Uganda (2002) | Cuba (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 45 districts; Adjumani, Apac, Arua, Bugiri, Bundibugyo, Bushenyi, Busia, Gulu, Hoima, Iganga, Jinja, Kabale, Kabarole, Kalangala, Kampala, Kamuli, Kapchorwa, Kasese, Katakwi, Kibale, Kiboga, Kisoro, Kitgum, Kotido, Kumi, Lira, Luwero, Masaka, Masindi, Mbale, Mbarara, Moroto, Moyo, Mpigi, Mubende, Mukono, Nakasongola, Nebbi, Ntungamo, Pallisa, Rakai, Rukungiri, Sembabule, Soroti, Tororo
note: there may be eleven more districts: Kaberamaido, Kamwenge, Kanungu, Kayunga, Kyenjojo, Mayngc, Nakapiripiti, Pader, Sironko, Wakiso, Yumbe |
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: 50.9% (male 6,314,371; female 6,265,681)
15-64 years: 47% (male 5,803,430; female 5,789,713) 65 years and over: 2.1% (male 247,798; female 278,080) (2002 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 | coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), potatoes, corn, millet, pulses; beef, goat meat, milk, poultry, cut flowers | sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans; livestock |
Airports | 27 (2001) | 171 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
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: 23
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 7 (2002) |
total:
94 914 to 1,523 m: 31 under 914 m: 63 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 236,040 sq km
land: 199,710 sq km water: 36,330 sq km |
total:
110,860 sq km land: 110,860 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oregon | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
Background | Uganda achieved independence from the UK in 1962. The dictatorial regime of Idi AMIN (1971-79) was responsible for the deaths of some 300,000 opponents; guerrilla war and human rights abuses under Milton OBOTE (1980-85) claimed another 100,000 lives. During the 1990s the government promulgated non-party presidential and legislative elections. | 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 | 47.15 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 12.36 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $959 million
expenditures: $1.04 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
revenues:
$13.5 billion expenditures: $14.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Kampala | Havana |
Climate | tropical; generally rainy with two dry seasons (December to February, June to August); semiarid in northeast | tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 3,735 km |
Constitution | 8 October 1995; adopted by the interim, 284-member Constituent Assembly, charged with debating the draft constitution that had been proposed in May 1993; the Constituent Assembly was dissolved upon the promulgation of the constitution in October 1995 | 24 February 1976, amended July 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Uganda
conventional short form: Uganda |
conventional long form:
Republic of Cuba conventional short form: Cuba local long form: Republica de Cuba local short form: Cuba |
Currency | Ugandan shilling (UGX) | Cuban peso (CUP) |
Death rate | 17.53 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 7.33 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.4 billion (2001 est.) | $11.1 billion (convertible currency, 1999); another $15 billion -$20 billion owed to Russia (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Jimmy KOLKER
embassy: 1577 Ggaba Rd., Kampala mailing address: P. O. Box 7007, Kampala telephone: [256] (41) 234-142 FAX: [256] (41) 258-451 |
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 Edith Grace SSEMPALA
chancery: 5911 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-7100 through 7102, 0416 FAX: [1] (202) 726-1727 |
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 | Tutsi, Hutu, and other ethnic groups, political rebels, and various government forces continue fighting in Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda | 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 | $1.4 billion (2000) (2000) | $68.2 million (1997 est.) |
Economy - overview | Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, and sizable mineral deposits of copper and cobalt. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the work force. Coffee is the major export crop and accounts for the bulk of export revenues. Since 1986, the government - with the support of foreign countries and international agencies - has acted to rehabilitate and stabilize the economy by undertaking currency reform, raising producer prices on export crops, increasing prices of petroleum products, and improving civil service wages. The policy changes are especially aimed at dampening inflation and boosting production and export earnings. During 1990-2001, the economy turned in a solid performance based on continued investment in the rehabilitation of infrastructure, improved incentives for production and exports, reduced inflation, gradually improved domestic security, and the return of exiled Indian-Ugandan entrepreneurs. Ongoing Ugandan involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, corruption within the government, and slippage in the government's determination to press reforms raise doubts about the continuation of strong growth. In 2000, Uganda qualified for enhanced Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief worth $1.3 billion and Paris Club debt relief worth $145 million. These amounts combined with the original HIPC debt relief added up to about $2 billion. Growth for 2001 was held back because of a continued decline in the price of coffee, Uganda's principal export. | 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 | 1.314 billion kWh (2000) | 13.353 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 174 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 1 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.599 billion kWh (2000) | 14.358 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 1%
