Contents

Draft:Cuba

Cuba
Country



Native name
República de Cuba




Capital
Havana
Largest city
Havana



Official languages
Spanish


Demonym
Cuban




Legislature
National Assembly of People's Power








Currency
Cuban peso(CUP)



Calling code
+53








Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba (Spanish: República de Cuba), is an island country in the northern Caribbean Sea. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud and numerous smaller islands and cays. Cuba lies south of the United States and the Bahamas, west of Haiti, north of Jamaica, and east of Mexico. With a total area of about 109,884 square kilometres, it is the largest island country in the Caribbean by land area.[1]

Havana is the capital, largest city and main commercial centre. Spanish is the official language under the Constitution of Cuba.[2] Cuba had an officially reported effective population of 9,434,593 at the end of 2025, following several years of substantial population decline associated with low birth rates, population ageing and outward migration.[3]

Cuba's present political system developed from the Cuban Revolution, which overthrew the government of Fulgencio Batista in January 1959. The 2019 constitution describes Cuba as a socialist, independent and sovereign state and identifies the Communist Party of Cuba as the superior driving force of society and the state.[2] As of 2026, Miguel Díaz-Canel serves as president and Manuel Marrero Cruz as prime minister.[4]

Cuban society and culture reflect Indigenous Caribbean, Spanish, African and later international influences. The country is particularly known for musical traditions including son cubano, rumba and bolero, as well as literature, dance, visual arts, baseball, cigars and rum. UNESCO lists nine World Heritage properties in Cuba and has also recognized several Cuban cultural traditions as intangible cultural heritage.[5][6]

Name

The country's official name is the Republic of Cuba, or República de Cuba in Spanish.[7] The origin of the name Cuba is commonly linked to Indigenous Caribbean languages encountered by Europeans during the early colonial period, although the exact linguistic derivation is uncertain.

Geography

Cuba is an archipelago at the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico, between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The national territory includes the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud and more than a thousand smaller islands and cays.[1] The main island extends roughly from northwest to southeast and accounts for most of the country's land area.

Much of Cuba consists of plains and lowlands, with mountain systems in several regions. The highest elevations are in the southeast, where the Sierra Maestra rises close to the southern coast. The country's long coastline includes bays, coral reefs, mangroves, beaches and numerous offshore cays.

Cuba has a tropical climate moderated by surrounding seas and trade winds. A relatively dry season generally occurs from November to April, while the wetter period extends through much of the remainder of the year.[8] The country is exposed to Atlantic hurricanes and tropical storms, which can cause flooding, wind damage and disruption to agriculture and infrastructure.

Environment and biodiversity

Cuba contains a variety of terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems. Forests covered about 31.2 percent of the country's land area in 2023 according to World Bank data.[9]

UNESCO recognizes two natural World Heritage properties in Cuba: Alejandro de Humboldt National Park and Desembarco del Granma National Park. Seven additional Cuban sites are listed as cultural World Heritage properties.[5] UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme also recognizes several Cuban biosphere reserves, including Sierra del Rosario, Ciénaga de Zapata, Baconao, Buenavista, Cuchillas del Toa and Península de Guanahacabibes.[10]

History

Indigenous societies and Spanish colonization

Before European colonization, Cuba was inhabited by Indigenous peoples including Taíno communities. The Taíno were widely established across the Greater Antilles and maintained organized agricultural, political, religious and social systems.[11]

Christopher Columbus reached Cuba during his first voyage to the Americas in 1492. Permanent Spanish colonization began in the early 16th century. Indigenous populations declined severely following European conquest as a result of disease, violence, forced labour and social disruption.[12]

Spanish Cuba developed around agriculture, maritime trade and plantation production. Enslaved Africans were transported to the island in large numbers, especially as sugar production expanded. Slavery remained legal until the late 19th century and had a lasting impact on Cuba's population, religion, music, cuisine and broader cultural identity.[13]

Independence movements

Cuban opposition to Spanish rule intensified during the 19th century. The Ten Years' War, beginning in 1868, became the first major sustained independence struggle. Further rebellion followed, and a renewed war for independence began in 1895.

