Countries
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Disputes - international: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased to US and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the facility can terminate the lease
Trafficking in persons: current situation: Cuba is a source country for adults and some children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking; prostitution of children reportedly occurs in Cuba as prostitution is not criminalized for anyone above 16 years old; the scope of trafficking within Cuba is particularly difficult to gauge due to the closed nature of the government and sparse non-governmental or independent reporting
tier rating: Tier 3 - Cuba does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so; the government did not publicize information about government measures to address human trafficking through prosecution, protection, or prevention efforts during the reporting period
Illicit drugs: territorial waters and air space serve as transshipment zone for US- and European-bound drugs; established the death penalty for certain drug-related crimes in 1999
Military branches: Revolutionary Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias, FAR): Revolutionary Army (Ejercito Revolucionario, ER, includes Territorial Militia Troops (Milicia de Tropas de Territoriales, MTT)); Revolutionary Navy (Marina de Guerra Revolucionaria, MGR, includes Marine Corps); Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Forces (Defensas Anti-Aereas y Fuerza Aerea Revolucionaria, DAAFAR), Youth Labor Army (Ejercito Juvenil del Trabajo, EJT)
Military service age and obligation: 17-28 years of age for compulsory military service; 2-year service obligation; both sexes subject to military service
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 2,998,201
females age 16-49: 2,919,107
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 2,446,131
females age 16-49: 2,375,590
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 72,823
female: 69,108
Military expenditures: 3.8% of GDP
country comparison to the world: 29
Military - note: the collapse of the Soviet Union deprived the Cuban military of its major economic and logistic support and had a significant impact on the state of Cuban equipment; the army remains well trained and professional in nature; while the lack of replacement parts for its existing equipment has increasingly affected operational capabilities, Cuba remains able to offer considerable resistance to any regional power
Airports: 136
country comparison to the world: 42
Pipelines: gas 41 km; oil 230 km (2010)
Railways: total: 8,598 km
country comparison to the world: 24
Roadways: total: 60,858 km
country comparison to the world: 73
Waterways: 240 km (almost all navigable inland waterways are near the mouths of rivers)
country comparison to the world: 95
Merchant marine: total: 3
country comparison to the world: 135
by type: cargo 1, passenger 1, refrigerated cargo 1
registered in other countries: 5 (Curacao 1, Panama 2, unknown 2)
Ports and terminals: Antilla, Cienfuegos, Guantanamo, Havana, Matanzas, Mariel, Nuevitas Bay, Santiago de Cuba, Tanamo
Telephones - main lines in use: 1.164 million
country comparison to the world: 73
Telephones - mobile cellular: 1.003 million
country comparison to the world: 152
Telephone system: general assessment: greater investment beginning in 1994 and the establishment of a new Ministry of Information Technology and Communications in 2000 has resulted in improvements in the system; national fiber-optic system under development; 95% of switches digitized by end of 2006; mobile-cellular telephone service is expensive and must be paid in convertible pesos, which effectively limits subscribership
domestic: fixed-line density remains low at 10 per 100 inhabitants; mobile-cellular service expanding but remains less than 10 per 100 persons
Broadcast media: government owns and controls all broadcast media with private ownership of electronic media prohibited; government operates 4 national TV networks and many local TV stations; government operates 6 national radio networks, an international station, and many local radio stations; Radio-TV Marti is beamed from the US
Internet country code: .cu
Internet hosts: 3,196
country comparison to the world: 153
Internet users: 1.606 million
country comparison to the world: 79
note: private citizens are prohibited from buying computers or accessing the Internet without special authorization; foreigners may access the Internet in large hotels but are subject to firewalls; some Cubans buy illegal passwords on the black market or take advantage of public outlets to access limited email and the government-controlled "intranet"
The government continues to balance the need for loosening its socialist economic system against a desire for firm political control. The government in April 2011 held the first Cuban Communist Party Congress in almost 13 years, during which leaders approved a plan for wide-ranging economic changes. President Raul CASTRO said such changes were needed to update the economic model to ensure the survival of socialism. The government has expanded opportunities for self employment and has introduced limited reforms, some initially implemented in the 1990s, to increase enterprise efficiency and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods, services, and housing. 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 over 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 30,000 medical professionals.
Government type: Communist state
Administrative divisions: 15 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 special municipality* (municipio especial); Artemisa, Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Cienfuegos, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, Isla de la Juventud*, La Habana, Las Tunas, Matanzas, Mayabeque, Pinar del Rio, Sancti Spiritus, Santiago de Cuba, Villa Clara
Legal system: civil law system based on Spanish civil code
International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
Suffrage: 16 years of age; universal
Ethnic groups: white 65.1%, mulatto and mestizo 24.8%, black 10.1%
Languages: Spanish (official)
Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jewish, Santeria
note: prior to CASTRO assuming power
Population: 11,075,244
country comparison to the world: 74
Median age: total: 38.9 years
male: 38 years
female: 39.7 years
Population growth rate: -0.115%
country comparison to the world: 203
Net migration rate: -3.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population
country comparison to the world: 184
Urbanization: urban population: 75% of total population
rate of urbanization: 0% annual rate of change
Major cities - population: HAVANA (capital) 2.14 million
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.87 years
country comparison to the world: 59
male: 75.61 years
female: 80.27 years
Total fertility rate: 1.45 children born/woman
country comparison to the world: 192
Health expenditures: 11.8% of GDP
country comparison to the world: 13
Major infectious diseases: degree of risk: intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever
Education expenditures: 13.6% of GDP
country comparison to the world: 2
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.8%
male: 99.8%
female: 99.8%
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24: total: 3.1%
country comparison to the world: 127
male: 2.8%
female: 3.5%
People - note: illicit emigration 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
Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, 150 km south of Key West, Florida
Land boundaries: total: 29 km
border countries: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay 29 km
note: Guantanamo Naval Base is leased by the US and remains part of Cuba
Coastline: 3,735 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
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, chromium, copper, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land
Land use:
arable land: 27.63%, permanent crops: 6.54%, other: 65.83%
Natural hazards: the east coast is subject to hurricanes from August to November (in general, the country averages about one hurricane every other year); droughts are common
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
Geography - note: largest country in Caribbean and westernmost island of the Greater Antilles
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 eventually provoked an independence movement and occasional rebellions that were harshly suppressed. US intervention during the Spanish-American War in 1898 assisted the Cubans in overthrowing Spanish rule. The Treaty of Paris established Cuban independence from the US in 1902 after which the island experienced a string of governments mostly dominated by the military and corrupt politicians. Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule held the subsequent regime together for nearly five decades. He stepped down as president in February 2008 in favor of his younger brother Raul CASTRO. Cuba's Communist revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The country faced a severe economic downturn in 1990 following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually. Cuba at times portrays the US embargo, in place since 1961, as the source if its difficulties. 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 some 1,000 individuals attempting to cross the Straits of Florida in fiscal year 2011.
Cuba
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