hydro: 99% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
94.2% hydro: 0.7% nuclear: 0% other: 5.1% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lake Albert 621 m
highest point: Margherita Peak on Mount Stanley 5,110 m |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Pico Turquino 2,005 m |
Environment - current issues | draining of wetlands for agricultural use; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria; poaching is widespread | pollution of Havana Bay; overhunting threatens wildlife populations; deforestation |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
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 | Baganda 17%, Ankole 8%, Basoga 8%, Iteso 8%, Bakiga 7%, Langi 6%, Rwanda 6%, Bagisu 5%, Acholi 4%, Lugbara 4%, Batoro 3%, Bunyoro 3%, Alur 2%, Bagwere 2%, Bakonjo 2%, Jopodhola 2%, Karamojong 2%, Rundi 2%, non-African (European, Asian, Arab) 1%, other 8% | mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1% |
Exchange rates | Ugandan shillings per US dollar - 1,738.7 (January 2002), 1,755.7 (2001), 1,644.5 (2000), 1,454.8 (1999), 1,240.2 (1998), 1,083.0 (1997) | 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 Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power 29 January 1986); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power 29 January 1986); Prime Minister Apollo NSIBAMBI (since 5 April 1999); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; the prime minister assists the president in the supervision of the cabinet cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among elected legislators elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 12 March 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); note - first popular election for president since independence in 1962 was held in 1996; prime minister appointed by the president election results: Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI elected president; percent of vote - Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI 69.3%, Kizza BESIGYE 27.8% |
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 | $367 million f.o.b. (2001) | $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, fish and fish products, tea; gold, cotton, flowers, horticultural products | sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee |
Exports - partners | Germany 12.0%, Netherlands 10.2%, US 8.7%, Spain 8.0%, Belgium 7.1% (2000) | Russia 23%, Netherlands 23%, Canada 13% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | six equal horizontal bands of black (top), yellow, red, black, yellow, and red; a white disk is superimposed at the center and depicts a red-crested crane (the national symbol) facing the hoist side | 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 - $29 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $19.2 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 44%
industry: 18% services: 38% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
7% industry: 37% services: 56% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.1% (2001 est.) | 5.6% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 00 N, 32 00 E | 21 30 N, 80 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; fertile, well-watered country with many lakes and rivers | largest country in Caribbean |
Highways | total: 27,000 km
paved: 1,800 km unpaved: 25,200 km (of which about 4,200 km are all-weather roads) (1990) |
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%: 4%
highest 10%: 21% (2000) |
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 | $1.26 billion f.o.b. (2001) | $3.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | capital equipment, vehicles, petroleum, medical supplies; cereals | petroleum, food, machinery, chemicals, semifinished goods, transport equipment, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Kenya 43.1%, US 7.0%, India 6.8%, South Africa 6.1%, Japan 3.4% (2000) | Spain 18%, Venezuela 13%, Canada 8% (1999) |
Independence | 9 October 1962 (from UK) | 20 May 1902 (from US) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7% (1999) (1999) | 5% (2000 est.) |
Industries | sugar, brewing, tobacco, cotton textiles, cement | sugar, petroleum, tobacco, chemicals, construction, services, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery |
Infant mortality rate | 89.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 7.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.5% (2001 est.) | 0.3% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, EADB, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | 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) | 2 (2000) | 4 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 90 sq km (1998 est.) | 9,100 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal (judges are appointed by the president and approved by the legislature); High Court (judges are appointed by the president) | People's Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo Popular (president, vice president, and other judges are elected by the National Assembly) |
Labor force | 12 million (2001 est.) | 4.3 million (2000 est.)
