Cuba (2002) | Germany (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 | 13 states (Laender, singular - Land) and 3 free states* (Freistaaten, singular - Freistaat); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern*, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen*, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen* |
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: 14.7% (male 6,197,490; female 5,879,052)
15-64 years: 67% (male 28,119,536; female 27,132,713) 65 years and over: 18.3% (male 6,096,106; female 8,999,712) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans; livestock | potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry |
Airports | 172 (2001) | 550 (2003 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: 331
over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 51 1,524 to 2,437 m: 62 914 to 1,523 m: 71 under 914 m: 134 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 94
914 to 1,523 m: 30 under 914 m: 64 (2002) |
total: 219
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 31 under 914 m: 185 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 110,860 sq km
land: 110,860 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 357,021 sq km
land: 349,223 sq km water: 7,798 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly smaller than Montana |
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. | As Europe's largest economy and most populous nation, Germany remains a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the EC, which became the EU, and NATO, while the Communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring Eastern productivity and wages up to Western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro. |
Birth rate | 12.08 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 8.45 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $14.9 billion
expenditures: $15.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) (2000 est.) |
revenues: $1.079 trillion
expenditures: $1.173 trillion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | Havana | Berlin |
Climate | tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October) | temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind |
Coastline | 3,735 km | 2,389 km |
Constitution | 24 February 1976, amended July 1992 | 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990 |
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: Federal Republic of Germany
conventional short form: Germany local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland local short form: Deutschland former: German Empire, German Republic, German Reich |
Currency | Cuban peso (CUP) | euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries |
Death rate | 7.35 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 10.44 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $12.3 billion (convertible currency, 2000 est.); another $15 billion -$20 billion owed to Russia (2001) (2002 est.) | NA (2000 est.) |
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 Daniel R. COATS
embassy: Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10117 Berlin; note - a new embassy will be built near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin; ground was broken in October 2004 and completion is scheduled for 2008 mailing address: PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 09265 telephone: [49] (030) 8305-0 FAX: [49] (030) 8305-1215 consulate(s) general: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich |
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 Wolfgang Friedrich ISCHINGER
chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 298-8140 FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco |
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 - donor | - | ODA, $5.6 billion (1998) |
Economic aid - recipient | $68.2 million (1997 est.) | - |
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. | Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy- the fifth largest national economy in the world - has become one of the slowest growing economies in the entire euro zone, and a quick turnaround is not in the offing in the foreseeable future. Growth in 2001-03 fell short of 1%. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term process, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $70 billion. Germany's ageing population, combined with high unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions from workers. Structural rigidities in the labor market - including strict regulations on laying off workers and the setting of wages on a national basis - have made unemployment a chronic problem. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could allow Germany to meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration and globalization, particularly if labor market rigidities are further addressed. The government is also starting long-needed structural reforms designed to revitalize the country's economy. In the short run, however, the fall in government revenues and the rise in expenditures have raised the deficit above the EU's 3% debt limit. |
Electricity - consumption | 13.829 billion kWh (2000) | 506.8 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 43.9 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 44 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 14.87 billion kWh (2000) | 544.8 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 95%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 5% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Pico Turquino 2,005 m |
lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m
highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m |
Environment - current issues | air and water pollution; biodiversity loss; deforestation | emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government established a mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power over the next 15 years; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive |
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-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, 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
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
Ethnic groups | mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1% | German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish) |
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) | euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (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 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 Horst KOEHLER (since 1 July 2004)
head of government: Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER (since 27 October 1998); Vice Chancellor Joschka FISCHER (since 17 October 1998) cabinet: Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) appointed by the president on the recommendation of the chancellor elections: president elected for a five-year term by a Federal Convention including all members of the Federal Assembly and an equal number of delegates elected by the state parliaments; election last held 23 May 2004 (next to be held 23 May 2009); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term; election last held 22 September 2002 (next to be held September 2006) election results: Horst KOEHLER elected president; received 604 votes of the Federal Convention against 589 for Gesine SCHWAN; Gerhard SCHROEDER elected chancellor; percent of Federal Assembly vote 50.7% |
Exports | $1.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | 404,300 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles |
Exports - partners | Netherlands 22.4%, Russia 13.3%, Canada 13.3%, Spain 7.3%, China 6.2% (2001) | France 10.6%, US 9.3%, UK 8.4%, Italy 7.4%, Netherlands 6.2%, Austria 5.3%, Belgium 5.1%, Spain 4.9%, Switzerland 4% (2003) |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $25.9 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2.271 trillion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 35% services: 58% |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 31% services: 68% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $27,600 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0% (2002 est.) | -0.1% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 30 N, 80 00 W | 51 00 N, 9 00 E |
Geography - note | largest country in Caribbean and westernmost island of the Greater Antilles | strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea |
Heliports | - | 34 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 60,858 km
paved: 29,820 km (including 638 km of expressway) unpaved: 31,038 km (1997) |
total: 230,735 km
paved: 230,735 km (including 11,515 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.6%
highest 10%: 25.1% (1997) |
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 | source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for and consumer of Southwest Asian heroin, Latin American cocaine, and European-produced synthetic drugs; major financial center |
