Cuba (2002) | Czech Republic (2001) | |
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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 | 13 regions (kraje, singular - kraj) and 1 capital city* (hlavni mesto); Brnensky, Budejovicky, Jihlavsky, Karlovarsky, Kralovehradecky, Liberecky, Olomoucky, Ostravsky, Pardubicky, Plzensky, Praha*, Stredocesky, Ustecky, Zlinsky |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.6% (male 1,188,125; female 1,125,743)
15-64 years: 69.3% (male 3,902,162; female 3,880,531) 65 years and over: 10.1% (male 520,849; female 606,911) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
16.09% (male 847,219; female 804,731) 15-64 years: 69.99% (male 3,592,984; female 3,590,802) 65 years and over: 13.92% (male 549,538; female 878,938) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans; livestock | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry |
Airports | 172 (2001) | 114 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 78
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 20 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 36 (2002) |
total:
43 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 16 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 94
914 to 1,523 m: 30 under 914 m: 64 (2002) |
total:
71 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 42 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 110,860 sq km
land: 110,860 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
78,866 sq km land: 77,276 sq km water: 1,590 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
Background | Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule has held the country together since then. 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 2,600 Cubans attempted the crossing of the Straits of Florida in 2001; the US Coast Guard apprehended only about 35% of the individuals. | After World War II, Czechoslovakia fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. In 1968, an invasion by Warsaw Pact troops ended the efforts of the country's leaders to liberalize party rule and create "socialism with a human face." Anti-Soviet demonstrations the following year ushered in a period of harsh repression. With the collapse of Soviet authority in 1989, Czechoslovakia regained its freedom through a peaceful "Velvet Revolution." On 1 January 1993, the country underwent a "velvet divorce" into its two national components, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Now a member of NATO, the Czech Republic has moved toward integration in world markets, a development that poses both opportunities and risks. |
Birth rate | 12.08 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $14.9 billion
expenditures: $15.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$16.7 billion expenditures: $18 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Havana | Prague |
Climate | tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October) | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
Coastline | 3,735 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 24 February 1976, amended July 1992 | ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993 |
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:
Czech Republic conventional short form: Czech Republic local long form: Ceska Republika local short form: Ceska Republika |
Currency | Cuban peso (CUP) | Czech koruna (CZK) |
Death rate | 7.35 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 10.81 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $12.3 billion (convertible currency, 2000 est.); another $15 billion -$20 billion owed to Russia (2001) (2002 est.) | $21.3 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none; note - the US has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer James C. CASON; 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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Steven J. COFFEY embassy: Trziste 15, 11801 Prague 1 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [420] (2) 5753-0663 FAX: [420] (2) 5753-0583 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none; note - Cuba has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Dagoberto RODRIGUEZ Barrera (since August 2001); address: Cuban Interests Section, Swiss Embassy, 2630 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; telephone: [1] (202) 797-8518 | chief of mission:
Ambassador Alexsandr VONDRA chancery: 3900 Spring of Freedom Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 274-9100 FAX: [1] (202) 966-8540 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York |
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 | Liechtenstein's royal family claims restitution for 1,600 sq km of land in the Czech Republic confiscated in 1918; individual Sudeten German claims for restitution of property confiscated in connection with their expulsion after World War II; Austria has minor dispute with Czech Republic over nuclear power plants and post-World War II treatment of German-speaking minorities |
Economic aid - recipient | $68.2 million (1997 est.) | $NA |
Economy - overview | The government continues to balance the need for economic loosening against a concern for firm political control. It 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 is unlikely to implement extensive changes. A major feature of the economy is the dichotomy between relatively efficient export enclaves and inefficient domestic sectors. The average Cuban's standard of living remains at a lower level than before the severe economic depression of the early 1990s, which was caused by the loss of Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies. High oil prices, recessions in key export markets, and damage from Hurricane Michelle hampered growth in 2001. Cuba paid high prices for oil imports in the face of slumping prices in the key sugar and nickel industries and suffered a slowdown in tourist arrivals following September 11. The government aimed for 3% growth in 2002, but growth was held back by hurricanes, depressed tourism, and faltering world economic conditions, including low world sugar prices and a shortage of external financing. | Basically one of the most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states, the Czech Republic has been recovering from recession since mid-1999. The economy grew about 2.5% in 2000 and should achieve somewhat higher growth in 2001. Growth is led by exports to the EU, especially Germany, and foreign investment, while domestic demand is reviving. Uncomfortably high fiscal and current account deficits could be future problems. Unemployment is down to 8.7% as job creation continues in the rebounding economy; inflation is up to 3.8% but still moderate. The EU put the Czech Republic just behind Poland and Hungary in preparations for accession, which will give further impetus and direction to structural reform. Moves to complete banking, telecommunications and energy privatization will add to foreign investment, while intensified restructuring among large enterprises and banks and improvements in the financial sector should strengthen output growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 13.829 billion kWh (2000) | 52.898 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 18.744 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 8.735 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 14.87 billion kWh (2000) | 67.642 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 95%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 5% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
