Cuba

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Temperature

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

Population

Population density

Emigration

Immigration

Literacy

Health

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Other religions (share of the total population)

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

It has a total budget of US$124 million which represents 0.22 percent of its GDP making it the 131st largest military spender in the world.

The Cuban Army, officially called the Cuban revolutionary Armed Forces, consist of ground forces Naval forces and an air force. The military plays a large role in Cuba by being involved in its politics as well as its economy. This is mainly due to the fact that Cuba itself has had a military overthrow, but it also assisted several other opposition groups in the overthrow of governments in Latin America and Africa during the cold war.

Military membership

Cuba is a member of four international military organizations which makes it the 108th most militarily interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Conference on Disarmament
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
International Atomic Energy Agency
Non-Aligned Movement

Military membership

International wars

Cuba has participated in 15 international wars. These are the following:

Ten Years' War 1868-1878
Little War 1879-1880
Cuban War of Independence 1895-1898
Spanish–American War 1898-1898
Vietnam War 1955-1975
Cuban invasion of Panama 1959-1959
Cuban invasion of the Dominican Republic 1959-1959
Bay of Pigs Invasion 1961-1961
Eritrean War of Independence 1961-1991
Cuban invasion of Venezuela 1963-1963

Cuban invasion of Venezuela 1963-1963
South African Border War 1966-1989
Invasion of Machurucuto 1967-1967
War of Attrition 1967-1970
Yom Kippur War 1973-1973
Angolan Civil War 1975-2001

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

Cuba is a member of 10 international political organizations. It is a member of the following organizations:

Member state of the United Nations
International Labour Organization
Association of Caribbean States
Community of Latin American and Caribbean States
International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property
Organization of Ibero-American States
UNIDROIT
Interpol
Alliance of Small Island States
South Centre (organization)
World Organization for Animal Health

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

Because of historical as well as present day limitations on the daily lives of the Cuban people as well as flawed elections, Cuba is ranked as the 157th most democratic state in the world.

Democracy/Dictatorship

Ever since Fidel Castro took power, the politics of Cuba have been under a socialist regime. This has led to an almost full control of industry and daily lives of the Cuban people.

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Famous for its cigars, alcoholic beverages as well as being the most distant ally of the Soviet Union during the cold war, Cuba's history is known for its revolutions and fights against oppression. Since its first contact with Spanish settlers at the beginning of the 16th century, it slowly became a Spanish colony. Because of its favourable conditions for the growth of sugarcane, it became one of the central hubs for the trans-Atlantic slave trade. After the abolishment of slavery as well as gaining independence at the ends of the 19th century, it quickly became a protectorate of the United States. After a military coup in 1933, Fulgencio Batista became president of Cuba in the 1940’s. After 15 years, a revolution led by Fidel Castro broke out and forced the Batista government into exile. As a result, Fidel Castro established the socialist republic that aligned itself with the Soviet Union. Since then, it has been the center of large political events such as the Cuban missile crisis and the Bay of Pigs invasion.

Cuba is an island state that is located in the Caribbean Sea. Its territory mainly consists of tropical forests that are either densely forested or sparsely forested. There are several mountain ranges that are formed throughout Cuba with some hills. Another large part of Cuba consists of a low-lying terrain which is mainly used for farming. The states that are in the closest proximity to Cuba are the United States and the Bahamas to the north, Haiti to the east Jamaica to the south and Mexico to the west.

It has a total surface area of 110,400 square kilometers or 42,600 square miles. This makes Cuba the 104th largest state in the world being slightly larger than Guatemala and slightly smaller than Bulgaria.

It has a total water surface area of 4,520 square kilometers or 1,745 square miles. This makes Cuba the 68th largest state in the world.

Below, a graph is shown which displays the absolute amount of water of each state in square kilometers and square miles.

With several rivers, lakes and high rainfall, Cuba is considered to be a water rich state. However, due to a large separation between densely populated areas and areas with high amounts of water, water scarcity has been common in Cuba.

Afghanistan's share of water, as well as the other states are displayed below.

The winters of Cuba are characterized by being tropical. It is known to have a dry season from November to April and a wet season from May to September. The average temperature in Cuba is 25.2 degrees Celsius or 77.3 degrees Fahrenheit.

During the wet season, the climate is considered to be hot and humid with the average temperature reaching 28.7 degrees Celsius or 83.7 degrees Fahrenheit.

During the dry season, temperatures drop down to 21.5 degrees Celsius or 70.7 degrees Fahrenheit.

