On Nov. 25, 2016, Cuba was saddened by the deathat age 90 of the leader of the Cuban Revolution,Fidel Castro. He had retained a firm grip on

power in the country for some five decades until declin-ing health forced him to relinquish provisional rule to hisbrother Raúl in 2006. Even then Castro, who always styledhimself as a communist revolutionary, remained a promi-nent figure both in Cuba and on the world stage. He out-lived six of the American presidents who had served dur-ing his reign. Earlier, in March, Barack Obama had helpedto bridge the longstanding political gap separating theUnited States and Cuba by becoming the first sitting U.S.president to visit that country in nearly 90 years.

DemographyPopulation (2016): 11,239,000.Density (2016): persons per sqmi 264.9, persons per sq km102.3.

Sex distribution (20163): male49.83%; female 50.17%.

Population projection: (2020)11,086,000; (2030) 10,843,000.

Major cities (20163): Havana2,125,320; Santiago de Cuba433,527; Camagüey 304,738; Holguín 292,581;Guantánamo 217,235.

Urban-rural (20163):

Vital statisticsBirth rate per 1,000 population (2015): 11.1 (world avg. 19.5).Death rate per 1,000 population (2015): 8.9 (world avg. 8.1).Life expectancy at birth (2013): male 77.3 years; female 81.3 years.

Age breakdown (20163):

Ethnic composition (2012):

Religious affiliation (2005)4:

Cuba

Official name: República de Cuba(Republic of Cuba).

Form of government: unitary socialistrepublic with one legislative house(National Assembly of the People’sPower [612]).

Head of state and government: Presidentof the Council of State and President ofthe Council of Ministers Raúl CastroRuz.

Capital: Havana.Official language: Spanish.Official religion: none.Monetary units: Cuban peso (CUP)1;Cuban convertible peso (CUC); valua-tion (Sept. 1, 2016) 1 U.S.$ = CUP26.501; 1 £ = CUP 35.171.

Area and population area2 population

20163

Provinces Capitals sq mi sq km estimate

Artemisa Artemisa 1,545 4,003 503,353Camagüey Camagüey 5,941 15,386 773,600Ciego de Avila Ciego de Avila 2,692 6,972 433,036Cienfuegos Cienfuegos 1,617 4,189 406,847Granma Bayamo 3,233 8,374 834,869Guantánamo Guantánamo 2,381 6,168 514,909Holguín Holguín 3,558 9,216 1,036,572La Habana Havana 281 728 2,125,320Las Tunas Las Tunas 2,546 6,592 537,241Matanzas Matanzas 4,553 11,792 705,775Mayabeque San José

de las Lajas 1,445 3,744 381,012Pinar del Río Pinar del Río 3,430 8,884 589,021Sancti Spíritus Sancti Spíritus 2,617 6,777 466,251Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba 2,405 6,228 1,056,355Villa Clara Santa Clara 3,248 8,412 790,191

Special municipalityIsla de la Juventud Nueva Gerona 934 2,419 84,652TOTAL 42,426 109,884 11,239,004

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National economyBudget (2014). Revenue: CUP 47,269,000,000 (tax revenue64.0%; nontax revenue 36.0%). Expenditures: CUP49,033,000,000 (current expenditure 94.2%, of which health19.1%, education 16.7%, social security contributions 11.4%,public safety and defense 5.8%; capital expenditure 5.8%).

Public debt (January 2015): U.S.$25,230,000,0005.Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture,forestry, fishing (2014): sugarcane 17,800,000, tomatoes678,0009, rice 576,400, sweet potatoes 512,825, plantains508,1649, cassava 435,772, corn (maize) 427,295, pumpkins,squash, and gourds 412,0289, mangoes, mangosteens, and guavas410,4909, yams 399,369, yautia (cocoyams) 269,590, papayas 197,8429,bananas 150,3369, dry beans 131,845, potatoes 53,308, tobacco 24,0009;livestock (number of live animals) 4,134,300 cattle, 2,173,400 sheep,1,655,107 pigs, (2013) 164,000 beehives; roundwood 1,702,000 cu m, ofwhich fuelwood 67%; fisheries production (2013) 51,644 (from aqua-culture 57%). Mining and quarrying (2014): gypsum 98,000; nickel(metal content) 50,400; cobalt (metal content) 3,700. Manufacturing(2013): cement 1,659,000; steel 248,900; cigarettes 12,600,000,000 units;colour televisions 45,000 units; beer 2,600,500 hectolitres; other alco-holic beverages (excluding wine) 1,233,800 hectolitres. Energy produc-tion (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2014) 19,366,000,000(19,366,000,000), by source (2013): fossil fuels 95.5%; renewable ener-gy 4.5%, of which biomass 3.9%, hydroelectric 0.5%, wind and solar0.1%; coal (metric tons; 2014) none (2,500); crude petroleum (barrels;2014) 18,300,000 ([2011] 51,100,000); petroleum products (metric tons;2013) 5,138,000 (7,046,000); natural gas (cu m; 2014) 1,200,000,000([2013] 1,034,000,000).

