Cuba (2001) | Japan (2005) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 14 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 special municipality* (municipio especial); Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Cienfuegos, Ciudad de La Habana, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, Isla de la Juventud*, La Habana, Las Tunas, Matanzas, Pinar del Rio, Sancti Spiritus, Santiago de Cuba, Villa Clara | 47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gumma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
20.99% (male 1,205,159; female 1,142,070) 15-64 years: 69.14% (male 3,876,432; female 3,855,878) 65 years and over: 9.87% (male 511,589; female 592,895) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 14.3% (male 9,328,584/female 8,866,772)
15-64 years: 66.2% (male 42,462,533/female 41,942,835) 65 years and over: 19.5% (male 10,435,284/female 14,381,236) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans; livestock | rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit, pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs, fish |
Airports | 171 (2000 est.) | 174 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
77 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 35 (2000 est.) |
total: 143
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 37 1,524 to 2,437 m: 39 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 32 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
94 914 to 1,523 m: 31 under 914 m: 63 (2000 est.) |
total: 31
over 3047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 26 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
110,860 sq km land: 110,860 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 377,835 sq km
land: 374,744 sq km water: 3,091 sq km note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto) |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly smaller than California |
Background | Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule has held the country together since. Cuba's communist revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. The country is now slowly recovering from a severe economic recession in 1990, following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies, worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually. Havana portrays its difficulties as the result of the US embargo in place since 1961. Illicit migration to the US - using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, or falsified visas - is a continuing problem. Some 3,000 Cubans took to the Straits of Florida in 2000; the US Coast Guard interdicted only about 35% of these. | In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For 250 years this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Following the Treaty of Kanagawa with the United States in 1854, Japan opened its ports and began to intensively modernize and industrialize. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Japan became a regional power that was able to defeat the forces of both China and Russia. It occupied Korea, Formosa (Taiwan), and southern Sakhalin Island. In 1933 Japan occupied Manchuria and in 1937 it launched a full-scale invasion of China. Japan attacked US forces in 1941 - triggering America's entry into World War II - and soon occupied much of East and Southeast Asia. After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become an economic power and a staunch ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, actual power rests in networks of powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and business executives. The economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth, but Japan still remains a major economic power, both in Asia and globally. In 2005, Japan began a two-year term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. |
Birth rate | 12.36 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.47 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$13.5 billion expenditures: $14.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $1.401 trillion
expenditures: $1.748 trillion, including capital expenditures (public works only) of about $71 billion (2004 est.) |
Capital | Havana | Tokyo |
Climate | tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October) | varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north |
Coastline | 3,735 km | 29,751 km |
Constitution | 24 February 1976, amended July 1992 | 3 May 1947 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Cuba conventional short form: Cuba local long form: Republica de Cuba local short form: Cuba |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Japan |
Currency | Cuban peso (CUP) | - |
Death rate | 7.33 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.95 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $11.1 billion (convertible currency, 1999); another $15 billion -$20 billion owed to Russia (2000) | NA (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none; note - the US has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Vicki HUDDLESTON; address: USINT, Swiss Embassy, Calzada between L and M Streets, Vedado Seccion, Havana; telephone: 33-3551 through 3559 (operator assistance required); FAX: 33-3700; protecting power in Cuba is Switzerland | chief of mission: Ambassador J. Thomas SCHIEFFER
embassy: 10-5 Akasaka 1-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420 mailing address: Unit 45004, Box 258, APO AP 96337-5004 telephone: [81] (03) 3224-5000 FAX: [81] (03) 3505-1862 consulate(s) general: Naha (Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe, Sapporo consulate(s): Fukuoka, Nagoya |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none; note - Cuba has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Fernando REMIREZ DE ESTENOZ; address: Cuban Interests Section, Swiss Embassy, 2630 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; telephone: [1] (202) 797-8518 | chief of mission: Ambassador Ryozo KATO
chancery: 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 238-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2187 consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Agana (Guam), Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, and Seattle consulate(s): Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands) |
