The 2003 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency
of Mount Pljesevica;
parliamentarians are far from ratifying the Croatia-Slovenia land
and maritime boundary agreement, which would have ceded most of
Pirin Bay and maritime access to Slovenia and several villages to
Croatia; in late 2002, Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro adopted an
interim agreement to settle the disputed Prevlaka Peninsula,
allowing the withdrawal of the UN monitoring mission (UNMOP), but
discussions could be complicated by the inability of Serbia and
Montenegro to come to an agreement on the economic aspects of the
new federal union; Croatia and Italy continue to debate bilateral
property and ethnic minority rights issues stemming from border
changes after the Second World War
Illicit drugs:
transit point along the Balkan route for Southwest Asian heroin to
Western Europe; has been used as a transit point for maritime
shipments of South American cocaine bound for Western Europe
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003
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@Cuba
Introduction Cuba
Background:
Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule has
held the country 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, or falsified visas - is a
continuing problem. Some 2,500 Cubans attempted the crossing of the
Straits of Florida in 2002; the US Coast Guard apprehended about 60%
of the individuals.
Geography Cuba
Location:
Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic
Ocean, 150 km south of Key West, Florida
Geographic coordinates:
21 30 N, 80 00 W
Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total: 110,860 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 110,860 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Land boundaries:
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
Coastline:
3,735 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate:
tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April);
rainy season (May to October)
Terrain:
mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in
the southeast
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Pico Turquino 2,005 m
Natural resources:
cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, manganese, salt, timber, silica,
petroleum, arable land
Land use:
arable land: 33.04%
other: 59.35% (1998 est.)
permanent crops: 7.61%
Irrigated land:
870 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
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
Environment - current issues:
air and water pollution; biodiversity loss; deforestation
Environment - international 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, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note:
largest country in Caribbean and westernmost island of the Greater
Antilles
People Cuba
Population:
11,263,429 (July 2003 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 20.1% (male 1,164,376; female 1,103,061)
15–64 years: 69.6% (male 3,932,604; female 3,909,523)
65 years and over: 10.2% (male 531,608; female 622,257) (2003 est.)
Median age:
total: 34.5 years
male: 33.9 years
female: 35.1 years (2002)
Population growth rate:
0.34% (2003 est.)
Birth rate:
11.87 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate:
7.38 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Net migration rate:
−1.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Sex ratio:
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: 0.85 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 7.15 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 6.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 8.06 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.8 years
male: