Cuba is a Caribbean country. Consisting of a larger island and several smaller ones, it is located in the Atlantic Ocean, south of the state of Florida (United States of America), almost closing the Gulf of Mexico. It covers an area of 110 860 km2. The main cities are Havana, the capital, with 2 359 200 residents (2004), Santiago de Cuba (564 500 residents), Camagüey (360 300 residents) And Holguín (326 600 residents).
The climate is tropical with two distinct seasons, the dry season, from November to April, and the rainy season, from May to October. Between June and November is the time of hurricanes, which are sometimes devastating.
Economy
Since 1971, Cuba began to diversify agriculture. In order to reduce the dependence on imported food, rice cultivation and cattle raising were developed. But even so, the country’s economic development was due to the large subsidies granted by the Soviet Union, between the 1960s and 1980s. However, with the disintegration of the Eastern Bloc, between 1990 and 1991, Cuba was completely isolated.
The country’s economy is planned and depends heavily on exports of sugar, tobacco and nickel. The cultivated agricultural products are sugar cane, orange, mandarin, banana, manioc, potato, tomato, sweet potato, rice and tobacco. There are few mineral resources, with the exception of nickel reserves. The industry produces tobacco, food products, beverages, chemicals, transport material, textiles, clothing and rubber products. Cuba’s main trading partners are Russia, Spain, Canada, Mexico and the Netherlands.
Environmental indicator: the value of carbon dioxide emissions, per capita (metric tons, 1999), is 2.3.
Population
The population is 11 382 820 residents (2006), which corresponds to a population density of 102.35 residents/km2. The birth and death rates are respectively 11.89% and 7.22%. Average life expectancy is 77.41 years. The value of the Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.806 and the value of the Gender-adjusted Development Index (IDG) was not assigned (2001). It is estimated that, in 2025, the population will be 11 831 000 residents. The main ethnicities are mestizo, with 51%, white, with 37%, black, with 11%, and Chinese, with 1%. The most prominent religions are Catholic, with 40%, and Protestant, with 3%; atheists represent 55% of the population. The official language is Castilian.
History
In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed in Cuba and, in 1512, the Spaniards built the first city in Baracoa. Spain was always the colonizing country, except during the period of British rule, in 1762, and until it was defeated by the USA in the Spanish-American War of 1898. American troops occupied Cuba until 1902, the year in which a treaty was implemented. of independence. Despite this, US interests continued to dominate the island’s economic life. However, the country was ruled by a series of dictators. The last was Fulgencio Batista, whose corrupt and intolerant regime lasted, without interruption, from 1933 to 1959. In that year, a group of revolutionaries headed by Fidel Castro, at the time a law student, and by his lieutenant, Che Guevara, overthrew Batista after two years of an intense guerrilla. Mass arrests and executions followed, and thousands of Cubans took refuge in the United States. Cuba turned to the Soviet Union for economic aid. Some time later, Fidel Castro proclaimed the communist state. Cuba became the first communist republic in the western hemisphere. For Cuba democracy and rights, please check localbusinessexplorer.
In 1961, several Cuban exiles trained by the CIA landed in the Bay of Pigs in an unsuccessful attempt to provoke a rebellion. A year later, Cuba was the detonator that was about to start a new world war. Fidel Castro accepted plans to install Soviet missile bases on the island, just 145 kmoff Florida’s American coast. The US Navy organized a blockade to prevent Soviet ships from transporting the missiles to Cuba. American and Soviet leaders, John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev, threatened each other. While the international community waited breathlessly, Khrushchev stepped back. Since that time, Cuba has tried to reestablish relations with the United States.
Countryaah.com: Offers a full list of airports in the country of Cuba, sorted by city location and acronyms.
Abbreviationfinder.org: Provides most commonly used abbreviations and initials containing the country name of Cuba. Listed by popularity.
1UpTravel.com – Maps of Cuba
Browse a collection of city, country, shaded relief, historical, and political maps of this Caribbean island. View the maps of Havana, Guantanamo Bay, and Central Cuba.
Directory lists road and street maps of Cuba’s provinces, towns, and cities. Includes Havana, Cienfuegos, Pinar del Rio, Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Camaguey, and Holguin.