Population economically active (2015): total 4,979,500; participationrates: ages 17–64, male 82.9%; female 54.2%; unemployed 2.4%, ofwhich youth (ages 17–24; 2010) 6.1%.

Gross national income (GNI; 2011): U.S.$66,397,000,000 (U.S.$5,890per capita); purchasing power parity GNI (U.S.$18,520 per capita).

Average household size (2002): 3.2.Land use as % of total land area (2009): in temporary crops 21.9%,left fallow 12.3%, in permanent crops 3.5%, in pasture 24.7%, forestarea 26.6%.

Foreign trade10

Imports (2014): CUP 13,036,844,000 (mineral fuelsand lubricants [2013] 43.1%, food and live animals15.8%, machinery and transportation equipment15.2%, chemicals and chemical products 9.5%). Major import sources:

Exports (2014): CUP 4,857,468,000 (metal ores andscrap 15.3%, chemicals and chemical products14.0%, sugar and honey 8.6%, tobacco products4.7%, food and food products [including fish]2.3%). Major export destinations:

Transport and communicationsTransport. Railroads (2014): route length 5,199 mi,8,367 km; passenger-km 804,500,00012; metric ton-km cargo 1,777,300,00012. Roads (2014): total length(2000) 37,814 mi, 60,856 km (paved 49%); passen-

ger-km 7,345,300,00013, 14; metric ton-kmcargo 2,344,800,000. Vehicles (20093):passenger cars 236,881; trucks and buses190,821.

Education and healthLiteracy (2015): total population age 15 and over literate: virtu-ally 100%.

Health (2015): physicians11 85,563 (1 per 132 persons); hospitalbeds11 58,995 (1 per 191 persons); infant mortality rate per1,000 live births 4.3; undernourished population (2005–07) lessthan 5% of total population based on the consumption of aminimum daily requirement of 1,900 calories.

MilitaryTotal active duty personnel (November 2015):49,000 (army 77.6%, navy 6.1%, air force16.3%); paramilitary 1,120,000; U.S. mili-tary forces at Naval Base Guantánamo Bay(November 2015) 750. Military expenditureas percentage of GDP (2008): 4.0%; percapita expenditure U.S.$20416.

1Domestic transactions only; the Cuban convertible peso (CUC) is used for international transactions—(Sept. 1, 2016) 1 U.S.$ = CUC 1.00; 1 £ = CUC 1.33. 2Areas of major landmasses are: island of Cuba 40,285sq mi (104,339 sq km); Isla de la Juventud 934 sq mi (2,419 sq km); and numerous adjacent cays (adminis-tratively a part of provinces or the Isla de la Juventud) 1,207 sq mi (3,126 sq km). 3January 1. 4Up to 70%of the population also practice Santería. 5CIA estimate. 6Import duties. 7Unemployed. 8Detail does notadd to total given because of rounding. 92013. 10Imports c.i.f.; exports f.o.b. 11Ministry of Public Healthonly. 12Cuban Railways only; excludes railways linking sugar plantations to factories, totaling 2,817 mi(4,533 km) in 2005. 13Excludes tourism-related transport. 14Buses and taxis only. 15Subscribers. 16Usingexchange rate of Cuban convertible peso.

Internet resources for further information:• Oficina Nacional de Estadística e Información www.one.cu• Sistema de Naciones Unidas en Cuba onu.org.cu

Structure of gross domestic product and labour force2014 2015

in value % of total labour % of labourCUP ’000,000 value force force

Agriculture, forestry, fishing 3,176 3.9 898,400 18.0Mining and quarrying 465 0.6 28,900 0.6Manufacturing 12,203 15.1 461,200 9.3Public utilities 1,255 1.6 82,200 1.7Construction 3,978 4.9 268,200 5.4Transp. and commun. 6,878 8.5 306,100 6.1Finance, real estate 3,330 4.1 96,800 1.9Trade, hotels 19,044 23.6 770,400 15.5Pub. admin., social security 3,169 3.9 1,948,300 39.1Services 26,365 32.7Other 7936 1.06 119,0007 2.47

TOTAL 80,656 100.08 4,979,500 100.0

Communications units unitsnumber per 1,000 number per 1,000

Medium date in ’000s persons Medium date in ’000s persons

TelephonesCellular 2015 3,33515 26715

Landline 2015 1,296 115

Internet users 2009 1,605 143Broadband 2015 8.215 0.115

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