Maldives (2005) | Cuba (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 19 atolls (atholhu, singular and plural) and 1 other first-order administrative division*; Alifu, Baa, Dhaalu, Faafu, Gaafu Alifu, Gaafu Dhaalu, Gnaviyani, Haa Alifu, Haa Dhaalu, Kaafu, Laamu, Lhaviyani, Maale*, Meemu, Noonu, Raa, Seenu, Shaviyani, Thaa, Vaavu | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 43.9% (male 78,794/female 74,505)
15-64 years: 53% (male 94,488/female 90,624) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 5,339/female 5,356) (2005 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, corn, sweet potatoes; fish | sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans; livestock |
Airports | 5 (2004 est.) | 171 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total:
94 914 to 1,523 m: 31 under 914 m: 63 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 300 sq km
land: 300 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
110,860 sq km land: 110,860 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 1.7 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
Background | The Maldives was long a sultanate, first under Dutch and then under British protection. It became a republic in 1968, three years after independence. Since 1978, President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM - currently in his sixth term in office - has dominated the islands' political scene. Following riots in the capital Male in August 2004, the president and his government have pledged to embark upon democratic reforms, including a more representative political system and expanded political freedoms. Tourism and fishing are being developed on the archipelago. | 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. |
Birth rate | 35.43 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 12.36 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $224 million (excluding foreign grants)
expenditures: $282 million, including capital expenditures of $80 million (2002 est.) |
revenues:
$13.5 billion expenditures: $14.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Male | Havana |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August) | tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October) |
Coastline | 644 km | 3,735 km |
Constitution | adopted 1 January 1998 | 24 February 1976, amended July 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Maldives
conventional short form: Maldives local long form: Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa local short form: Dhivehi Raajje |
conventional long form:
Republic of Cuba conventional short form: Cuba local long form: Republica de Cuba local short form: Cuba |
Currency | - | Cuban peso (CUP) |
Death rate | 7.24 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 7.33 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $281 million (2003 est.) | $11.1 billion (convertible currency, 1999); another $15 billion -$20 billion owed to Russia (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Maldives; the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka is accredited to Maldives and makes periodic visits there | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Mohamed LATHEEF
chancery: 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400E, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 599-6195 |
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 |
Disputes - international | none | US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased to US and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease |
Economic aid - recipient | NA (1995) | $68.2 million (1997 est.) |
Economy - overview | Tourism, Maldives' largest industry, accounts for 20% of GDP and more than 60% of the Maldives' foreign exchange receipts. Over 90% of government tax revenue comes from import duties and tourism-related taxes. Fishing is a second leading sector. The Maldivian Government began an economic reform program in 1989 initially by lifting import quotas and opening some exports to the private sector. Subsequently, it has liberalized regulations to allow more foreign investment. Agriculture and manufacturing continue to play a lesser role in the economy, constrained by the limited availability of cultivable land and the shortage of domestic labor. Most staple foods must be imported. Industry, which consists mainly of garment production, boat building, and handicrafts, accounts for about 18% of GDP. Maldivian authorities worry about the impact of erosion and possible global warming on their low-lying country; 80% of the area is one meter or less above sea level. In late December 2004, a major tsunami left more than 100 dead, 12,000 displaced, and property damage exceeding $300 million. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 115.7 million kWh (2002) | 13.353 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 124.4 million kWh (2002) | 14.358 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
94.2% hydro: 0.7% nuclear: 0% other: 5.1% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Wilingili island in the Addu Atoll 2.4 m |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Pico Turquino 2,005 m |
Environment - current issues | depletion of freshwater aquifers threatens water supplies; global warming and sea level rise; coral reef bleaching | pollution of Havana Bay; overhunting threatens wildlife populations; deforestation |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | South Indians, Sinhalese, Arabs | mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1% |
Exchange rates | rufiyaa per US dollar - 12.8 (2004), 12.8 (2003), 12.8 (2002), 12.24 (2001), 11.77 (2000) | 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) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM (since 11 November 1978); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM (since 11 November 1978); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president nominated by the Majlis and then the nomination must be ratified by a national referendum (at least a 51% approval margin is required); president elected for a five-year term; election last held 17 October 2003 (next to be held NA 2008) election results: President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM reelected in referendum held 17 October 2003; percent of popular vote - Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM 90.3% |
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% |
Exports | NA | $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | fish, clothing | sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee |
Exports - partners | US 26.5%, Thailand 23.5%, Sri Lanka 12.3%, Japan 11.7%, UK 9.8%, Germany 4.9% (2004) | Russia 23%, Netherlands 23%, Canada 13% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a large green rectangle in the center bearing a vertical white crescent; the closed side of the crescent is on the hoist side of the flag | 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 |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $19.2 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 20%
