our decades.
CASTRO brought Cuba onto the world stage by inviting Soviet support
in the 1960s, inciting revolutionary movements throughout Latin
America and Africa in the 1970s, and sending his army to fight in
Angola in the 1980s. At home, Havana provided Cubans with high
levels of healthcare, education, and social security while
suppressing the Roman Catholic Church and arresting political
dissidents. Cuba is slowly recovering from severe economic recession
following the withdrawal of former-Soviet subsidies, worth
$4billion-$6 billion per year, in 1990.

Geography

Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the
North Atlantic Ocean, south of Florida

Geographic coordinates: 21 30 N, 80 00 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 110,860 sq km
land: 110,860 sq km
water: 0 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

Land use:
arable land: 24%
permanent crops: 7%
permanent pastures: 27%
forests and woodland: 24%
other: 18% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 9,100 sq km (1993 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: pollution of Havana Bay; overhunting
threatens wildlife populations; 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
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Marine
Life Conservation

Geography--note: large