Norfolk Island (2005) | Cuba (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 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: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 19.1% (male 1,117,677/female 1,058,512)
15-64 years: 70.3% (male 4,001,161/female 3,999,303) 65 years and over: 10.6% (male 554,148/female 652,019) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry | sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans; livestock |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 170 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 78
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 37 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 92
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 29 under 914 m: 62 (2006) |
Area | total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 110,860 sq km
land: 110,860 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
Background | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. | The native Amerindian population of Cuba began to decline after the European discovery of the island by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1492 and following its development as a Spanish colony during the next several centuries. Large numbers of African slaves were imported to work the coffee and sugar plantations, and Havana became the launching point for the annual treasure fleets bound for Spain from Mexico and Peru. Spanish rule, marked initially by neglect, became increasingly repressive, provoking an independence movement and occasional rebellions that were harshly suppressed. It was US intervention during the Spanish-American War in 1898 that finally overthrew Spanish rule. The subsequent Treaty of Paris established Cuban independence, which was granted in 1902 after a three-year transition period. Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule has held the regime together since then. Cuba's Communist revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. 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. Cuba portrays its difficulties as the result of the US embargo in place since 1961. Illicit migration to the US - using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, air flights, or via the southwest border - is a continuing problem. The US Coast Guard intercepted 2,712 individuals attempting to cross the Straits of Florida in fiscal year 2005. |
Birth rate | NA | 11.89 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $20 million
expenditures: $20 million, including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00) |
revenues: $22.11 billion
expenditures: $23.65 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Kingston | name: Havana
geographic coordinates: 23 08 N, 82 22 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation | tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October) |
Coastline | 32 km | 3,735 km |
Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 | 24 February 1976; amended July 1992 and June 2002 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
conventional long form: Republic of Cuba
conventional short form: Cuba local long form: Republica de Cuba local short form: Cuba |
Death rate | NA | 7.22 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $12.56 billion (convertible currency); another $15-20 billion owed to Russia (2005 est.) |
Dependency status | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | none; note - the US has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Michael E. PARMLY; address: USINT, Swiss Embassy, Calzada between L and M Streets, Vedado, Havana; telephone: [53] (7) 833-3551 through 3559 (operator assistance required); FAX: [53] (7) 833-3700; protecting power in Cuba is Switzerland |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | none; note - Cuba has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Bernardo GUANCHE Hernandez; address: Cuban Interests Section, Swiss Embassy, 2630 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; telephone: [1] (202) 797-8518; FAX: [1] (202) 797-8521 |
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 | $68.2 million (1997 est.) |
Economy - overview | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. | The government continues to balance the need for economic loosening against a desire for firm political control. It has rolled back limited reforms undertaken in the 1990s to increase enterprise efficiency and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods, and services. The average Cuban's standard of living remains at a lower level than before the downturn of the 1990s, which was caused by the loss of Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies. The government in 2005 strengthened its controls over dollars coming into the economy from tourism, remittances, and trade. External financing has helped growth in the mining, oil, construction, and tourism sectors. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 13.27 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 15.65 billion kWh (2004) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Pico Turquino 2,005 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | air and water pollution; biodiversity loss; deforestation |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: 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, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians | mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1% |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) | Convertible pesos per US dollar - 0.93
note: Cuba has three currencies in circulation: the Cuban peso (CUP), the convertible peso (CUC), and the US dollar (USD), although the dollar is being withdrawn from circulation; in April 2005 the official exchange rate changed from $1 per CUC to $1.08 per CUC (0.93 CUC per $1), both for individuals and enterprises; individuals can buy 24 Cuban pesos (CUP) for each CUC sold, or sell 25 Cuban pesos for each CUC bought; enterprises, however, must exchange CUP and CUC at a 1:1 ratio. |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003)
head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 20 Ocotber 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - 17.2% |
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) cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the president of the Council of State and appointed by the National Assembly or the 31-member Council of State, elected by the Assembly to act on its behalf when it is not in session elections: president and vice presidents elected by the National Assembly for a term of five years; election last held 6 March 2003 (next to be held in 2008) election results: Fidel CASTRO Ruz reelected president; percent of legislative vote - 100%; Raul CASTRO Ruz elected vice president; percent of legislative vote - 100% |
