Cuba (2002) | Liberia (2002) | |
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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 | 15 counties; Bomi, Bong, Gparbolu, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland, Montserrado, Nimba, River Cess, River Gee, Sinoe |
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: 43.3% (male 714,563; female 709,582)
15-64 years: 53.2% (male 854,324; female 894,753) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 57,925; female 57,051) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans; livestock | rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, sugarcane, bananas; sheep, goats; timber |
Airports | 172 (2001) | 47 (2001) |
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: 2
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 94
914 to 1,523 m: 30 under 914 m: 64 (2002) |
total: 45
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 34 (2002) |
Area | total: 110,860 sq km
land: 110,860 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 111,370 sq km
land: 96,320 sq km water: 15,050 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly larger than Tennessee |
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. | Seven years of civil strife were brought to a close in 1996 when free and open presidential and legislative elections were held. President TAYLOR now holds strong executive power with no real political opposition. The years of fighting coupled with the flight of most businesses have disrupted formal economic activity. A still unsettled domestic security situation has slowed the process of rebuilding the social and economic structure of this war-torn country. In 2001, the UN imposed sanctions on Liberian diamonds along with an army embargo and a travel ban on government officials for Liberia's support of the rebel insurgency in Sierra Leone. |
Birth rate | 12.08 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 45.95 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $14.9 billion
expenditures: $15.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) (2000 est.) |
revenues: $85.4 million
expenditures: $90.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Havana | Monrovia |
Climate | tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October) | tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers |
Coastline | 3,735 km | 579 km |
Constitution | 24 February 1976, amended July 1992 | 6 January 1986 |
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: Republic of Liberia
conventional short form: Liberia |
Currency | Cuban peso (CUP) | Liberian dollar (LRD) |
Death rate | 7.35 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 16.05 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $12.3 billion (convertible currency, 2000 est.); another $15 billion -$20 billion owed to Russia (2001) (2002 est.) | $2.1 billion (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 John William BLANEY III
embassy: 111 United Nations Drive, P. O. Box 10-0098, Mamba Point, 1000 Monrovia, 10 Liberia mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [231] 226-370 through 226-380 FAX: [231] 226-148 |
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 William V. S. BULL
chancery: 5201 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 723-0437 FAX: [1] (202) 723-0436 consulate(s) general: 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 | rebels and refugees contribute to border instabilities with Sierra Leone |
Economic aid - recipient | $68.2 million (1997 est.) | $94 million (1999) |
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. | A civil war in 1989-96 destroyed much of Liberia's economy, especially the infrastructure in and around Monrovia. Many businessmen fled the country, taking capital and expertise with them. Some returned; many will not return. Richly endowed with water, mineral resources, forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture, Liberia had been a producer and exporter of basic products, while local manufacturing, mainly foreign owned, had been small in scope. The democratically elected government, installed in August 1997, inherited massive international debts and currently relies on revenues from its maritime registry and timber industry to provide the bulk of its foreign exchange earnings. The restoration of the infrastructure and the raising of incomes in this ravaged economy depend on the implementation of sound macro- and micro-economic policies of the new government, including the encouragement of foreign investment. Recent growth has been from a low base, and continued growth will require major policy successes and containment of armed rebellion. |
Electricity - consumption | 13.829 billion kWh (2000) | 418.5 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 14.87 billion kWh (2000) | 450 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 95%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 5% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Pico Turquino 2,005 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Wuteve 1,380 m |
Environment - current issues | air and water pollution; biodiversity loss; deforestation | tropical rain forest deforestation; soil erosion; loss of biodiversity; pollution of coastal waters from oil residue and raw sewage |
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: Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1% | indigenous African tribes 95% (including Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, Dei, Bella, Mandingo, and Mende), Americo-Liberians 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the US who had been slaves), Congo People 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean who had been slaves) |
