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Cuba
Area: 110,860 sq. km (42,803 sq. miles)
Population: 11.2 million
Capital City: Havana (population 2.2 m)
People: Ethnically mixed population (white 66%; mixed race 22%; black 12%), Chinese 1%
Language: Spanish
Religion: The State is secular in Cuba; the main religions are, Catholicism, Santeria (an informal mixture of Christianity and African religions brought over by slaves), and Protestantism.
Currency: Cuban Peso (Moneda Nacional and Convertible Peso (CUC)
Major Political Parties: Only party – Cuban Communist Party or PCC (Fidel CASTRO Ruz, First Secretary)
Government: Cuba has a one party system of government and is the only country in the Western Hemisphere with a Communist government. Over 47 years after the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro remains Head of State and leader of the Communist Party. The Vth Party Congress in October 1997 reaffirmed the Revolution's political direction and named Raul Castro as Fidel's chosen successor.
President of the Council of State: Commander-in-Chief, Dr Fidel Castro Ruz (since 1959)
First Vice-President of the Council of State: General of the Army, Raul Castro Ruz
Foreign Minister: Felipe Perez Roque
Membership of international groups/organisations: Cuba's memberships include United Nations (UN), Organisation of American States (OAS – excluded from formal participation since 1962), IAEA, WHO, WTO, WO and others.
GEOGRAPHY
Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean, located between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean.
HISTORY
Pre-Colombian Cuba occupied by Amerindian tribes: the Guanahatabey, Taínos, Siboneys and Caribs.
1492 Christopher Columbus lands on Cuba, the start of Spanish occupation.
1607 Havana replaces Santiago de Cuba as Cuba's capital
1762 British forces take control of Havana.
1763 British hand Cuba back to the Spanish.
1868-78 Ten Years War ends in Spanish victory over Cuban rebels.
1895-8 War of Independence: End of Spanish rule.
1899-1902 US Military occupation of Cuba.
1902 Republic of Cuba is created.
1934-58 Fulgencio Batista effective Head of State for 17 of these 25 years.
1959 Cuban Revolution. Fidel Castro Ruz takes control
1961 US sponsored Bay of Pigs invasion defeated. Castro proclaims Cuba a Socialist State and begins to ally it with the USSR. US declares trade embargo with Cuba.
1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
1972 Cuba admitted to COMECON economic bloc.
1976 Promulgation of Cuba's new Socialist Constitution.
1980 Mariel rafter crisis - over 100,000 Cubans seeks asylum in the USA.
1990 'Special Period in Time of Peace' austerity programme in place throughout 1990s.
1991 End of Soviet subsidies to Cuba.
1996 US Helms Burton Act toughens US sanctions on Cuba.
1998 Visit to Cuba of Pope John Paul II.
2001 US exempts foodstuffs and medicine from trade embargo (US 2005 exports to Cuba are approximately US\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$500m).
2003 Crackdown on peaceful Cuban opposition leads to crisis in EU-Cuba relations.
2006 Fidel Castro is taken ill in July with intestinal illness. Raul Castro temporarily assumes leadership of the party and presidential responsibilities.
Recent History
On 31 July 2006, President Fidel Castro issued a proclamation announcing that he had undergone surgery for a severe intestinal crisis with sustained bleeding and that he was handing power to his brother Raul Castro. Raul Castro has therefore temporarily assumed the functions of First Secretary of the Communist Party, Head of the Armed Forces and President of the Council of State and Cuban Government. Since the start of Fidel Castro's health problems, his public appearances have been kept to a minimum.
ECONOMY
Basic Economic Facts
Nominal GDP (billion US\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$): 30.239 billion (2003 actual)
Nominal GDP per head (US\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$): 2,695 (2003 actual)
Inflation rate: 6% (2004 est)
Main industries: tourism, sugar, nickel, tobacco, and agriculture.
The Cuban economy has experienced a gradual recovery since its 'freefall' in the early 1990s. This followed the collapse of the former Soviet Union, Cuba's preferential partner in trade and aid, and Cuba was forced to take tough economic measures. These included the legalisation of the use of hard currency and of some private enterprises, as well as reform of agricultural production and land tenure to permit more private ownership. Nonetheless private enterprise is still heavily restricted. Furthermore, 2003/2004 proved to be difficult years for the Cuban economy, with droughts, hurricanes and power shortages, increasing US economic restrictions and falling foreign investment. Tourism is now a key foreign exchange earner for Cuba, with over 2m visitors a year bringing in about \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$2bn dollars in revenue. However, GDP levels are still below those of the late eighties. In October 2004, the Government announced that the dollar would no longer be used in commercial transactions, ostensibly to reduce the vulnerability of the Cuban economy to US measures throughout 2004 to limit the flow of hard currency to the island. The Cuban peso and Cuban Convertible Peso were both revalued (the latter by 8%) against the US Dollar and other foreign currencies in early 2005.
Shortages of basic foodstuffs and medicines, and poor public transport are all still regular features of daily life for ordinary Cubans. The national average wage is roughly \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$10-15 a month at real market prices. The state provides basic rations of food; education and health are free and good by regional standards; utilities are subsidised heavily and most, if they do not 'own' their houses, pay little or no rent. Nevertheless only those with regular access to foreign currency - through remittances (now limited by US measures introduced in May 2004), or by working or providing services for foreigners - can achieve a reasonable standard of living and ownership of cars and freedom to travel are extremely limited.
The Cuban authorities remain firmly committed to maintaining a planned economy, but will continue to carry out enterprise restructuring and to seek foreign business participation.
Under the Foreign Investment Law passed in 1995 (which allows 100% foreign ownership in certain circumstances), Cuba started actively seeking foreign participation in commercial activities. There are opportunities for establishing joint ventures or other forms of commercial association in Cuba, although investors face practical difficulties, and often need patience. It should also be noted that recent times have seen a growing reluctance to deal with business partners from the EU. Since 2004, the Cuban government has actively encouraged investment from China and Venezuela (especially in the nickel and energy sectors), while cutting back on the small and medium sized private investment joint ventures. Through central planning and sacrifice, Cuba has, for the region, an unusually diversified economy - including a prominent biotechnology industry. Other positive developments include the re-structuring of the banking sector, resulting in the formation of the new Central Bank (both in May 1997). A poor hard currency debt situation, lack of medium and long-term finance and a perception of threat from the Helms/Burton legislation remain significant potential deterrents for foreign suppliers.
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