note: state sector 75%, non-state sector 25% (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 82%, industry 5%, services 13% (1999 est.) | agriculture 25%, industry 24%, services 51% (1998) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,698 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 765 km, Kenya 933 km, Rwanda 169 km, Sudan 435 km, Tanzania 396 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: 25.34%
permanent crops: 8.77% other: 65.89% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
24% permanent crops: 7% permanent pastures: 27% forests and woodland: 24% other: 18% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English (official national language, taught in grade schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages, preferred for native language publications in the capital and may be taught in school), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic | Spanish |
Legal system | in 1995, the government restored the legal system to one based on English common law and customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on Spanish and American law, with large elements of Communist legal theory; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (303 members - 214 directly elected by popular vote, 81 nominated by legally established special interest groups [women 56, army 10, disabled 5, youth 5, labor 5], 8 ex officio members; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26 June 2001 (next to be held May or June 2006); election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; note - election campaigning by party was not permitted |
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: 43.81 years
male: 42.97 years female: 44.67 years (2002 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: 62.7% male: 74% female: 54% (2000 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 95.7% male: 96.2% female: 95.3% (1995 est.) |
Location | Eastern Africa, west of Kenya | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Florida |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,091 GRT/8,229 DWT
ships by type: roll on/roll off 3 note: these ships are in cargo and passenger (ferry) service on Uganda's inland waterways (2002 est.) |
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 | Ugandan Peoples' Defense Force (including Army, Marine unit, Air Wing) | 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 | $121.3 million (FY01) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.1% (FY01) | roughly 4% (FY95 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 5,302,787 (2002 est.) | 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: 2,879,083 (2002 est.) | 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, 9 October (1962) | 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: Ugandan(s)
adjective: Ugandan |
noun:
Cuban(s) adjective: Cuban |
Natural hazards | NA | 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 | copper, cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, arable land | cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, manganese, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land |
Net migration rate | -0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: according to the UNHCR, by the end of 2001, Uganda was host to 178,815 refugees from a number of neighboring countries, including: Sudan 155,996, Rwanda 14,375, and Democratic Republic of the Congo 7,459 (2002 est.) |
-1.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | only one political organization, the National Resistance Movement or NRM [President MUSEVENI, chairman] is allowed to operate unfettered; note - the president maintains that the NRM is not a political party, but a movement which claims the loyalty of all Ugandans
note: the new constitution requires the suspension of political parties while the Movement organization is in governance; of the political parties that exist but are prohibited from sponsoring candidates, the most important are the Ugandan People's Congress or UPC [Milton OBOTE]; Democratic Party or DP [Paul SSEMOGERERE]; Conservative Party or CP [Joshua S. MAYANJA-NKANGI]; Justice Forum [Muhammad Kibirige MAYANJA]; and National Democrats Forum [Chapaa KARUHANGA] |
only party - Cuban Communist Party or PCC [Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 24,699,073
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.) |
11,184,023 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 35% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.94% (2002 est.) | 0.37% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Entebbe, Jinja, Port Bell | Cienfuegos, Havana, Manzanillo, Mariel, Matanzas, Nuevitas, Santiago de Cuba |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 33, shortwave 2 (2001) | AM 169, FM 55, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 5 million (2001) | 3.9 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 1,241 km
narrow gauge: 1,241 km 1.000-m gauge note: a program to rehabilitate the railroad is underway (2001) |
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 | Roman Catholic 33%, Protestant 33%, Muslim 16%, indigenous beliefs 18% | nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2002 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 | 18 years of age; universal | 16 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: seriously inadequate; two cellular systems have been introduced, but a sharp increase in the number of main lines is essential; e-mail and Internet services are available
domestic: intercity traffic by wire, microwave radio relay, and radiotelephone communication stations, fixed and mobile cellular systems for short range traffic international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat; analog links to Kenya and Tanzania |
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 | 50,074; however, 80,868 main lines have been installed (1998) | 473,031 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 9,000 (1998) | 2,994 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 8 (plus one low-power repeater) (2001) | 58 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly plateau with rim of mountains | mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast |
Total fertility rate | 6.8 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.6 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 5.5% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga, Lake George, Lake Edward, Victoria Nile, Albert Nile | 240 km |