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) | Liberian dollars per US dollar - 46.0400 (December 2001), 48.5833 (2001), 40.9525 (2000), 41.9025 (1999), 41.5075 (1998), 1.0000 (officially fixed rate 1940-97); market exchange rate: Liberian dollars per US dollar - 40 (December 1998), 50 (October 1995)
note: until December 1997, rates were based on a fixed relationship with the US dollar; beginning in January 1998, rates are market determined |
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 Charles Ghankay TAYLOR (since 2 August 1997); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Charles Ghankay TAYLOR (since 2 August 1997); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (renewable); election last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held NA October 2003) election results: Charles Ghankay TAYLOR elected president; percent of vote - Charles Ghankay TAYLOR (NPP) 75.3%, Ellen Johnson SIRLEAF (UP) 9.6%, Alhaji KROMAH (ALCOP) 4%, other 11.1% |
Exports | $1.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | $55 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee | rubber, timber, iron, diamonds, cocoa, coffee |
Exports - partners | Netherlands 22.4%, Russia 13.3%, Canada 13.3%, Spain 7.3%, China 6.2% (2001) | Belgium 38.5%, Germany 17.6%, Italy 6.0%, US 5.8% (2000) |
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 | 11 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a white five-pointed star on a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner; the design was based on the US flag |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $25.9 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3.6 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 35% services: 58% |
agriculture: 60%
industry: 10% services: 30% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0% (2002 est.) | 5% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 30 N, 80 00 W | 6 30 N, 9 30 W |
Geography - note | largest country in Caribbean and westernmost island of the Greater Antilles | facing the Atlantic Ocean, the coastline is characterized by lagoons, mangrove swamps, and river-deposited sandbars; the inland grassy plateau supports limited agriculture |
Highways | total: 60,858 km
paved: 29,820 km (including 638 km of expressway) unpaved: 31,038 km (1997) |
total: 10,600 km
paved: 657 km unpaved: 9,943 km note: there is major deterioration on all highways due to heavy rains and lack of maintenance (1996 est.) |
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 and heroin bound for the US and Europe; established the death penalty for certain drug-related crimes in 1999 | transshipment point for Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine for the European and US markets; corruption, criminal activity, arms-dealing, and diamond trade provide significant potential for money laundering, but the lack of well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a major money-laundering center |
Imports | $4.8 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $170 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum, food, machinery and equipment, chemicals | fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods; rice and other foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Spain 12.7%, France 6.5%, Canada 5.7%, China 5.3%, Italy 5.0% (2001) | France 29.1%, South Korea 20.6%, Japan 15.8%, Singapore 8.4% (2000) |
Independence | 20 May 1902 (from Spain 10 December 1898; administered by the US from 1898 to 1902) | 26 July 1847 |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.2% (2001 est.) | NA |
Industries | sugar, petroleum, tobacco, chemicals, construction, services, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery, biotechnology | rubber processing, palm oil processing, timber, diamonds |
Infant mortality rate | 7.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 130.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.1% (2002 est.) | 8% (2001 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 | ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2001) | 2 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 870 sq km (1998 est.) | 30 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 |
Labor force | 4.3 million
note: state sector 78%, non-state sector 22% (1999) (2000 est.) |
- |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 24%, industry 25%, services 51% (1999) (1999) | agriculture 70%, industry 8%, services 22% (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: 1,585 km
border countries: Guinea 563 km, Cote d'Ivoire 716 km, Sierra Leone 306 km |
Land use | arable land: 33.04%
permanent crops: 7.61% other: 59.35% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 1.97%
permanent crops: 2.08% other: 95.95% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish | English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence |
Legal system | based on Spanish and American law, with large elements of Communist legal theory; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | dual system of statutory law based on Anglo-American common law for the modern sector and customary law based on unwritten tribal practices for indigenous sector |
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 National Assembly consists of the Senate (26 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve nine-year terms) and the House of Representatives (64 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held NA 2006); House of Representatives - last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 21, UP 3, ALCOP 2; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 49, UP 7, ALCOP 3, Alliance of Political Parties 2, UPP 2, LPP 1; note - the Alliance of Political Parties was a coalition of the LAP and the Liberia Unification Party or LUP |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.6 years
