Region: Caribbean

Capital: Havana

Population: 11,423,952 (July 2008 est.)

Surface area: 110,860 sq km

Currency: Cuban peso (CUP) and Convertible peso (CUC)

GDP per capita: Purchasing power parity US $4,500 (2007 est.)

Background:
The native Amerindian population of Cuba began to decline after the European discovery of the island by Christopher Columbus in 1492 and following its development as a Spanish colony during the next several centuries. Large numbers of African slaves were imported to work the coffee and sugar plantations, and Havana became the launching point for the annual treasure fleets bound for Spain from Mexico and Peru. Spanish rule, marked initially by neglect, became increasingly repressive, provoking an independence movement and occasional rebellions that were harshly suppressed. It was US intervention during the Spanish-American War in 1898 that finally overthrew Spanish rule. The subsequent Treaty of Paris established Cuban independence, which was granted in 1902 after a three-year transition period. Fidel Castro led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule held the subsequent regime together for nearly five decades. He stepped down as president in February 2008 in favor of his younger brother Raul Castro. Cuba's Communist revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The country is now slowly recovering from a severe economic downturn in 1990, following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies, worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually.

Economy – Overview
The government continues to balance the need for economic loosening against a desire for firm political control. It has rolled back limited reforms undertaken in the 1990s to increase enterprise efficiency and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods, and services. The average Cuban's standard of living remains at a lower level than before the downturn of the 1990s, which was caused by the loss of Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies. Since late 2000, Venezuela has been providing oil on preferential terms, and it currently supplies about 100,000 barrels per day of petroleum products. Cuba has been paying for the oil, in part, with the services of Cuban personnel in Venezuela, including some 20,000 medical professionals. In 2007, high metals prices continued to boost Cuban earnings from nickel and cobalt production. Havana continued to invest in the country's energy sector to mitigate electrical blackouts that had plagued the country since 2004.

Major Export Commodities: petroleum, food, machinery and equipment, chemicals

Remittances: Not available

Human Development Index 2007/2008 ranking: 51 out of 177

Official Development Assistance and Major Development Partners: Net ODA in 2006 was US $56.86 million. Major donors of ODA include Spain, the United States, and Canada.

Total External Debt: US $16.79 billion (convertible currency); another $15-20 billion owed to Russia (31 December 2007 est.)

United Nations membership date: 24 October 1945

New York Mission:
Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations
315 Lexington Avenue
New York, N.Y. 10016 USA
Telephone: 212-689-7215, 7216, 7217
Fax: 212-779-1697

Website: http://www.un.int/cuba