cuba receives up to 75% of its yearly rainfall, which averages 54 inches (137 cm). |
Border Countries |
United States Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay 29 km Note: Guantanamo Naval Base is leased by the United States and remains part of Cuba |
Environment - Current Issues | Air and water pollution; biodiversity loss; deforestation |
Environment - International Agreements |
Party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
Terrain | Mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast |
How big is the Cuba economy?
Economic Overview |
The government continues to balance the need for loosening its socialist economic system against a desire for firm political control. In April 2011, the government held the first Cuban Communist Party Congress in almost 13 years, during which leaders approved a plan for wide-ranging economic changes. Since then, the government has slowly and incrementally implemented limited economic reforms, including allowing Cubans to buy electronic appliances and cell phones, stay in hotels, and buy and sell used cars. The government has cut state sector jobs as part of the reform process, and it has opened up some retail services to "self-employment," leading to the rise of so-called "cuentapropistas" or entrepreneurs. More than 500,000 Cuban workers are currently registered as self-employed. The Cuban regime has updated its economic model to include permitting the private ownership and sale of real estate and new vehicles, allowing private farmers to sell agricultural goods directly to hotels, allowing the creation of non-agricultural cooperatives, adopting a new foreign investment law, and launching a "Special Development Zone" around the Mariel port. Since 2016, Cuba has attributed slowed economic growth in part to problems with petroleum product deliveries from Venezuela. Since late 2000, Venezuela provided petroleum products to Cuba on preferential terms, supplying at times nearly 100,000 barrels per day. Cuba paid for the oil, in part, with the services of Cuban personnel in Venezuela, including some 30,000 medical professionals. |
Industries | Petroleum, nickel, cobalt, pharmaceuticals, tobacco, construction, steel, cement, agricultural machinery, sugar |
Currency Name and Code | Cuban pesos (CUP) |
Export Partners | Canada 17.7%, Venezuela 13.8%, China 13%, Netherlands 6.4%, Spain 5.4%, Belize 4.7% |
Import Partners | Venezuela 31.8%, China 17.6%, Spain 10%, Brazil 4.8% |
What current events are happening in Cuba?
Source: Google News
What makes Cuba a unique country to travel to?