Cuba

After the Cuban revolution and before the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba depended on Moscow for substantial aid and sheltered markets for its exports. The loss of these subsidies sent the Cuban economy into a rapid depression known in Cuba as the . Cuba took limited free market-oriented measures to alleviate severe shortages of food, consumer goods, and services. These steps included allowing some self-employment in certain retail and light manufacturing sectors, the legalization of the use of the in business, and the encouragement of . Cuba has developed a unique urban farm system called to compensate for the end of food imports from the Soviet Union. The against Cuba was instituted in response to nationalization of U.S.-citizen-held property and was maintained at the premise of perceived human rights violations. It is widely viewed that the embargo hurt the Cuban economy. In 2009, the Cuban Government estimated this loss at $685 million annually.[222]

Cuba's leadership has called for reforms in the country's . In 2008, Raúl Castro began enacting agrarian reforms to boost food production, as at that time 80% of food was imported. The reforms aim to expand land use and increase efficiency.[225]

In 2005, Cuba had exports of US$2.4 billion, ranking 114 of 226 world countries, and imports of US$6.9 billion, ranking 87 of 226 countries. 12.5%, 9%, and Spain 5.9% (2012). imports include food, fuel, clothing, and machinery. Cuba presently holds debt in an amount estimated at $13 billion, According to the , Cuba is dependent on credit accounts that rotate from country to country. It was announced in 2008 that wage caps would be abandoned to improve the nation's productivity.[232]

In 2010, Cubans were allowed to build their own houses. According to Raúl Castro, they could now improve their houses, but the government would not endorse these new houses or improvements.[233] There is virtually no homelessness in Cuba, and 85% of Cubans own their homes and pay no property taxes or mortgage interest. Mortgage payments may not exceed 10% of a household's combined income.[unbiased source needed].

On 2 August 2011, The New York Times reported that Cuba reaffirmed its intent to legalize "buying and selling" of private property before the year's end. According to experts, the private sale of property could "transform Cuba more than any of the economic reforms announced by President Raúl Castro's government". The reforms created what some call "New Cuban Economy". In October 2013, Raúl said he intended to merge the two currencies, but as of August 2016, the dual currency system remains in force.

In August 2012, a specialist of the "Cubaenergia Company" announced the opening of Cuba's first Solar Power Plant. As a member of the Cubasolar Group, there was also a mention of ten additional plants in 2013.[238]

In May 2019, Cuba imposed rationing of staples such as chicken, eggs, rice, beans, soap and other basics. (Some two-thirds of food in the country is imported.) A spokesperson blamed the increased U.S. trade embargo although economists believe that an equally important problem is the massive decline of aid from Venezuela and the failure of Cuba's state-run oil company which had subsidized fuel costs.[239]

Resources

Cuba's natural resources include sugar, tobacco, fish, citrus fruits, , beans, rice, potatoes, and livestock. Cuba's most important mineral resource is nickel, with 21% of total exports in 2011. As of 2013 its reserves were estimated at 5.5 million tons, over 7% of the world total. of Canada operates a large nickel mining facility in . Cuba is also a major producer of refined , a by-product of nickel mining.[242]

Oil exploration in 2005 by the revealed that the North Cuba Basin could produce about 4.6 billion barrels (730,000,000 m3) to 9.3 billion barrels (1.48×109 m3) of oil. In 2006, Cuba started to test-drill these locations for possible exploitation.[243]

Tourism

Tourism was initially restricted to enclave resorts where tourists would be segregated from Cuban society, referred to as "enclave tourism" and "tourism apartheid". The rapid growth of tourism during the Special Period had widespread social and economic repercussions in Cuba, and led to speculation about the emergence of a two-tier economy.[246]

Cuba has tripled its market share of Caribbean tourism in the last decade;[] as a result of significant investment in tourism infrastructure, this growth rate is predicted to continue. Cuba recorded 2,688,000 international tourists in 2011, the third-highest figure in the Caribbean (behind the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico).[249]

The sector caters to thousands of European, Latin American, Canadian, and American consumers every year.

A recent study indicates that Cuba has a potential for activity, and that mountaineering could be a key contributor to tourism, along with other activities, e.g. biking, diving, caving. Promoting these resources could contribute to regional development, prosperity, and well-being.[250]

The Cuban Justice minister downplays allegations of widespread .

Some tourist facilities were extensively damaged on 8 September 2017 when hit the island. The storm made landfall in the Camagüey Archipelago; the worst damage was in the keys north of the main island, however, and not in the most significant tourist areas.[253]

Cuba is an of islands located in the northern at the confluence with the and the Atlantic Ocean. It lies between latitudes , and longitudes . The United States lies 150 kilometers (93 miles) across the to the north and northwest (to the closest tip of ), and 21 km (13 mi) to the north. lies 210 kilometers (130 miles) across the to the west (to the closest tip of in the State of ).

is 77 km (48 mi) to the east, (140 km/87 mi) and the to the south. Cuba is the principal island, surrounded by four smaller groups of islands: the on the northwestern coast, the on the north-central Atlantic coast, the on the south-central coast and the on the southwestern coast.

