sy, 2630 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; telephone:
(202) 797-8518

Diplomatic representation from the US: none; note - the US has an
Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer
Vicki HUDDLESTON; address: USINT, Swiss Embassy, Calzada between L and
M Streets, Vedado Seccion, Havana; telephone: 33-3551 through 3559 and
33-3543 through 3547 (operator assistance required); FAX: 33-3700;
protecting power in Cuba is Switzerland

Flag description: five equal horizontal bands of blue (top and bottom)
alternating with white; a red equilateral triangle based on the hoist
side bears a white, five-pointed star in the center

@Cuba:Economy

Economy - overview: The state under the durable dictatorship of Fidel
CASTRO plays the primary role in the domestic 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 semi-official exchange rate for the Cuban peso to
move from a peak of 120 to the dollar in the summer of 1994 to 21 to
the dollar by yearend 1999. New taxes introduced in 1996 have helped
drive down the number of self-employed workers from 208,000 in January
1996. Havana announced in 1995 that GDP declined by 35% during
1989-93, the result of lost Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies.
The drop in GDP apparently halted in 1994, when Cuba reported 0.7%
growth, followed by increases of 2.5% in 1995 and 7.8% in 1996. Growth
slowed again in 1997 and 1998 to 2.5% and 1.2% respectively. Growth
recovered again in 1999 with a 6.2% increase in GDP, due to the
continued growth of tourism. Central control is complicated by the
existence of the informal economy, much of which is denominated in
dollars. Living standards for the average (dollarless) Cuban remain at
a depressed level compared with 1990. The continuation of gradual
economic reforms and increase in tourism suggest growth of 4% to 5% in
2000.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $18.6 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 6.2%