Disputes - international | US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased to US and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease | the sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as the "Northern Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern Kuril Islands", occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia and claimed by Japan, remains the primary sticking point to signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities; Japan and South Korea claim Liancourt Rocks (Take-shima/Tok-do), occupied by South Korea since 1954; China and Taiwan dispute both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea, the site of intensive hydrocarbon prospecting |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $7.9 billion (FY03/04) |
Economic aid - recipient | $68.2 million (1997 est.) | - |
Economy - overview | The government, the primary player in the economy, has undertaken limited reforms in recent years to stem excess liquidity, increase enterprise efficiency, and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods, and services, but prioritizing of political control makes extensive reforms unlikely. Living standards for the average Cuban, without access to dollars, remain at a depressed level compared with 1990. The liberalized farmers' markets introduced in 1994, sell above-quota production at market prices, expand legal consumption alternatives, and reduce black market prices. Income taxes and increased regulations introduced since 1996 have sharply reduced the number of legally self-employed from a high of 208,000 in January 1996. Havana announced in 1995 that GDP declined by 35% during 1989-93 as a result of lost Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies. The slide in GDP came to a halt in 1994 when Cuba reported growth in GDP of 0.7%. Cuba reported that GDP increased by 2.5% in 1995 and 7.8% in 1996, before slowing down in 1997 and 1998 to 2.5% and 1.2% respectively. Growth recovered with a 6.2% increase in GDP in 1999 and a 5.6% increase in 2000. Much of Cuba's recovery can be attributed to tourism revenues and foreign investment. Growth in 2001 should continue at the same level as the government balances the need for economic loosening against its concern for firm political control. | Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most technologically-powerful economy in the world after the US and third-largest economy after the US and China, measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis. (Using market exhange rates rather than PPP rates, Japan's economy is larger than China's.) One notable characteristic of the economy is the working together of manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors in closely-knit groups called keiretsu. A second basic feature has been the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force. Both features are now eroding. Industry, the most important sector of the economy, is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. The tiny agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected, with crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self sufficient in rice, Japan must import about 50% of its requirements of other grain and fodder crops. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch. For three decades overall real economic growth had been spectacular: a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s, and a 4% average in the 1980s. Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s, averaging just 1.7%, largely because of the after effects of overinvestment during the late 1980s and contractionary domestic policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets. From 2000 to 2003, government efforts to revive economic growth met with little success and were further hampered by the slowing of the US, European, and Asian economies. In 2004, growth improved and the lingering fears of deflation in prices and economic activity lessened. Japan's huge government debt, which totals more than 160% of GDP, and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems. A rise in taxes could be viewed as endangering the revival of growth. Robotics constitutes a key long-term economic strength with Japan possessing 410,000 of the world's 720,000 "working robots." Internal conflict over the proper way to reform the ailing banking system continues. |
Electricity - consumption | 13.353 billion kWh (1999) | 971 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 14.358 billion kWh (1999) | 1.044 trillion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
94.2% hydro: 0.7% nuclear: 0% other: 5.1% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Pico Turquino 2,005 m |
lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m
highest point: Mount Fuji 3,776 m |
Environment - current issues | pollution of Havana Bay; overhunting threatens wildlife populations; deforestation | air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life; Japan is one of the largest consumers of fish and tropical timber, contributing to the depletion of these resources in Asia and elsewhere |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling |
Ethnic groups | mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1% | Japanese 99%, others 1% (Korean 511,262, Chinese 244,241, Brazilian 182,232, Filipino 89,851, other 237,914)
note: up to 230,000 Brazilians of Japanese origin migrated to Japan in the 1990s to work in industries; some have returned to Brazil (2004) |
Exchange rates | Cuban pesos per US dollar - 1.0000 (nonconvertible, official rate, for international transactions, pegged to the US dollar); convertible peso sold for domestic use at a rate of 1.00 US dollar per 22 pesos by the Government of Cuba (January 2001) | yen per US dollar - 108.19 (2004), 115.93 (2003), 125.39 (2002), 121.53 (2001), 107.77 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz (prime minister from February 1959 until 24 February 1976 when office was abolished; president since 2 December 1976); First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (since 2 December 1976); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz (prime minister from February 1959 until 24 February 1976 when office was abolished; president since 2 December 1976); First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (since 2 December 1976); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the president of the Council of State, appointed by the National Assembly; note - there is also a Council of State whose members are elected by the National Assembly elections: president and vice president elected by the National Assembly; election last held 24 February 1998 (next election unscheduled) election results: Fidel CASTRO Ruz elected president; percent of legislative vote - 100%; Raul CASTRO Ruz elected vice president; percent of legislative vote - 100% |
chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989)
head of government: Prime Minister Junichiro KOIZUMI (since 26 April 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister elections: Diet designates prime minister; constitution requires that prime minister commands parliamentary majority; following legislative elections, leader of majority party or leader of majority coalition in House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister; KOIZUMI's term as leader of the LDP is scheduled to end in September 2006; a new prime minister may be chosen at that time; monarch is hereditary |
Exports | $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 93,360 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee | transport equipment, motor vehicles, semiconductors, electrical machinery, chemicals |
Exports - partners | Russia 23%, Netherlands 23%, Canada 13% (1999) | US 22.7%, China 13.1%, South Korea 7.8%, Taiwan 7.4%, Hong Kong 6.3% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | five equal horizontal bands of blue (top and bottom) alternating with white; a red equilateral triangle based on the hoist side bears a white, five-pointed star in the center; design influenced by the US flag | white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $19.2 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
7% industry: 37% services: 56% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 1.3%
industry: 24.7% services: 74.1% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $29,400 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.6% (2000 est.) | 2.9% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 30 N, 80 00 W | 36 00 N, 138 00 E |
Geography - note | largest country in Caribbean | strategic location in northeast Asia |
Heliports | - | 15 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total:
60,858 km paved: 29,820 km (including 638 km of expressway) unpaved: 31,038 km (1997) |
total: 1,171,647 km
paved: 903,340 km (including 6,851 km of expressways) unpaved: 268,307 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 4.8%
highest 10%: 21.7% (1993) |
Illicit drugs | territorial waters and air space serve as transshipment zone for cocaine bound for the US and Europe; established the death penalty for certain drug-related crimes in 1999 | - |
Imports | $3.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 5.449 million bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum, food, machinery, chemicals, semifinished goods, transport equipment, consumer goods | machinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, raw materials (2001) |
Imports - partners | Spain 18%, Venezuela 13%, Canada 8% (1999) | China 20.7%, US 14%, South Korea 4.9%, Australia 4.3%, Indonesia 4.1%, Saudi Arabia 4.1%, UAE 4% (2004) |
Independence | 20 May 1902 (from US) | 660 BC (traditional founding by Emperor JIMMU) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 6.6% (2004 est.) |
Industries | sugar, petroleum, tobacco, chemicals, construction, services, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery | among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles, processed foods |
Infant mortality rate | 7.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 3.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 3.52 deaths/1,000 live births female: 2.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.3% (1999 est.) | -0.1% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS (excluded from formal participation since 1962), OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | AfDB, APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EBRD, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA, MIGA, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), Paris Club, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, UNRWA, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 4 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 9,100 sq km (1993 est.) | 26,790 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | People's Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo Popular (president, vice president, and other judges are elected by the National Assembly) | Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the monarch after designation by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the cabinet) |
Labor force | 4.3 million (2000 est.)
note: state sector 75%, non-state sector 25% (1998) |
66.97 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 25%, industry 24%, services 51% (1998) | agriculture 5%, industry 25%, services 70% (2002 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
29 km border countries: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay 29 km note: Guantanamo Naval Base is leased by the US and thus remains part of Cuba |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
24% permanent crops: 7% permanent pastures: 27% forests and woodland: 24% other: 18% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 12.19%
permanent crops: 0.96% other: 86.85% (2001) |
Languages | Spanish | Japanese |
Legal system | based on Spanish and American law, with large elements of Communist legal theory; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | modeled after European civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly of People's Power or Asemblea Nacional del Poder Popular (601 seats, elected directly from slates approved by special candidacy commissions; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 11 January 1998 (next to be held in 2003) election results: percent of vote - PCC 94.39%; seats - PCC 601 |
bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in (242 seats - members elected for six-year terms; half reelected every three years; 144 members in multi-seat constituencies and 98 by proportional representation) and the House of Representatives or Shugi-in (480 seats - members elected for four-year terms; 300 in single-seat constituencies; 180 members by proportional representation in 11 regional blocs)
elections: House of Councillors - last held 11 July 2004 (next to be held in July 2007); House of Representatives - last held 11 September 2005 (next election by September 2009) election results: House of Councillors - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LDP 115, DPJ 82, Komeito 24, JCP 9, SDP 5, others 7; distribution of seats as of October 2004 - LDP 114, DPJ 84, Komeito 24, JCP 9, SDP 5, others 6 House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - LDP 47.8%, DPJ 36.4%, others 15.8%; seats by party - LDP 296, DPJ 113, Komeito 31, JCP 9, SDP 7, others 24 (2005) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