Imports | $4.8 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | 3.081 million bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum, food, machinery and equipment, chemicals | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals |
Imports - partners | Spain 12.7%, France 6.5%, Canada 5.7%, China 5.3%, Italy 5.0% (2001) | France 9.2%, Netherlands 8.4%, US 7.3%, Italy 6.3%, UK 6%, Belgium 4.9%, China 4.7%, Austria 4% (2003) |
Independence | 20 May 1902 (from Spain 10 December 1898; administered by the US from 1898 to 1902) | 18 January 1871 (German Empire unification); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and later, France) in 1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; unification of West Germany and East Germany took place 3 October 1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights 15 March 1991 |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.2% (2001 est.) | 0.2% (2003 est.) |
Industries | sugar, petroleum, tobacco, chemicals, construction, services, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery, biotechnology | among the world's largest and most technologically advanced producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, food and beverages; shipbuilding; textiles |
Infant mortality rate | 7.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 4.2 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.64 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.1% (2002 est.) | 1.1% (2003 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 | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 870 sq km (1998 est.) | 4,850 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) | Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat) |
Labor force | 4.3 million
note: state sector 78%, non-state sector 22% (1999) (2000 est.) |
42.63 million (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 24%, industry 25%, services 51% (1999) (1999) | agriculture 2.8%, industry 33.4%, services 63.8% (1999) |
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: 3,621 km
border countries: Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech Republic 646 km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 138 km, Netherlands 577 km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 km |
Land use | arable land: 33.04%
permanent crops: 7.61% other: 59.35% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 33.85%
permanent crops: 0.59% other: 65.56% (2001) |
Languages | Spanish | German |
Legal system | based on Spanish and American law, with large elements of Communist legal theory; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 Federal Assembly or Bundestag (603 seats; elected by popular vote under a system combining direct and proportional representation; a party must win 5% of the national vote or three direct mandates to gain representation; members serve four-year terms) and the Federal Council or Bundesrat (69 votes; state governments are directly represented by votes; each has 3 to 6 votes depending on population and are required to vote as a block)
elections: Federal Assembly - last held 22 September 2002 (next to be held NA September 2006); note - there are no elections for the Bundesrat; composition is determined by the composition of the state-level governments; the composition of the Bundesrat has the potential to change any time one of the 16 states holds an election election results: Federal Assembly - percent of vote by party - SPD 38.5%, CDU/CSU 38.5%, Alliance '90/Greens 8.6%, FDP 7.4%, PDS 4%; seats by party - SPD 251, CDU/CSU 248, Alliance '90/Greens 55, FDP 47, PDS 2; Federal Council - current composition - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.6 years
male: 74.2 years female: 79.15 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 78.54 years
male: 75.56 years female: 81.68 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.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% (1997 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, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
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.) |
total: 278 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,721,495 GRT/6,810,631 DWT
by type: cargo 71, chemical tanker 14, container 169, liquefied gas 3, multi-functional large load carrier 1, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 5, rail car carrier 2, roll on/roll off 3, short-sea/passenger 7 foreign-owned: Finland 4, Iceland 1, Netherlands 3 registered in other countries: 2,295 (2004 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 (Heer), Navy (Deutsche Marine; including Naval Air arm), Air Force (Luftwaffe), Joint Support Service, Central Medical Service |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $35.063 billion (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | roughly 4% (FY95 est.) | 1.5% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 3,102,312
females age 15-49: 3,036,549 (2002 est.) |
males age 15-49: 20,468,942 (2004 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: 17,338,435 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 17 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 86,632
females: 79,562 (2002 est.) |
males: 484,837 (2004 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 | Unity Day, 3 October (1990) |
Nationality | noun: Cuban(s)
adjective: Cuban |
noun: German(s)
adjective: German |
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 | coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | -1.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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 | - | condensate 325 km; gas 25,293 km; oil 3,540 km; refined products 3,827 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | only party - Cuban Communist Party or PCC [Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary] | Alliance '90/Greens [Angelika BEER and Reinhard BUETIKOFER]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL]; Christian Social Union or CSU [Edmund STOIBER, chairman]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [Guido WESTERWELLE, chairman]; Party of Democratic Socialism or PDS [Lothar BISKY]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Franz MUENTEFERING] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | business associations, employers' organizations; expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans groups |
Population | 11,224,321 (July 2002 est.) | 82,424,609 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.35% (2002 est.) | 0.02% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cienfuegos, Havana, Manzanillo, Mariel, Matanzas, Nuevitas, Santiago de Cuba | Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cologne, Dresden, Duisburg, Emden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Luebeck, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Rostock, Stuttgart |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 169, FM 55, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | 3.9 million (1997) | - |
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: 46,039 km (20,100 km electrified)
standard gauge: 45,801 km 1.435-m gauge (20,084 km electrified) narrow gauge: 214 km 1.000-m gauge (16 km electrified); 24 km 0.750-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented | Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3% |
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: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 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: Germany has one of the world's most technologically advanced telecommunications systems; as a result of intensive capital expenditures since reunification, the formerly backward system of the eastern part of the country, dating back to World War II, has been modernized and integrated with that of the western part
domestic: Germany is served by an extensive system of automatic telephone exchanges connected by modern networks of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, and a domestic satellite system; cellular telephone service is widely available, expanding rapidly, and includes roaming service to many foreign countries international: country code - 49; Germany's international service is excellent worldwide, consisting of extensive land and undersea cable facilities as well as earth stations in the INMARSAT, INTELSAT, EUTELSAT, and INTERSPUTNIK satellite systems (2001) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 473,031 (2000) | 54.35 million (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,994 (1997) | 64.8 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 58 (1997) | 373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast | lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south |
Total fertility rate | 1.6 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.38 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.1% (2001 est.) | 10.5% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | 240 km | 7,300 km
note: Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North Sea and Black Sea (2004) |