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 982 individuals attempting to cross the Straits of Florida in fiscal year 2009.

Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, 150 km south of Key West, Florida

slightly smaller than Pennsylvania

tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October)

mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast

cobalt, nickel, iron ore, chromium, copper, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land

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

air and water pollution; biodiversity loss; deforestation

largest country in Caribbean and westernmost island of the Greater Antilles

11,087,330 (July 2011 est.)

9.99 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)

7.47 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)

-3.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)

HAVANA (capital) 2.14 million (2009)

1.44 children born/woman (2011 est.)

fewer than 100 (2009 est.)

urban: 96% of population

rural: 89% of population

total: 94% of population

urban: 4% of population

rural: 11% of population

total: 6% of population (2008)

urban: 94% of population

rural: 81% of population

total: 91% of population

urban: 6% of population

rural: 19% of population

total: 9% of population (2008)

white 65.1%, mulatto and mestizo 24.8%, black 10.1% (2002 census)

nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented

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

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

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

Triumph of the Revolution, 1 January (1959)

24 February 1976; amended July 1992 and June 2002

civil law system based on Spanish civil code

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

16 years of age; universal

unicameral National Assembly of People's Power or Asemblea Nacional del Poder Popular (number of seats in the National Assembly is based on population; 614 seats; members elected directly from slates approved by special candidacy commissions to serve five-year terms)

People's Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo Popular (president, vice presidents, and other judges are elected by the National Assembly)

Cuban Communist Party or PCC [Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary]

Human Rights Watch; National Association of Small Farmers

ACP, AOSIS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS (excluded from formal participation since 1962), OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, PetroCaribe, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

none; note - Cuba has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Jorge BOLANOS Suarez; address: Cuban Interests Section, Swiss Embassy, 2630 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; telephone: [1] (202) 797-8518; FAX: [1] (202) 797-8521

none; note - the US has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Chief of Mission Jonathan D. FARRAR; address: USINT, Swiss Embassy, Calzada between L and M Streets, Vedado, Havana; telephone: [53] (7) 833-3551 through 3559 (operator assistance required); FAX: [53] (7) 833-1653; protecting power in Cuba is Switzerland

five equal horizontal bands of blue (top, center, and bottom) alternating with white; a red equilateral triangle based on the hoist side bears a white, five-pointed star in the center; the blue bands refer to the three old divisions of the island: central, occidental, and oriental; the white bands describe the purity of the independence ideal; the triangle symbolizes liberty, equality, and fraternity, while the red color stands for the blood shed in the independence struggle; the white star, called La Estrella Solitaria (the Lone Star) lights the way to freedom and was taken from the flag of Texas

The government continues to balance the need for economic loosening against a desire for firm political control. The government announced it would eliminate 500,000 state jobs by March 2011 and has expanded opportunities for self-employment. President Raul CASTRO said such changes were needed to update the economic model to ensure the survival of socialism. The government has introduced limited reforms, some initially implemented 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. Since late 2000, Venezuela has been providing oil on preferential terms, and it currently supplies about 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.

$114.1 billion (2010 est.)

$112.4 billion (2009 est.)

$110.8 billion (2008 est.)

$57.49 billion (2010 est.)

10.5% of GDP (2010 est.)

34.4% of GDP (2010 est.)

34.7% of GDP (2009 est.)

$11.57 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$11.74 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$35.92 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$35.61 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans; livestock

sugar, petroleum, tobacco, construction, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery, pharmaceuticals

16.89 billion kWh (2007 est.)

13.93 billion kWh (2007 est.)

48,340 bbl/day (2009 est.)

169,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

104,800 bbl/day (2007 est.)

178.9 million bbl (1 January 2010 est.)

400 million cu m (2008 est.)

70.79 billion cu m (1 January 2010 est.)

$-87 million (2010 est.)

$539 million (2009 est.)

$3.311 billion (2010 est.)

$2.879 billion (2009 est.)

sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee

China 25.68%, Canada 20.31%, Spain 6.79%, Netherlands 4.53% (2009)

$10.25 billion (2010 est.)

$8.91 billion (2009 est.)

petroleum, food, machinery and equipment, chemicals

Venezuela 30.51%, China 15.48%, Spain 8.3%, US 6.87% (2009)

$4.847 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$4.647 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$19.75 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$19.42 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$NA (31 December 2009 est.)

$4.138 billion (2006 est.)

Cuban pesos (CUP) per US dollar -

1.168 million (2009)

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 (2007)

gas 41 km; oil 230 km (2010)

240 km (almost all navigable inland waterways are near the mouths of rivers) (2010)

Antilla, Cienfuegos, Guantanamo, Havana, Matanzas, Mariel, Nuevitas Bay, Santiago de Cuba, Tanamo

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 (DAAFAR), Youth Labor Army (Ejercito Juvenil del Trabajo, EJT) (2011)

17-28 years of age for compulsory military service; 2-year service obligation; both sexes subject to military service (2006)

3.8% of GDP (2006 est.)

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 (2010)

US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased to US and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the facility can terminate the lease

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 (2008)