Exports | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY99/00) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados | sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee |
Exports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | Netherlands 25.4%, Canada 20.7%, China 9.8%, Spain 6.8% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band | five equal horizontal bands of blue (top, center, and bottom) alternating with white; a red equilateral triangle based on the hoist side bears a white, five-pointed star in the center |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture: 5.5%
industry: 26.1% services: 68.4% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 8% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 21 30 N, 80 00 W |
Geography - note | most of the 32-km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated | largest country in Caribbean and westernmost island of the Greater Antilles |
Highways | total: 80 km
paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
- |
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 US and European-bound drugs; established the death penalty for certain drug-related crimes in 1999 |
Imports | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | NA | petroleum, food, machinery and equipment, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | China 14.9%, Spain 13.9%, Canada 8.6%, US 8.5%, Germany 7.4%, Italy 5.7%, Mexico 5.2%, Japan 4.1% (2005) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 20 May 1902 (from Spain 10 December 1898; administered by the US from 1898 to 1902) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 5.1% (2005 est.) |
Industries | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete | sugar, petroleum, tobacco, construction, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery, pharmaceuticals |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 6.22 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.99 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 7% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | ACP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS (excluded from formal participation since 1962), OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | NA | 8,700 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | People's Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo Popular (president, vice president, and other judges are elected by the National Assembly) |
Labor force | 1,345 | 4.6 million
note: state sector 78%, non-state sector 22% (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism 90%, subsistence agriculture 10% | agriculture: 21.2%
industry: 14.4% services: 64.4% (2004) |
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 remains part of Cuba |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land: 27.63%
permanent crops: 6.54% other: 65.83% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian | Spanish |
Legal system | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law | based on Spanish and American law, with large elements of Communist legal theory; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 77.41 years
male: 75.11 years female: 79.85 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 97.2% female: 96.9% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, 150 km south of Key West, Florida |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 11 ships (1000 GRT or over) 33,932 GRT/48,791 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 2, chemical tanker 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Spain 1) registered in other countries: 17 (Bahamas 1, Cyprus 2, Netherlands Antilles 1, Panama 11, Spain 1, unknown 1) (2006) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia | 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): Revolutionary Army (ER), Revolutionary Navy (Marina de Guerra Revolucionaria, MGR), Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force (DAAFAR), Youth Labor Army (EJT) (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $694 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.8% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) | 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; Rebellion Day, 26 July (1953) |
Nationality | noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
noun: Cuban(s)
adjective: Cuban |
Natural hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) | the east coast is subject to hurricanes from August to November (in general, the country averages about one hurricane every other year); droughts are common |
Natural resources | fish | cobalt, nickel, iron ore, chromium, copper, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land |
Net migration rate | NA | -1.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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; Cubans also use non-maritime routes to enter the US including direct flights to Miami and over-land via the southwest border |
Pipelines | - | gas 49 km; oil 230 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | none | only party - Cuban Communist Party or PCC [Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 1,828 (July 2005 est.) | 11,382,820 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.01% (2005 est.) | 0.31% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 169, FM 55, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 4,226 km
standard gauge: 4,226 km 1.435-m gauge (140 km electrified) note: an additional 7,742 km of track is used by sugar plantations; about 65% of this track is standard gauge; the rest is narrow gauge (2005) |
Religions | Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.3%, none 18.1% (2001 census) | nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented |
Sex ratio | NA | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 16 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station |
general assessment: greater investment beginning in 1994 and the establishment of a new Ministry of Information Technology and Communications in 2000 has resulted in improvements in the system; wireless service is expensive and remains restricted to foreigners and regime elites, many Cubans procure wireless service illegally with the help of foreigners
domestic: national fiber-optic system under development; 85% of switches digitized by end of 2004; telephone line density remains low, at less than 10 per 100 inhabitants; domestic cellular service expanding international: country code - 53; fiber-optic cable laid to but not linked to US network; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) | 849,900 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002) | 134,500 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (2005) | 58 (1997) |
Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast |
Total fertility rate | NA | 1.66 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0% | 1.9% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | - | 240 km (2005) |