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March 2008: The central government ends assigning all supplies to farms.
Island in the Caribbean, 90 miles south of Florida.
Cuba has one political party, the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC). Fidel Castro is its First Secretary. From 1959 to 1976, Fidel Castro was Prime Minister - an office that was abolished. In December 1976, Fidel Castro became President of the Council of State and Council of Ministers, making him both the head of state and the head of government. His brother, General Raul Castro, was vice president of the Council of State and Council of Ministers. Fidel Castro announced his retirement on February 19, 2008. On February 24, 2008, the National Assembly elected Raul Castro as head of state.
The legislative branch of government is a unicameral body called the National Assembly of People's Power (Asemblea Nacional del Poder Popular). It has 609 seats, occupied by persons elected to five-year terms, their candidacy approved by a special commission.
The judiciary is headed by the People's Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo Popular). Its judges are elected by the National Assembly.
Figures unless otherwise stated are from the CIA Factbook.
Estimated per capita GDP:
2007 $4,500 (Ranks140th)
2006 $4,000
2005 $3,500
2004 $3,000
2003 $2,900
1999 $1,700
GDP annual growth rate estimated for 2007: 7.0 percent. (Ranks 47th.)
Unemployment (2003 estimate): 2.5 percent.
Cuba suffered economically from the collapse of the Soviet Union and the withdrawal of Soviet aid.
Agriculture employs 24 percent of the labor force. Sugar is its greatest export crop. Other exports: sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee.
Export partners: Netherlands 21.6 percent, Canada 17.6 percent, Russia 10.8 percent, Spain 8.6 percent, China 7.2 percent.
Military expenditures as a percentage of GDP: 3.8 (2006).
Deaths: 7.19. Births: 11.27, down from 12.03 in 2005.
Estimated form July 2008: 11.423 million, up from 11.35 million in 2005. Growth rate for 2008: 0.251 percent per year.
Population density, calculated in 2004, is 102 persons per square kilometer, compared to 165 for the Cayman Islands and 239 persons per square kilometer for Haiti.
More people leaving than arriving - a net loss of 1.57 persons per 1,000, about the same as for in 2005 and 2004 - about 18,000 persons per year.
Infant mortality estimated for 2008: 5.93, down from 6.33 in 2005 (deaths per 1,000 for children under one-year old)
Average life expectancy estimated for 2008: 77.28, compared to 77.23 in 2005.
Living with HIV/AIDS, ages 15 to 49: less than 0.1 percent (2003)
For a country as poor as Cuba its health figures are good:
Mixed black and white: 51 percent, white 37 percent, black 11 percent, Chinese 1 percent.
Cuba is one of three countries with a law against flag desecration.
SOURCES:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
Copyright © 2008 by Frank E. Smitha. All rights reserved.