male: 74.2 years female: 79.15 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 51.8 years
male: 50.33 years female: 53.33 years (2002 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: 38.3% male: 53.9% female: 22.4% (1995 est.) note: these figures are increasing because of the improving school system |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, 150 km south of Key West, Florida | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 200 NM |
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: 1,513 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 51,912,244 GRT/79,297,046 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 3, bulk 313, cargo 89, chemical tanker 167, combination bulk 16, combination ore/oil 32, container 318, liquefied gas 99, multi-functional large-load carrier 4, passenger 23, petroleum tanker 302, refrigerated cargo 69, roll on/roll off 20, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 13, vehicle carrier 42 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Argentina 9, Australia 2, Austria 15, Belgium 9, Brazil 5, Canada 4, Cayman Islands 1, Chile 7, China 39, Croatia 11, Denmark 4, Ecuador 1, Estonia 1, Germany 437, Greece 154, Hong Kong 69, India 5, Indonesia 1, Israel 1, Italy 5, Japan 90, Latvia 20, Man, Isle of 5, Monaco 56, Netherlands 12, New Zealand 1, Nigeria 1, Norway 103, Pakistan 1, Portugal 5, Russia 66, Saudi Arabia 21, Singapore 20, Slovenia 1, South Africa 1, South Korea 10, Spain 2, Sweden 9, Switzerland 17, Taiwan 29, Turkey 3, Ukraine 4, United Arab Emirates 12, United Kingdom 39, United States 113, Uruguay 3, Vietnam 1 (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, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $7.8 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | roughly 4% (FY95 est.) | 1.3% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 3,102,312
females age 15-49: 3,036,549 (2002 est.) |
males age 15-49: 729,469 (2002 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: 393,028 (2002 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.) |
- |
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 | Independence Day, 26 July (1847) |
Nationality | noun: Cuban(s)
adjective: Cuban |
noun: Liberian(s)
adjective: Liberian |
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 | dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to March) |
Natural resources | cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, manganese, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land | iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -1.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -10.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: by the end of 1999, all Liberian refugees who had fled the domestic strife were assumed to have returned (2002 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 | - |
Political parties and leaders | only party - Cuban Communist Party or PCC [Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary] | All Liberia Coalition Party or ALCOP [Peter KERBAY]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [George BORWAH]; Liberian Action Party or LAP [C. Gyude BRYANT]; Liberian National Union or LINU [Victor MOMOH]; Liberian People's Party or LPP [Koffa NAGBE]; National Democratic Party of Liberia or NDPL [Isaac D. DIKENAH]; National Patriotic Party or NPP [Cyril ALLEN] - governing party; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Weah A. WEAH]; Reformation Alliance Party or RAP [James THOMAS]; True Whig Party or TWP [Rudolph SHERMAN]; United People's Party or UPP [Wesley JOHNSON]; Unity Party or UP [Charles Clarke] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 11,224,321 (July 2002 est.) | 3,288,198 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 80% |
Population growth rate | 0.35% (2002 est.) | 1.91% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cienfuegos, Havana, Manzanillo, Mariel, Matanzas, Nuevitas, Santiago de Cuba | Buchanan, Greenville, Harper, Monrovia |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 169, FM 55, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 0, FM 7, shortwave 2 (2001) |
Radios | 3.9 million (1997) | 790,000 (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: 490 km (328 km single-track)
standard gauge: 345 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 145 km 1.067-m gauge note: in 1989, Liberia had three rail systems owned and operated by foreign steel and financial interests in conjunction with the Liberian Government; one of these, the Lamco Railroad, closed in 1989 after iron ore production ceased; the other two were shut down by the civil war; large sections of the rail lines have been dismantled; approximately 60 km of railroad track was exported for scrap (2001) |
Religions | nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented | indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20% |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 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: telephone and telegraph service via microwave radio relay network; main center is Monrovia
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 473,031 (2000) | 6,700 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,994 (1997) | 0 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 58 (1997) | 1 (plus four low-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast | mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and low mountains in northeast |
Total fertility rate | 1.6 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 6.29 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.1% (2001 est.) | 70% |
Waterways | 240 km | none |