In 1898, the conflict became part of the Spanish–American War. Spain relinquished its claim to Cuba under the Treaty of Paris, signed on 10 December 1898. The United States then occupied Cuba until 1902.[14]

The Republic of Cuba was established in May 1902, when the United States ended its military occupation. U.S. influence remained substantial, including through provisions associated with the Platt Amendment that permitted intervention under specified circumstances.[15]

Republic and Batista era

Cuban politics during the first half of the 20th century experienced alternating periods of elected rule, political instability, military influence and intervention. Fulgencio Batista emerged as an important political and military figure during the 1930s, served as president from 1940 to 1944 and returned to power through a military coup in 1952.[16]

Opposition to Batista included political parties, students, civic groups and armed revolutionary movements. Fidel Castro and his supporters attacked the Moncada Barracks in 1953, later organized the 26th of July Movement, and conducted a guerrilla campaign based partly in the Sierra Maestra.[17]

Cuban Revolution and Cold War

Batista left Cuba on 1 January 1959 as revolutionary forces gained control of the country. Fidel Castro became the central figure of the new political order, which introduced agrarian reform, nationalized major businesses and properties, and increasingly aligned Cuba with the Soviet Union.[18]

Relations with the United States deteriorated rapidly. The United States severed diplomatic relations in January 1961.[19] In April 1961, a U.S.-supported force of Cuban exiles attempted to invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs, but the operation failed.

In October 1962, the discovery of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba led to the Cuban Missile Crisis, one of the most dangerous confrontations of the Cold War. The crisis ended after the Soviet Union agreed to withdraw the missiles while the United States pledged not to invade Cuba and secretly agreed to remove U.S. Jupiter missiles from Turkey.[20]

During subsequent decades, Cuba maintained close political, economic and military ties with the Soviet Union and became active internationally, including through assistance and military deployments in parts of Africa and support for revolutionary movements abroad.

Special Period and 21st century

The collapse of the Soviet Union removed Cuba's principal economic partner and source of subsidized trade, leading to a severe crisis during the 1990s known in Cuba as the Special Period. Shortages of fuel, food and other goods were widespread, and the government expanded tourism, permitted some foreign investment and introduced limited market-oriented measures.[21]

Fidel Castro transferred presidential responsibilities to his brother Raúl Castro in 2006 and formally left the presidency in 2008. Raúl Castro later introduced economic reforms that expanded some forms of self-employment and private activity. Miguel Díaz-Canel became president in 2018 and succeeded Raúl Castro as first secretary of the Communist Party in 2021.

A new constitution was approved by referendum in 2019. It retained the socialist system and leading constitutional role of the Communist Party while restoring the offices of president and prime minister and recognizing several forms of property, including private property.[2]

The United States and Cuba restored diplomatic relations in July 2015 after more than five decades without full diplomatic ties.[19] The broader U.S. economic embargo, however, remained in force. The United Nations General Assembly has repeatedly adopted resolutions calling for its end; in October 2025, the resolution received 165 votes in favour, seven against and 12 abstentions.[22]

Government and politics

The 2019 constitution defines Cuba as a socialist state of law and social justice organized as a unitary republic. Sovereignty is constitutionally vested in the people, while Article 5 identifies the Communist Party of Cuba as the superior driving force of society and the state.[2]

The president of the republic is head of state. The president and vice president are elected by the National Assembly of People's Power, and the president proposes the prime minister for appointment by the Assembly. The unicameral National Assembly is constitutionally described as the supreme organ of state power.[2]

Miguel Díaz-Canel was reelected president in 2023. Salvador Valdés Mesa serves as vice president, while Manuel Marrero Cruz serves as prime minister.[4]

Cuba is divided administratively into 15 provinces and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud.[7] Provincial and municipal structures form part of the country's system of People's Power.