76.41 years male: 74.02 years female: 78.94 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 81.15 years
male: 77.86 years female: 84.61 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 95.7% male: 96.2% female: 95.3% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2002) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Florida | Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Asia |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm; between 3 nm and 12 nm in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
15 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 54,821 GRT/78,062 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 7, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 5 (2000 est.) |
total: 702 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 10,149,196 GRT/12,680,544 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 136, cargo 29, chemical tanker 23, container 13, liquefied gas 53, passenger 16, passenger/cargo 157, petroleum tanker 160, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 52, vehicle carrier 59 registered in other countries: 2,233 (2005) |
Military - note | Moscow, for decades the key military supporter and supplier of Cuba, cut off almost all military aid by 1993 | - |
Military branches | Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) includes ground forces, Revolutionary Navy (MGR), Air and Air Defense Force (DAAFAR), Territorial Troops Militia (MTT), and Youth Labor Army (EJT); the Border Guard (TGF) is controlled by the Interior Ministry | Ground Self-Defense Force (Army), Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy), Air Self-Defense Force (Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $45.841 billion (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | roughly 4% (FY95 est.) | 1% (2004) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
3,090,633 females age 15-49: 3,029,274 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,911,160 females age 15-49: 1,867,958 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 17 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
79,562 females: 85,650 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 10 October (1868); note - 10 October 1868 is the date of independence from Spain, 20 May 1902 is the date of independence from US administration | Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO, 23 December (1933) |
Nationality | noun:
Cuban(s) adjective: Cuban |
noun: Japanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Japanese |
Natural hazards | the east coast is subject to hurricanes from August to October (in general, the country averages about one hurricane every other year); droughts are common | many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons |
Natural resources | cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, manganese, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land | negligible mineral resources, fish |
Net migration rate | -1.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 2,719 km; oil 170 km; oil/gas/water 60 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | only party - Cuban Communist Party or PCC [Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary] | Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Seiji MAEHARA, leader; Yukio HATOYAMA, secretary general]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Kazuo SHII, chairman; Tadayoshi ICHIDA, secretary general]; Komeito [Takenori KANZAKI, president; Tetsuzo FUYUSHIBA, secretary general]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Junichiro KOIZUMI, president; Tsutomu TAKEBE, secretary general]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Mizuho FUKUSHIMA, chairperson; Seiji MATAICHI, secretary general] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 11,184,023 (July 2001 est.) | 127,417,244 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.37% (2001 est.) | 0.05% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cienfuegos, Havana, Manzanillo, Mariel, Matanzas, Nuevitas, Santiago de Cuba | Chiba, Kawasaki, Kiire, Kisarazu, Kobe, Mizushima, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo, Yohohama |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 169, FM 55, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 215 plus 370 repeaters, FM 89 plus 485 repeaters, shortwave 21 (2001) |
Radios | 3.9 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
11,969 km standard gauge: 4,807 km 1.435-m gauge (147 km electrified) note: in addition to the 4,807 km of standard gauge track in public use, 7,162 km of track is in private use by sugar plantations; about 90% of the private use track is standard gauge and the rest is narrow gauge (2000) |
total: 23,577 km (16,519 km electrified)
standard gauge: 3,204 km 1.435-m gauge (3,204 km electrified) narrow gauge: 77 km 1.372-m gauge (77 km electrified); 20,265 km 1.067-m gauge (13,227 km electrified); 11 km 0.762-m gauge (11 km electrified) (2004) |
Religions | nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented | observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 16 years of age; universal | 20 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: principal trunk system, end to end of country, is coaxial cable; fiber-optic distribution in Havana and on Isla de la Juventud; 2 microwave radio relay installations (one is old, US-built; the other newer, Soviet-built); both analog and digital mobile cellular service established international: satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
general assessment: excellent domestic and international service
domestic: high level of modern technology and excellent service of every kind international: country code - 81; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region), and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); submarine cables to China, Philippines, Russia, and US (via Guam) (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 473,031 (2000) | 71.149 million (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,994 (1997) | 86,658,600 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 58 (1997) | 211 plus 7,341 repeaters
note: in addition, US Forces are served by 3 TV stations and 2 TV cable services (1999) |
Terrain | mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast | mostly rugged and mountainous |
Total fertility rate | 1.6 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.5% (2000 est.) | 4.7% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 240 km | 1,770 km (seagoing vessels use inland seas) (2004) |