During the 17th century, pirates
buried stolen treasure on an island off Cuba called the Isle
of Youth. According to legend, this was the famous Treasure
Island described in Robert Louis Stevenson's novel.
Government Information
Chief
of State: President of the Council of State and
President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz
(prime minister from February 1959 until 24 February 1976
when office was abolished; 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); note - the president
is both the chief of state and head of government
Head of Government: President
of the Council of State and President of the Council of
Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz (prime minister from February
1959 until 24 February 1976 when office was abolished;
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); note - the president is both the chief of state
and head of government
Government Type: Communist state
Population Demographics
Population:
11,382,820 (July 2006 est.) Languages: Spanish Religion: nominally 85% Roman
Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants,
Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented
Life Expectancy: 77.41
Overview: 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. The government
in 2005 strengthened its controls over dollars coming
into the economy from tourism, remittances, and trade.
External financing has helped growth in the mining,
oil, construction, and tourism sectors.
Exports: sugar, nickel, tobacco,
fish, medical products, citrus, coffee
Import: petroleum, food, machinery
and equipment, chemicals
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Geography
Information
Location:
Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North
Atlantic Ocean, 150 km south of Key West, Florida Area: total: 110,860 sq km
land: 110,860 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Background:
The native Amerindian population of Cuba began to decline
after the European discovery of the island by Christopher
COLUMBUS in 1492 and following its development as a
Spanish colony during the next several centuries. Large
numbers of African slaves were imported to work the
coffee and sugar plantations, and Havana became the
launching point for the annual treasure fleets bound
for Spain from Mexico and Peru. Spanish rule, marked
initially by neglect, became increasingly repressive,
provoking an independence movement and occasional rebellions
that were harshly suppressed. It was US intervention
during the Spanish-American War in 1898 that finally
overthrew Spanish rule. The subsequent Treaty of Paris
established Cuban independence, which was granted in
1902 after a three-year transition period. Fidel CASTRO
led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule has
held the regime together since then. Cuba's Communist
revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout
Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 1970s, and
1980s. The country is now slowly recovering from a severe
economic recession in 1990, following the withdrawal
of former Soviet subsidies, worth $4 billion to $6 billion
annually. Cuba portrays its difficulties as the result
of the US embargo in place since 1961. Illicit migration
to the US - using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, air
flights, or via the southwest border - is a continuing
problem. The US Coast Guard intercepted 2,712 individuals
attempting to cross the Straits of Florida in fiscal
year 2005.
Independence Day: 20 May 1902
(from Spain 10 December 1898; administered by the US
from 1898 to 1902)
Capital City: 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
