Country Profile: Cuba

News

March 2008: The central government ends assigning all supplies to farms.

Geography

Island in the Caribbean, 90 miles south of Florida.

Government

Cuba has one political party, the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC). Fidel Castro is its First Secretary. From 1959 to 1976, Fidel Castro was Prime Minister -- an office that was abolished. In December 1976, Fidel Castro became President of the Council of State and Council of Ministers, making him both the head of state and the head of government. His brother, General Raul Castro, was vice president of the Council of State and Council of Ministers. Fidel Castro announced his retirement on February 19, 2008. On February 24, 2008, the National Assembly elected Raul Castro as head of state.

The legislative branch of government is a unicameral body called the National Assembly of People's Power (Asemblea Nacional del Poder Popular). It has 609 seats, occupied by persons elected to five-year terms, their candidacy approved by a special commission.

The judiciary is headed by the People's Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo Popular). Its judges are elected by the National Assembly.

Economy

Figures unless otherwise stated are from the CIA Factbook.

Estimated per capita GDP (2009 U.S. dollars)

2009: $9,700
2008: $9,600
2007: $9,200

GDP annual real (not per capita) growth rate estimate

2009: 1% (74% of this in services, 20.9 in industry and 4.3% in agriculture)
2008: 4.3%
2007: 7.3%

Unemployment rate

2009: 1.6%

Cuba suffered economically from the collapse of the Soviet Union and the withdrawal of Soviet aid.

Agriculture employs 24 percent of the labor force. Sugar is its greatest export crop. Other exports: sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee.

Export partners: Netherlands 21.6 percent, Canada 17.6 percent, Russia 10.8 percent, Spain 8.6 percent, China 7.2 percent.

Military expenditures as a percentage of GDP

2006: 3.8 %

Population

Living in an urban area: 76% (2008)

July 2009: 11.451 million. Growth rate: 0.233% (ranks 181st)
July 2008: 11.423 million
July 2005: 11.35 million in 2005

Population density, calculated in 2004, is 102 persons per square kilometer, compared to 165 for the Cayman Islands and 239 persons per square kilometer for Haiti.

Migration

2009: More people leaving than arriving -- a net loss of 1.57 persons per 1,000.

Health

Infant mortality (deaths per 1,000 for children under one-year old):
2009: 5.82 compared to 6.22 for the U.S. (Cuba ranks 182nd.)
2008: 5.93
2005: 6.33

Average life expectancy at birth

2009: 77.45 years
2008: 77.28
2005: 77.23

Living with HIV/AIDS, ages 15 to 49: less than 0.1 percent (2003)

Race:

Mixed black and white: 51 percent, white 37 percent, black 11 percent, Chinese 1 percent.

Flag Desecration

Cuba is one of three countries with a law against flag desecration.

SOURCES:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/

Cuba