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Economy

Economy - overview: The state plays the primary role in the economy
and controls practically all foreign trade. The government has
undertaken several reforms in recent years to stem excess liquidity,
increase labor incentives, and alleviate serious shortages of food,
consumer goods, and services. The liberalized agricultural markets
introduced in October 1994, at which state and private farmers sell
above-quota production at unrestricted prices, have broadened legal
consumption alternatives and reduced black market prices. Government
efforts to lower subsidies to unprofitable enterprises and to shrink
the money supply caused the peso's black market value to move from a
peak of 120 to the dollar in the summer of 1994 to a low of 18-20 to
the dollar in late September before climbing to 20-21 at the end of
1996. New taxes helped drive down the number of legally registered
self-employed workers from 208,000 in January 1996 to 180,000 by
December. Havana announced in 1995 that GDP declined by 35% during
1989-1993, the result of lost Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies.
The drop in GDP apparently halted in 1994, when Cuba reported a 0.7%
growth. Government officials claimed that GDP increased by 2.5% in
1995 and 7.8% in 1996. Export earnings rose an estimated 40% in 1996
to $2.1 billion, largely on the strength of increased sugar shipments
to Russia and higher nickel production through a joint venture with a
Canadian firm. With the economic recovery, imports rose for the second
straight year, growing by an estimated 26% to $3.5 billion. Living
standards for the average Cuban, however, have not improved
significantly.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $16.2 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 7.8% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,480 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 7%
industry: 31%
services: 62% (1996 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: NA%

Labor force:
total : 4.71 million economically active population (1989); 3,527,000
employed in state civilian sector (1989)
by occupation: services and government 30%, industry 22%, agriculture
20%, commerce 11%, construction 10%, transportation and communications
7% (June 1990)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: sugar, petroleum, food, tobacco, textiles, chemicals,
paper and wood products, metals (particular