Elections and political participation

Cuba operates a political system without competitive multiparty elections for national executive power. Candidates for the National Assembly are elected through the country's constitutional and electoral structures, while the Communist Party holds the constitutional leadership role described in Article 5.[2]

International organizations and the Cuban government differ significantly in their descriptions of the political system. Organizations including Freedom House, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have criticized restrictions on political pluralism, freedom of expression, independent journalism, protest activity and opposition groups.[23][24][25] Cuban authorities reject many external characterizations of the country's political order and describe its system as sovereign, participatory and rooted in the revolution and socialist constitution.

Foreign relations

Cuba was among the original members of the United Nations, joining on 24 October 1945.[26] It is also a member of organizations and regional groupings including the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Group of 77 and the Non-Aligned Movement.

Relations with the United States have been a central feature of modern Cuban foreign policy. The United States has maintained a broad economic embargo against Cuba since the early 1960s.[27] The two countries restored formal diplomatic relations in 2015, but major disputes have continued over sanctions, migration, human rights, property claims and security policy.[19]

Cuba has also maintained close relationships with a range of countries in Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Medical cooperation has become one of its most visible forms of international engagement, with Cuban health professionals serving abroad under bilateral and multilateral arrangements.

Economy

Cuba has a predominantly state-directed economy, although private enterprises, cooperatives, self-employment and foreign-investment ventures have expanded in recent decades. The 2019 constitution recognizes several forms of property while preserving the central role of socialist planning.[2]

Important economic activities include services, tourism, mining, agriculture, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, tobacco and food processing. Historically, sugar was the dominant agricultural export, while tobacco has remained closely associated with Cuba's international trade and cultural identity. Nickel and cobalt are among the country's notable mineral resources.[8]

World Bank data record Cuba's gross domestic product at about US$107.35 billion in 2020, the most recent current-dollar GDP figure displayed by the institution, and report real GDP contraction of 1.1 percent in 2024.[9] Cuba's economic statistics can be difficult to compare internationally because of exchange-rate arrangements, data limitations and changes in domestic monetary policy.

The country has faced a prolonged economic crisis marked by shortages of food, fuel and medicine, inflation, power-system problems and outward migration. International assessments attribute the crisis to a combination of domestic structural problems, weak productivity, energy shortages and external restrictions, while the Cuban government places substantial emphasis on the effects of the U.S. embargo.[24][28]

Currency

The national currency is the Cuban peso, abbreviated CUP.[1] Cuba ended the former dual-currency arrangement involving the convertible peso as part of monetary reforms beginning in 2021. Exchange-rate policy has continued to change as the government has attempted to address inflation, foreign-currency shortages and differences between official and informal exchange markets.

Demographics

Cuba has experienced rapid demographic change. Official statistics reported an effective population of 9,434,593 at the end of 2025, 313,414 fewer than a year earlier.[3] During 2025, authorities reported 68,064 births and 136,214 deaths, while net outward migration remained the largest contributor to population decline.[29]

Population ageing is also pronounced. By the end of 2025, approximately 26.7 percent of the population was aged 60 or older according to demographic figures attributed to Cuba's National Office of Statistics and Information.[30]

Most Cubans live in urban areas, with Havana by far the country's largest urban centre. Other major cities include Santiago de Cuba, Camagüey, Holguín, Santa Clara and Guantánamo.

Ethnicity and identity

Cuban identity developed through centuries of interaction among people of Indigenous Caribbean, European, African and later immigrant origins. Official racial and ethnic identification has changed over time and is largely based on self-identification. Afro-Cuban cultural influence is particularly visible in music, religion, dance, language and cuisine.

Language

Spanish is Cuba's official language under Article 2 of the constitution.[2] Cuban Spanish has distinctive pronunciation, vocabulary and expressions shaped by the country's Caribbean setting and historical cultural influences.

Religion

Cuba has no official state religion. Religious practice includes Roman Catholicism, Protestant Christianity, Afro-Cuban religious traditions such as Santería, and smaller Jewish, Muslim and other communities. Religious practice and institutional relations with the state have changed considerably since the early decades of the revolution.

