The Republic of Cuba consists of the island of Cuba (the largest of the Greater Antilles), the Isle of Youth and various adjacent small islands. The name Cuba is said to be derived from the Taíno word cubanacán, meaning "a central place." It is located in the northern Caribbean at the confluence of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Cuba is south of the eastern United States, and the Bahamas, west of the Turks and Caicos Islands and Haiti, and east of Mexico. The Cayman Islands and Jamaica are south of eastern Cuba.

Infrastructure
Cuban infrastructure is significant and includes: massive Spanish fortifications built in principal ports [21] (e.g. El Morro [22] castles in Havana (1589) and Santiago; Castillo San Salvador de la Punta [23]; (finished by 1630); La Fuerza[24] (finished 1577); San Carlos de La Cabaña the largest in the Americas; El Principe [25]; Atares [26] around Havana Bay). Railroads were first built in the late colonial period and finished in the first part of the 20th Century. Sanitation facilities constructed in the US period. The Presidencial Palace was built between 1913 and 1919 under presidents Gómez y de Menocal, and designed by a group that included architect Rodolfo Maruri. The central highway was done in the Gerardo Machado administration. The tunnels in Havana under the bay and under the Almendares River, and some highways in in old Oriente Province Via Azul and Via Mulata, and Havana-Matanzas Via Blanca were completed in the second Fulgencio Batista period. A complex net work of massive dams [27] and complex semi-secret underground fortifications were built in the present Fidel Castro period. In addition there are significant numbers of historic buildings and reinforced concrete high rises built in the Republican period. Statues and other monuments dot the Island. Each construction has its own particular story that often relate to important events in the history of the island.

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, 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 2,600 Cubans attempted the crossing of the Straits of Florida in 2001; the US Coast Guard apprehended only about 35% of the individuals.

Location:

Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, 150 km south of Key West, Florida

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

Geography - note:

largest country in Caribbean and westernmost island of the Greater Antilles

Population:	11,224,321 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure:	0-14 years: 20.6% (male 1,188,125; female 1,125,743) 15-64 years: 69.3% (male 3,902,162; female 3,880,531) 65 years and over: 10.1% (male 520,849; female 606,911) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate:	0.35% (2002 est.)

Nationality:	noun: Cuban(s) adjective: Cuban
Ethnic groups:	mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1%
Religions:	nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented
Languages:	Spanish

Currency:	Cuban peso (CUP)
Currency code:	CUP
Exchange rates:	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 27 pesos by the Government of Cuba (January 2002)