The main island, named Cuba, is 1,250 km (780 mi) long, constituting most of the nation's land area (104,556 km2 (40,369 sq mi)) and is the largest island in the and in the world by land area. The main island consists mostly of flat to rolling plains apart from the mountains in the southeast, whose highest point is (1,974 m (6,476 ft)).

The second-largest island is (Isle of Youth) in the Canarreos archipelago, with an area of 2,200 km2 (849 sq mi). Cuba has an official area (land area) of 109,884 km2 (42,426 sq mi). Its area is 110,860 km2 (42,803 sq mi) including coastal and territorial waters.

Climate

With the entire island south of the , the local climate is tropical, moderated by northeasterly trade winds that blow year-round. The temperature is also shaped by the Caribbean current, which brings in warm water from the equator. This makes the climate of Cuba warmer than that of , which is at around the same latitude as Cuba but has a subtropical rather than a tropical climate. In general (with local variations), there is a drier season from November to April, and a rainier season from May to October. The average temperature is 21 °C (69.8 °F) in January and 27 °C (80.6 °F) in July. The warm temperatures of the Caribbean Sea and the fact that Cuba sits across the entrance to the combine to make the country prone to frequent . These are most common in September and October.

hit the island on 8 September 2017, with winds of 260 kilometres per hour, The worst damage was in the keys north of the main island. Hospitals, warehouses and factories were damaged; much of the north coast was without electricity. By that time, nearly a million people, including tourists, had been evacuated. resort area also reported widespread damage; the government believed that repairs could be completed before the start of the main tourist season. was not expected to strike Cuba.[257]

Biodiversity

Cuba signed the Rio on 12 June 1992, and became a party to the convention on 8 March 1994., with one revision, that the convention received on 24 January 2008.[259]

The revision consists of an action plan with time limits for each item, and an indication of the governmental body responsible for delivery. That document contains virtually no information about biodiversity. However, the country's fourth national report to the (17,801 species), (270), (707), , including -forming species (5844), (9107) and (1440).[260]

As elsewhere in the world, vertebrate animals and flowering plants are well documented, so the recorded numbers of species are probably close to the true numbers. For most or all other groups, the true numbers of species occurring in Cuba are likely to exceed, often considerably, the numbers recorded so far.

The flora of Cuba lists species like the , , , and . include species like ,several species of ; and .
A ; is an endemic species of .

The fauna of Cuba lists species like the , , , and . Cuba also formerly hosted a radiation of sloths belonging to the family including , , and , as well as the monkey as well as several species of .

According to the official census of 2010, Cuba's population was 11,241,161, comprising 5,628,996 men and 5,612,165 women. (9.88 births per thousand population in 2006). Although the country's population has grown by about four million people since 1961, the rate of growth slowed during that period, and the population began to decline in 2006, due to the country's low (1.43 children per woman) coupled with emigration.[265]

Indeed, this drop in fertility is among the largest in the Western Hemisphere is also widespread, estimated at 79% of the female population (in the upper third of countries in the Western Hemisphere).[267]

Ethnoracial groups

Cuba's population is multiethnic, reflecting its complex colonial origins. Intermarriage between diverse groups is widespread, and consequently there is some discrepancy in reports of the country's racial composition: whereas the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the determined that 62% of Cubans are black,[268] the 2002 Cuban census found that a similar proportion of the population, 65.05%, was white.

In fact, the determined that "An objective assessment of the situation of remains problematic due to scant records and a paucity of systematic studies both pre- and post-revolution. Estimates of the percentage of people of African descent in the Cuban population vary enormously, ranging from 34% to 62%".[269]

A 2014 study found that, based on (AIM), genetic ancestry in Cuba is 72% European, 20% African, and 8% Indigenous.

make up about 1% of the population, and are largely of , followed by . Many are descendants of farm laborers brought to the island by Spanish and American contractors during the 19th and early 20th century.

• 
  

  Ancestral contributions in Cubans as inferred from autosomal AIMs.
  

• 
  

  Ancestral contributions in Cubans as inferred from Y-chromosome markers.
  

• 
  

  Ancestral contributions in Cubans as inferred from mtDNA markers.
  

are descended primarily from the , Bantu people from the , and Arará from the refugees, most notably the of .[276]

Migration

Immigration

Immigration and emigration have played a prominent part in Cuba's demographic profile. Between the 18th and early 20th century, large waves of , , , , and other Spanish people immigrated to Cuba. Between 1899–1930 alone, close to a million Spaniards entered the country, though many would eventually return to Spain. , , , , , , and , as well as small number of descendants of U.S. citizens who arrived in Cuba in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Emigration

Post-revolution Cuba has been characterized by significant levels of emigration, which has led to a . During the three decades after January 1959, more than one million Cubans of all social classes — constituting 10% of the total population — , a proportion that matches the extent of emigration to the U.S. from the Caribbean as a whole during that period. Those who left the country typically did so by sea, in small boats and fragile rafts. On 9 September 1994, the U.S. and Cuban governments agreed that the U.S. would grant at least 20,000 visas annually in exchange for Cuba's pledge to prevent further unlawful departures on boats.