Cuba (2001) | Tokelau (2004) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
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 | none (territory of New Zealand) |
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: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans; livestock | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats |
Airports | 171 (2000 est.) | none; lagoon landings are possible by amphibious aircraft (2003 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.) |
- |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
94 914 to 1,523 m: 31 under 914 m: 63 (2000 est.) |
- |
Area | total:
110,860 sq km land: 110,860 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 10 sq km
land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | about 17 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
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. | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. |
Birth rate | 12.36 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues:
$13.5 billion expenditures: $14.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $430,800
expenditures: $2.8 million, including capital expenditures of $37,300 (1987 est.) |
Capital | Havana | none; each atoll has its own administrative center |
Climate | tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October) | tropical; moderated by trade winds (April to November) |
Coastline | 3,735 km | 101 km |
Constitution | 24 February 1976, amended July 1992 | administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948, as amended in 1970 |
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: Tokelau |
Currency | Cuban peso (CUP) | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 7.33 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $11.1 billion (convertible currency, 1999); another $15 billion -$20 billion owed to Russia (2000) | $0 |
Dependency status | - | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelauans are drafting a constitution and developing institutions and patterns of self-government as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand |
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 | none (territory of New Zealand) |
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 | none (territory of New Zealand) |
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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $68.2 million (1997 est.) | from New Zealand about $4 million annually |
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. | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public services, with annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. |
Electricity - consumption | 13.353 billion kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production | 14.358 billion kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
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: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
Environment - current issues | pollution of Havana Bay; overhunting threatens wildlife populations; deforestation | very limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand |
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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1% | Polynesian |
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) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.7229 (2003), 2.154 (2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999) |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by Administrator Neil WALTER (since NA 2002)
head of government: Aliki Faipule Kuresa NASAU (since 2004) note - position rotates annually among members of the cabinet cabinet: the Council of Faipule, consisting of three elected leaders - one from each atoll - functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
Exports | $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $98,000 f.o.b. (1983) |
Exports - commodities | sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee | stamps, copra, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Russia 23%, Netherlands 23%, Canada 13% (1999) | New Zealand (2000) |
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 | the flag of New Zealand is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $19.2 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.5 million (1993 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
7% industry: 37% services: 56% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (1993 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.6% (2000 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 21 30 N, 80 00 W | 9 00 S, 172 00 W |
Geography - note | largest country in Caribbean | consists of three atolls, each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over three meters above sea level |
Highways | total:
60,858 km paved: 29,820 km (including 638 km of expressway) unpaved: 31,038 km (1997) |
total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
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.) | $323,000 c.i.f. (1983) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum, food, machinery, chemicals, semifinished goods, transport equipment, consumer goods | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel |
Imports - partners | Spain 18%, Venezuela 13%, Canada 8% (1999) | New Zealand (2000) |
Independence | 20 May 1902 (from US) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | NA |
Industries | sugar, petroleum, tobacco, chemicals, construction, services, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing |
Infant mortality rate | 7.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.3% (1999 est.) | NA |
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 | UNESCO (associate), UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 4 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 9,100 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | People's Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo Popular (president, vice president, and other judges are elected by the National Assembly) | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau |
Labor force | 4.3 million (2000 est.)
note: state sector 75%, non-state sector 25% (1998) |
NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 25%, industry 24%, services 51% (1998) | - |
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: 0% (soil is thin and infertile)
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | Spanish | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English |
Legal system | based on Spanish and American law, with large elements of Communist legal theory; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | New Zealand and local statutes |
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 |
unicameral General Fono (48 seats; 15 members from each of the three islands elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms and the 3 island village mayors [pulenuku]); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
76.41 years male: 74.02 years female: 78.94 years (2001 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: 68 years female: 70 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 95.7% male: 96.2% female: 95.3% (1995 est.) |
NA |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Florida | Oceania, group of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Oceania |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 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.) |
none |
Military - note | Moscow, for decades the key military supporter and supplier of Cuba, cut off almost all military aid by 1993 | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
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 | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | roughly 4% (FY95 est.) | - |
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 | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun:
Cuban(s) adjective: Cuban |
noun: Tokelauan(s)
adjective: Tokelauan |
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 | lies in Pacific typhoon belt |
Natural resources | cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, manganese, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land | NEGL |
Net migration rate | -1.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Political parties and leaders | only party - Cuban Communist Party or PCC [Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
Population | 11,184,023 (July 2001 est.) | 1,405 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.37% (2001 est.) | -0.01% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cienfuegos, Havana, Manzanillo, Mariel, Matanzas, Nuevitas, Santiago de Cuba | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 169, FM 55, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
note: each atoll has a radio broadcast station of unknown type that broadcasts shipping and weather reports (1998) |
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) |
- |
Religions | nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
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.) |
NA |
Suffrage | 16 years of age; universal | 21 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: adequate
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: country code - 690; radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations, established in 1997 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 473,031 (2000) | 300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,994 (1997) | 0 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 58 (1997) | - |
Terrain | mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons |
Total fertility rate | 1.6 children born/woman (2001 est.) | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | 5.5% (2000 est.) | NA |
Waterways | 240 km | - |