77.8% hydro: 3.43% nuclear: 18.77% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Pico Turquino 2,005 m |
lowest point:
Elbe River 115 m highest point: Snezka 1,602 m |
Environment - current issues | air and water pollution; biodiversity loss; deforestation | air and water pollution in areas of northwest Bohemia and in northern Moravia around Ostrava present health risks; acid rain damaging forests |
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, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1% | Czech 81.2%, Moravian 13.2%, Slovak 3.1%, Polish 0.6%, German 0.5%, Silesian 0.4%, Roma 0.3%, Hungarian 0.2%, other 0.5% (1991) |
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 27 pesos by the Government of Cuba (January 2002) | koruny per US dollar - 37.425 (January 2001), 38.598 (2000), 34.569 (1999), 32.281 (1998), 31.698 (1997), 27.145 (1996) |
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 6 March 2003 (next to be held in 2007) election results: Fidel CASTRO Ruz reelected president; percent of legislative vote - 100%; Raul CASTRO Ruz elected vice president; percent of legislative vote - 100% |
chief of state:
President Vaclav HAVEL (since 2 February 1993) head of government: Prime Minister Milos ZEMAN (since 17 July 1998); Deputy Prime Ministers Vladimir SPIDLA (since 22 July 1998), Pavel RYCHETSKY (since 22 July 1998), Jan KAVAN (since 8 December 1999) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 20 January 1998 (next to be held NA January 2003); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Vaclav HAVEL reelected president; Vaclav HAVEL received 47 of 81 votes in the Senate and 99 out of 200 votes in the Chamber of Deputies (second round of voting) |
Exports | $1.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | $28.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee | machinery and transport equipment 44%, other manufactured goods 40%, chemicals 7%, raw materials and fuel 7% (1999) |
Exports - partners | Netherlands 22.4%, Russia 13.3%, Canada 13.3%, Spain 7.3%, China 6.2% (2001) | Germany 43%, Slovakia 8.4%, Austria 6.6%, Poland 5.6%, France 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side (identical to the flag of the former Czechoslovakia) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $25.9 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $132.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 35% services: 58% |
agriculture:
3.7% industry: 41.8% services: 54.5% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $12,900 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0% (2002 est.) | 2.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 30 N, 80 00 W | 49 45 N, 15 30 E |
Geography - note | largest country in Caribbean and westernmost island of the Greater Antilles | landlocked; strategically located astride some of oldest and most significant land routes in Europe; Moravian Gate is a traditional military corridor between the North European Plain and the Danube in central Europe |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 60,858 km
paved: 29,820 km (including 638 km of expressway) unpaved: 31,038 km (1997) |
total:
55,432 km paved: 55,432 km (including 499 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
4.3% highest 10%: 22.4% (1996) |
Illicit drugs | territorial waters and air space serve as transshipment zone for cocaine and heroin bound for the US and Europe; established the death penalty for certain drug-related crimes in 1999 | major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and minor transit point for Latin American cocaine to Western Europe; domestic consumption - especially of locally produced synthetic drugs - on the rise |
Imports | $4.8 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $31.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum, food, machinery and equipment, chemicals | machinery and transport equipment 42%, other manufactured goods 33%, chemicals 12%, raw materials and fuels 10% (1999) |
Imports - partners | Spain 12.7%, France 6.5%, Canada 5.7%, China 5.3%, Italy 5.0% (2001) | Germany 37.5%, Slovakia 6.7%, Austria 6.2%, Italy 5.9%, France 5.4% (1999) |
Independence | 20 May 1902 (from Spain 10 December 1898; administered by the US from 1898 to 1902) | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.2% (2001 est.) | 7.6% (2000) |
Industries | sugar, petroleum, tobacco, chemicals, construction, services, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery, biotechnology | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments |
Infant mortality rate | 7.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 5.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.1% (2002 est.) | 3.8% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMO, 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 | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2001) | more than 300 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 870 sq km (1998 est.) | 240 sq km (1993 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; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term |
Labor force | 4.3 million
note: state sector 78%, non-state sector 22% (1999) (2000 est.) |
5.203 million (1999 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 24%, industry 25%, services 51% (1999) (1999) | agriculture 5%, industry 40%, services 55% (2000 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 |
total:
1,881 km border countries: Austria 362 km, Germany 646 km, Poland 658 km, Slovakia 215 km |
Land use | arable land: 33.04%
permanent crops: 7.61% other: 59.35% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
41% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 11% forests and woodland: 34% other: 12% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish | Czech |
Legal system | based on Spanish and American law, with large elements of Communist legal theory; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to bring it in line with Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) obligations and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly of People's Power or Asemblea Nacional del Poder Popular (609 seats, elected directly from slates approved by special candidacy commissions; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 19 January 2003 (next to be held in 2008) election results: percent of vote - PCC 97.6%; seats - PCC 609 |
bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies or Poslanecka snemovna (200 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 12 and 19 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002); Chamber of Deputies - last held 19-20 June 1998 (next to be held by NA June 2002) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - KDU-CSL 28, ODS 22, CSSD 15, ODA 7, US 4, KSCM 3, independents 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - CSSD 32.3%, ODS 27.7%, KSCM 11%, KDU-CSL 9.0%, US 8.6%; seats by party - CSSD 74, ODS 63, KSCM 24, KDU-CSL 20, US 18, CSNS 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.6 years
male: 74.2 years female: 79.15 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
74.73 years male: 71.23 years female: 78.43 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.7% male: 96.2% female: 95.3% (1995 est.) |
definition:
NA total population: 99.9% (1999 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, 150 km south of Key West, Florida | Central Europe, southeast of Germany |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 14 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 44,187 GRT/63,416 DWT
ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 6, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 3 (2002 est.) |
- |
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) including Ground Forces, Revolutionary Navy (MGR), Air and Air Defense Force (DAAFAR), Territorial Militia Troops (MTT), and Youth Labor Army (EJT); note - the Border Guard Troops (TGF) are controlled by the Interior Ministry | Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Territorial Defense, Railroad Units |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $1.2 billion (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | roughly 4% (FY95 est.) | 2.2% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 3,102,312
females age 15-49: 3,036,549 (2002 est.) |
males age 15-49:
2,653,456 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,915,586
females age 15-49: 1,869,867 (2002 est.) |
males age 15-49:
2,024,070 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 17 years of age (2002 est.) | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 86,632
females: 79,562 (2002 est.) |
males:
69,393 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 10 December (1898); note - 10 December 1898 is the date of independence from Spain, 20 May 1902 is the date of independence from US administration | Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) |
Nationality | noun: Cuban(s)
adjective: Cuban |
noun:
Czech(s) adjective: Czech |
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 | flooding |
Natural resources | cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, manganese, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land | hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber |
Net migration rate | -1.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
People - note | illicit migration is a continuing problem; Cubans attempt to depart the island and enter the US using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, direct flights, or falsified visas; some 3,000 Cubans took to the Straits of Florida in 2001; the US Coast Guard interdicted about 25% of these migrants; Cubans also use non-maritime routes to enter the US; some 2,400 Cubans arrived overland via the southwest border and direct flights to Miami in 2000 | - |
Pipelines | - | natural gas 3,550 km (2000) |
Political parties and leaders | only party - Cuban Communist Party or PCC [Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary] | Christian and Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Jan KASAL, chairman]; Civic Democratic Alliance or ODA [Daniel KROUPA, chairman]; Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Vaclav KLAUS, chairman]; Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia or KSCM [Miroslav GREBENICEK, chairman]; Communist Party of Czechoslovakia or KSC [Miroslav STEPAN, chairman]; Czech National Social Party of CSNS [Jan SULA, chairman]; Czech Social Democratic Party or CSSD [Milos ZEMAN, chairman]; Democratic Union or DEU [Ratibor MAJZLIK, chairman]; Freedom Union or US [Karel KUEHNL, chairman]; Quad Coalition [Cyril SVOBODA, chairman] (includes KDU-CSL, US, ODA, DEU); Republicans of Miroslav SLADEK or RMS [Miroslav SLADEK, chairman] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions [Richard FALBR] |
Population | 11,224,321 (July 2002 est.) | 10,264,212 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.35% (2002 est.) | -0.07% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cienfuegos, Havana, Manzanillo, Mariel, Matanzas, Nuevitas, Santiago de Cuba | Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 169, FM 55, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000) |
Radios | 3.9 million (1997) | 3,159,134 (December 2000) |
Railways | total: 4,807 km
standard gauge: 4,807 km 1.435-m gauge, in public use (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 est.) |
total:
9,444 km standard gauge: 9,350 km 1.435-m standard gauge (2,843 km electrified; 1,929 km double track) narrow gauge: 94 km 0.760-m narrow gauge (2000) |
Religions | nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented | atheist 39.8%, Roman Catholic 39.2%, Protestant 4.6%, Orthodox 3%, other 13.4% |
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 (2002 est.) |
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 16 years of age; universal | 18 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, built during the period of Soviet support); both analog and digital mobile cellular service established international: satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
general assessment:
privatization and modernization of the Czech telecommunication system got a late start but is advancing steadily; growth in the use of mobile cellular telephones is particularly vigorous domestic: 86% of exchanges now digital; existing copper subscriber systems now being enhanced with Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) equipment to accommodate Internet and other digital signals; trunk systems include fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions), 1 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat, 1 Globalstar |
Telephones - main lines in use | 473,031 (2000) | 3.869 million (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,994 (1997) | 4.346 million (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 58 (1997) | 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) |
Terrain | mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast | Bohemia in the west consists of rolling plains, hills, and plateaus surrounded by low mountains; Moravia in the east consists of very hilly country |
Total fertility rate | 1.6 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.18 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.1% (2001 est.) | 8.7% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 240 km | 303 km
note: (the Labe (Elbe) is the principal river) (2000) |