The majority of its rainfall occurs from May to October which receives more than 70 percent of its total rainfall. Cuba is ranked as the 83rd state with the highest rainfall with an average precipitation of 113 centimetres or 44 inches per year.

The capital of Cuba, Havana is home to 2.5 million people. The capital that is closest located to Havana is Nassau the Bahamas with a distance of 545 kilometers or 338 miles. The capital that is furthest removed from Havana is Jakarta Indonesia with a distance of 11,100 miles or 17,900 kilometers.

As a result of its socialist economy, the Cuban government controls a large part of the Cuban economy. Because of economic underdevelopment in Cuba, the current government is loosening its grip on the economy and giving way to private enterprise. This is also because of a lack of foreign support since the fall of the Soviet Union. Most of its export products are tobacco sugar and the extraction of nickel. These are mainly exported to Venezuela and Spain. Most of its imports come from China which is responsible for more than 13 percent of total imports.

Cuba is a member of 11 international economic organizations making it the 123rd most economically interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Caribbean Development Bank
International Monetary Fund
World Customs Organization
World Trade Organization
International Bamboo and Rattan Organization
Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States
ALBA Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America
Central American Bank for Economic Integration
International Renewable Energy Agency
International Solar Alliance
Group of 77
Advisory Centre on World Trade Organization Law

Its GDP is estimated to be US$90 billion which represents 0.1 percent of total global GDP.

Its GDP per square kilometer is US$812,000 or US$2.1 million per square mile.

Its GDP per capita is US$7900 which makes it the 79th highest in the world.

The absolute earnings (GDP per capita) reflect the average yearly income. The figure below shows how much, on average, an inhabitant of another state earns for every $1 earned by a citizen of this state.

The purchasing power is the 109th highest in the world and is estimated to be under $12,000.

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of this state with that of the rest of the world. The graph on the left shows how much purchasing power of 1$ compared to the purchasing power of other states

Because of its history and contact with several civilizations, the Cuban population is a mix of people from Spanish, African and indigenous Caribbean descent. It has a total population of 11.4 million people which makes it the 82nd most populous state in the world. Because of its Spanish history, the official language is Spanish.

It has the 80th highest population density in the world with 102 people per square kilometer or 265 people per square mile.

An estimated 15 percent of the total population has emigrated from Cuba. The most popular destination is the United States.

Immigration to Cuba is estimated to be around 0.03 percent of the total population. Two thirds of immigrants come from Spain and one third is coming from Russia.

Around 99.4 percent of the population is literate which makes Cuba the 17th most literate state in the world. This is mainly due to the socialist policies of Cuba which endorsed a strong educational system.

Another factor of its socialist policy is its free access to healthcare. With an average of 79.22 years, it has the 40th highest life expectancy in the world. Women reach an average age of 81.1 years and men reach an average age of 77.3 years. The main causes of death are cancers and cardiovascular related diseases. Despite being located in the tropical zone, deaths from communicable diseases are relatively low.

Since the start of the pro-communist regime, religions have been banned throughout Cuba. However, Policies in recent decades have allowed for religious expression.

Since the start of colonization in Cuba, the Catholic Church has started to play a large role on the island. Protestantism only arrived at the start of the 19th century through merchants and settlers. At present, it is estimated that 59 percent of the population adheres to Christianity which makes Cuba the 108th most Christian state in the world.

On the right, the global share of Christians per state is displayed

Islam is represented by 0.1 percent of the population making Cuba the 168th most Islamic state in the world. Muslims in Cuba mainly consist of converts to Islam. Since the Cuban government has started to open up to religion, it has also permitted the construction of a mosque.

Around 0.07 percent of the Cuban population adheres to Buddhism. This mainly arrived in the 19th century with the attraction of Chinese laborers.

Hinduism is followed by 0.2 percent of the population with the Hare Krishna denomination having the largest presence in Cuba.

One of the first Jews that arrived in Cuba were explorers. After the start of the Spanish Inquisition, many Jews were forced to leave Spain and some of those Jews migrated to Cuba. A second wave of Jewish immigration came when the Spanish Empire lost the Spanish American war. This opened up migration of the Jewish people to Cuba. The majority of Jews arrived after the first world war when persecution in the Middle East, the Bolshevik uprising as well as the rise of Nazi Germany had forced many Jews to search for security abroad. At present, around 0.03 percent of Cubans adhere to Judaism.

Other religions are practiced by 11.7 percent of the population. These other religions stem from the indigenous religions that were present before colonization as well as traditional African religions that arrived during the transatlantic slave trade.

Before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, atheism was the official state religion. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Cuba became a secular state. It is estimated that 15.4 percent of the population does not adhere to any faith.