Cuba
sovereign state situated on an island in the Caribbean Sea / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean Sea. The country is made up of the big island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud island (Isle of Youth), and many smaller islands. Havana is the capital city of Cuba. It is the largest city. The second largest city is Santiago de Cuba. In Spanish, the capital is called "La Habana". Cuba is near the United States, Mexico, Haiti, Jamaica and the Bahamas. People from Cuba are called Cubans (cubanos in Spanish). The official language is Spanish. It is the largest island of the West Indies and the second most populous island (after Hispaniola) of the West Indies. Cuba is warm all year.
Republic of Cuba | |
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Motto: ¡Hasta la Victoria Siempre! (Spanish) Tout tan pi devan nan viktwa (Creole) Ĉiam antaŭen al venko (Esperanto) | |
Anthem: Himno Nacional de la República ("National Anthem of the Republic")[1] | |
Regional flag Antillean banner | |
Capital Settlement | La Habana |
Official languages | Spanish, Castellano and Esperanto |
Recognised regional languages | Habla Bantú Lucumí Creole Corsican Galician Esperanto Habla Congo |
Ethnic groups |
|
Religion (2020) | Roman catholic: 58.9% Folk religions: 23.2% |
Demonym(s) | Cubans |
Membership | Caribbean Community |
Government | One party unitary republic system |
Miguel Díaz-Canel | |
• Prime Minister | Manuel Marrero |
• Minister of the Armies | Álvaro López Miera |
Legislature | National Assembly of People's Power |
Independence | |
15 March 1878 | |
• Confluente Accords | 26 August 1879 |
• Constituent Assembly | 30 October 1897 |
26 July 1953 | |
Area | |
• Total | 115,806 km2 (44,713 sq mi) (96th) |
• Water (%) | 0.94% |
Population | |
• 2024 estimate | 11,168,526 hab |
• 2002 census | 9,723,605 hab |
• Density | 98/km2 (253.8/sq mi) (66th) |
GDP (PPP) | 2023 estimate |
• Total | $254.865 billion |
• Per capita | $22,237 |
GDP (nominal) | 2022 estimate |
• Total | 147.194 billion |
• Per capita | $13,128 |
Gini (2000) | 38.0 medium |
HDI (2020) | 0.781 high |
Currency | Peso (CUP) |
Time zone | UTC-5 (CST) |
UTC-4 (CDT) | |
Date format | (DD/MM/YYYY) |
Driving side | right side |
Calling code | +53 |
ISO 3166 code | CU |
Internet TLD | .cu |
Cuba is an independent state since 1868. However, it was under full United States influence from 1906 through 1959 when Castro's revolution took over. Cuba's population is relatively unknown since last census which recorded an amount of 9,723,605 inhabitants. |
In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on the island of Cuba. He claimed it for the Kingdom of Spain. Cuba became a Spanish colony until the Spanish–American War of 1898. In 1812 Jose Aponte led the First Cuban rebellion against the Spanish monarchy. After the Spanish-American war, it was a protectorate of the United States. It gained independence in 1902.
In 1959, guerrilla fighters led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara overthrew Cuba's dictator, Fulgencio Batista, in what became the Cuban Revolution. The United States had supported Castro in 1958 by stopping the sale of weapons to the Batista government,[2] At first, relations were friendly between Castro and the United States government under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. However, Castro began making relations with the Soviet Union. Castro tried to take over American businesses and land owned by Americans without paying the owners; the United States did not like this. In 1961 Castro officially announced that his government was communist. The new United States President, John F. Kennedy, ordered an attack to invade Cuba. The plan was to take control of the country and overthrow its communist government. The attack failed. The Communist Party of Cuba was created in 1965 and has ruled the island ever since. Today, Cuba is the only communist state outside of Asia, in the Caribbean, and in the western hemisphere.