Health

Cuba operates a universal public health system organized through hospitals, polyclinics, local clinics and community-based primary care. The country has historically emphasized preventive medicine, vaccination and physician training.

The World Bank reported life expectancy at birth of about 78 years in 2024.[9] The Pan American Health Organization reported that Cuba's population is ageing rapidly and that noncommunicable diseases represent a major health burden. It also reported very high coverage for several maternal and child health services and vaccination programmes.[31]

Economic and energy problems have placed increasing pressure on health services. Human Rights Watch reported serious shortages of medicines and other essential goods during 2025, while WHO and PAHO have continued cooperation with Cuba on disease surveillance, chronic disease care and emergency response.[24][32]

Education

Education is provided primarily through a state-run system covering primary, secondary, technical and university levels. The government made mass literacy and broad access to schooling central policies after 1959. Cuba maintains a network of universities and specialized institutes, including the University of Havana, founded in 1728.

UNICEF has described Cuba as having strong child health and education coverage indicators relative to much of Latin America and the Caribbean, while also noting increasing challenges caused by economic conditions, demographic change, energy shortages and climate-related disasters.[33]

Culture

Cuban culture combines Spanish, African, Caribbean and other influences developed through the island's colonial history, slavery, migration and international contacts. These influences are visible in music, dance, language, religion, food, architecture and festivals.

Music and dance

Cuba has played an influential role in the development of Caribbean and Latin American music. Musical forms associated with the island include son, rumba, mambo, cha-cha-cha and various forms of salsa-related music.

UNESCO inscribed Cuban rumba on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016, describing it as a tradition with strong African roots and additional Antillean and Spanish influences.[34] Bolero, jointly nominated by Cuba and Mexico, was inscribed in 2023, while the practice of Cuban son was added in 2025.[35][6]

Literature and arts

Cuba has produced internationally known writers, poets, artists and intellectuals. José Martí, a poet, journalist and independence leader, occupies a central place in Cuban national history and cultural identity. Later Cuban literature developed both on the island and within large expatriate communities.

Visual arts, ballet, theatre and cinema are also important parts of the country's cultural life. State institutions have played a major role in cultural funding since the revolution, alongside independent and community-based artistic activity.

Architecture and heritage

Cuban architecture reflects Spanish colonial styles, Caribbean building traditions, neoclassical and Art Deco influences, and later modernist development. Old Havana and its fortification system were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1982. UNESCO notes that Havana was founded in the early 16th century and later became an important Caribbean shipbuilding and maritime centre.[36]

Cuba has nine UNESCO World Heritage properties: seven cultural and two natural sites.[5]

Cuisine

Cuban cuisine combines Spanish, African and Caribbean traditions. Common ingredients include rice, beans, pork, chicken, cassava, plantains and tropical fruits. Regional and family cooking traditions vary across the country. Cuban rum and tobacco also hold prominent places in the country's culinary and export traditions.

Sport

Baseball is one of Cuba's most popular sports and has long been closely linked to national sporting identity. Cuba has also achieved international success in boxing, athletics, wrestling, judo and volleyball. The state established a broad system of sports schools and training programmes after the revolution, and Cuban athletes have won numerous Olympic medals.

Media and communications

Radio and television remain important forms of mass communication. Internet access expanded substantially during the 2010s and 2020s, especially after the growth of mobile data services. World Bank figures indicate that about 70 percent of the population used the internet in 2024.[9]

The state retains extensive control over traditional national media. Independent digital outlets also publish material about Cuba, including from within the country and from abroad. Organizations including Freedom House and Human Rights Watch report that independent journalists and online critics face censorship, blocking, harassment and detention.[37][24]

Human rights

Cuba's constitution contains provisions concerning equality, education, health, religious freedom and other civil and social rights.[2] International human-rights organizations, however, have documented restrictions on political organization, public protest, freedom of expression and independent journalism.

