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Cuba is an archipelago of islands located in the Caribbean Sea. Cuba is the primary island, which is surrounded by four main groups of islands; the Colorados, the Sabana-Camagüey, the Jardines de la Reina and the Canarreos. The chief island of Cuba constitutes most of the nation's land area or 105,006 km² and is the world's seventeenth largest island, by land area. The second largest island in Cuba is the Isla de la Juventud also known as the Isle of Youth, which lies in the southwest. Cuba has a total land area of 110,860 km².
The geographical terrain of the chief island consists of flat to rolling plains and with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast. In the southeastern end is the Sierra Maestra, a range of steep mountains, which comprises the highest point in Cuba, the Pico Real Del Turquino at 1,975 meters. The lowest point is the Caribbean sea.
The natural resources to be found in Cuba are cobalt, nickel, iron ore, chromium, copper, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land. Cuba is the second largest nickel reserve in the world.
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| Climate |
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The climate is tropical, however moderated by trade winds. Generally, season varies from November to April its dry season and from May to October its rainy season. The average temperature is 21 °C in January and 27 °C in July. Cuba lies in the course of hurricanes, and destructive storms which are most common in September and October.
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| People |
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| Total population of Cuba is estimated to be 11,423,952. The country has multifaceted ethnicity, as intermarriage is a common feature. 51% of the Cubans are Mulatto, 37 % are white, 11% are black and 1% belongs to Chinese ethnicity. The ancestry of the white Cubans is Spanish, French, Italian, Russians and Portuguese. Minor but considerable ethnic influx is derived from diverse peoples from Middle East as well, the Jews, Lebanese, Palestinians and Syrians. Supposedly 85% of the inhabitants were Roman Catholic prior to Castro assuming power, other religious sect are Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented. The language popularly used by the Cubans is Spanish. |
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| Government |
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The Republic of Cuba is a communist state. President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul Castro Ruz is both the Chief of the state and the head of the government. The Council of Ministers proposed by the president of the Council of State and appointed by the National Assembly or the 31-member Council of State,is elected by the Assembly to act on its behalf when it is not in session.
The president and vice presidents is elected by the National Assembly for a term of five years.
Cuba is administratively divided into 14 provinces and 1 municipality. The Provinces are Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Cienfuegos, Ciudad de La Habana, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, La Habana, Las Tunas, Matanzas, Pinar del Rio, Sancti Spiritus, Santiago de Cuba, Villa Clara. The muncipality is Isla de la Juventud.
Capital: Havana
Independence: 20 May 1902 |
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| Economy |
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The government balances the call for economic loosening against a desire for firm political control. It has rolled back restricted reforms undertaken in the 1990s to increase enterprise efficiency and improve serious shortages of food, consumer goods, and services. Due to the loss of Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies in the 1990's, the average Cuban's standard of living remains at a lower level. Venezuela has been providing oil on preferential terms, and it presently supplies about 100,000 barrels per day of petroleum products.
Cuba has been paying for the oil, in some measure, with the services of Cuban personnel in Venezuela, including some 20,000 medical professionals. In 2007, an elevated metals price continues to boost Cuban earnings from nickel and cobalt production. Havana, the capital city continues to invest in the country's energy sector to mitigate electrical blackouts that had plagued the country since 2004. Cuba is the largest of the Caribbean holiday islands, and is becoming an increasingly popular tourist destination.
The chief agricultural products to be found in Cuba are sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans and livestock. The key industrial produce and services are sugar, petroleum, tobacco, construction, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery and pharmaceuticals. |
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