industry: 18% services: 62% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
7% industry: 37% services: 56% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,900 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.3% (2002 est.) | 5.6% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 3 15 N, 73 00 E | 21 30 N, 80 00 W |
Geography - note | 1,190 coral islands grouped into 26 atolls (200 inhabited islands, plus 80 islands with tourist resorts); archipelago with strategic location astride and along major sea lanes in Indian Ocean | largest country in Caribbean |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
total:
60,858 km paved: 29,820 km (including 638 km of expressway) unpaved: 31,038 km (1997) |
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 | NA | $3.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, ships, foodstuffs, textiles, clothing, intermediate and capital goods | petroleum, food, machinery, chemicals, semifinished goods, transport equipment, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Singapore 24.9%, Sri Lanka 10.6%, UAE 10.3%, India 10.2%, Malaysia 7.6%, Bahrain 5.4% (2004) | Spain 18%, Venezuela 13%, Canada 8% (1999) |
Independence | 26 July 1965 (from UK) | 20 May 1902 (from US) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.4% (1996 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
Industries | fish processing, tourism, shipping, boat building, coconut processing, garments, woven mats, rope, handicrafts, coral and sand mining | sugar, petroleum, tobacco, chemicals, construction, services, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery |
Infant mortality rate | total: 56.52 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 55.63 deaths/1,000 live births female: 57.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
7.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (2002 est.) | 0.3% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 4 (2001) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 9,100 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court | People's Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo Popular (president, vice president, and other judges are elected by the National Assembly) |
Labor force | 88,000 (2000) | 4.3 million (2000 est.)
note: state sector 75%, non-state sector 25% (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 22%, industry 18%, services 60% (1995) | agriculture 25%, industry 24%, services 51% (1998) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 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 |
Land use | arable land: 13.33%
permanent crops: 16.67% other: 70% (2001) |
arable land:
24% permanent crops: 7% permanent pastures: 27% forests and woodland: 24% other: 18% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Maldivian Dhivehi (dialect of Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English spoken by most government officials | Spanish |
Legal system | based on Islamic law with admixtures of English common law primarily in commercial matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Spanish and American law, with large elements of Communist legal theory; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral People's Council or Majlis (50 seats; 42 elected by popular vote, 8 appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 22 January 2005 (next to be held NA 2010) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 50 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 64.06 years
male: 62.76 years female: 65.42 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
76.41 years male: 74.02 years female: 78.94 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.2% male: 97.1% female: 97.3% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 95.7% male: 96.2% female: 95.3% (1995 est.) |
Location | Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Florida |
Map references | Asia | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 16 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 57,118 GRT/72,831 DWT
by type: cargo 12, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1 registered in other countries: 1 (2005) |
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.) |
Military - note | - | Moscow, for decades the key military supporter and supplier of Cuba, cut off almost all military aid by 1993 |
Military branches | National Security Service includes Security Branch (ground forces), Air Element, Coast Guard | 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 | $41.1 million (2004) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.5% (2004) | 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, 26 July (1965) | 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 |
Nationality | noun: Maldivian(s)
adjective: Maldivian |
noun:
Cuban(s) adjective: Cuban |
Natural hazards | low level of islands makes them very sensitive to sea level rise | 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 |
Natural resources | fish | cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, manganese, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -1.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | although political parties are not banned, none exist | only party - Cuban Communist Party or PCC [Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 349,106 (July 2005 est.) | 11,184,023 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.82% (2005 est.) | 0.37% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Male | Cienfuegos, Havana, Manzanillo, Mariel, Matanzas, Nuevitas, Santiago de Cuba |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 169, FM 55, shortwave 1 (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 | Sunni Muslim | nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 16 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: minimal domestic and international facilities
domestic: interatoll communication through microwave links; all inhabited islands are connected with telephone and fax service international: country code - 960; satellite earth station - 3 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 28,700 (2002) | 473,031 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 41,900 (2002) | 2,994 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 58 (1997) |
Terrain | flat, with white sandy beaches | mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast |
Total fertility rate | 5.02 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.6 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NEGL% (2003 est.) | 5.5% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | 240 km |