Human Rights Watch reported in its 2026 country chapter that critics, activists, journalists and political opponents continued to face arbitrary detention and prosecution during 2025, and that hundreds of people connected to the July 2021 protests remained imprisoned or subject to other restrictions.[24] Amnesty International similarly reported arbitrary detention, restrictions on peaceful assembly and allegations of ill-treatment in detention.[25]

Cuban authorities have argued that outside assessments often overlook the effects of the U.S. embargo and the country's social rights achievements. The embargo itself remains the subject of strong international criticism. In 2025, the United Nations General Assembly again adopted a resolution calling for its end.[38]

Tourism

Tourism became increasingly important to Cuba's economy after the economic crisis of the 1990s. Major destinations include Havana, Varadero, Trinidad, Viñales, Cayo Coco, Cayo Santa María and coastal resort areas.

Cultural tourism is supported by Cuba's historic cities, colonial architecture, museums, music and UNESCO-listed heritage. Natural attractions include coral reefs, beaches, wetlands, caves and protected landscapes.

International heritage

As of 2026, Cuba has nine properties inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Cultural properties include Old Havana and its Fortification System, Trinidad and the Valley de los Ingenios, San Pedro de la Roca Castle, Viñales Valley, the Archaeological Landscape of the First Coffee Plantations in the South-East of Cuba, the Urban Historic Centre of Cienfuegos and the Historic Centre of Camagüey. The natural properties are Desembarco del Granma National Park and Alejandro de Humboldt National Park.[5]

UNESCO also lists eight Cuban traditions or practices on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, including La Tumba Francesa, rumba, punto, Las Parrandas, knowledge of light rum masters, bolero, cassava-bread traditions and Cuban son.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cuba country profile. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Cuba's Constitution of 2019. Constitute Project. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Población cubana decrece en más de 300 mil habitantes en 2025. IPS Cuba. 23 July 2026. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cuba: Leaders and Cabinet Members. Central Intelligence Agency. 17 April 2026. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Cuba. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Cuba – Elements on the Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage. UNESCO. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cuba: Hispanic Reading Room Country Guide. Library of Congress. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Cuba Country Summary. The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Cuba – Data. World Bank. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  10. ↑ Cuba – Lists and Nominations. UNESCO. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  11. ↑ Columbus and the Taíno. Library of Congress. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  12. ↑ Columbus and the Taíno. Library of Congress. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  13. ↑ Sites of Memory of Slavery in Cuba. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  14. ↑ The Spanish-American War, 1898. Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  15. ↑ Cuba – Countries. Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  16. ↑ Cuba: A Country Study. Library of Congress. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  17. ↑ Cuba: A Country Study, Historical Setting. Library of Congress. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  18. ↑ Cuba: A Country Study. Library of Congress. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Cuba – Countries. Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  20. ↑ The Cuban Missile Crisis, October 1962. Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  21. ↑ Cuba. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  22. ↑ Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba. United Nations Digital Library. 2025. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  23. ↑ Cuba: Freedom in the World 2026. Freedom House. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 World Report 2026: Cuba. Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Cuba 2025. Amnesty International. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  26. ↑ Member States. United Nations. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  27. ↑ Cuba Sanctions. U.S. Department of State Archive. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  28. ↑ Cuba Country Programme Document 2026–2030. UNICEF. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  29. ↑ Población de Cuba decrece en más de 300.000 personas en 2025. Xinhua. 22 July 2026. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  30. ↑ Crisis demográfica en Cuba: las muertes duplicaron a los nacimientos en 2025 y la población envejece. Infobae. 21 August 2026. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  31. ↑ Cuba – Country Profile. Pan American Health Organization. 1 October 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  32. ↑ Cuba. World Health Organization. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  33. ↑ Cuba Country Programme Document 2026–2030. UNICEF. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  34. ↑ Rumba in Cuba, a festive combination of music and dances and all the practices associated. UNESCO. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  35. ↑ Bolero: identity, emotion and poetry turned into song. UNESCO. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  36. ↑ Old Havana and its Fortification System. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  37. ↑ Cuba: Freedom on the Net 2025. Freedom House. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  38. ↑ Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba. United Nations Digital Library. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
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