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{{About|ប្រទេស}}
{{POV|date=May 2012}}
{{pp-semi|small=yes}}{{pp-move-indef}}
{{Infobox country
| native_name={{native name|es|República de Cuba}}
| conventional_long_name=Republic of Cuba
| common_name=Cuba
| status = [[រដ្ឋពឹងពាក់Client state]]សហរដ្ឋ of the United States
| image_flag=Flag of Cuba.svg
| alt_flag=Five horizontal stripes: three blue and two white. A red equilateral triangle at the left of the flag, partly covering the stripes, with a white five pointed star in the centre of the triangle.
| image_coat=Coat of Arms of Cuba.svg
| symbol_type=Coat of arms
| alt_coat=A shield in front of a fasces crowned by the Phrygian Cap, all supported by an oak branch and a laurel wreath
| image_map= LocationCuba.svg
| alt_map=Political map of the Caribbean region with Cuba in red. An inset shows a world map with the main map's edges outlined.
| national_motto=''Patria o Muerte'' <small>{{es icon}} <br /> "Homeland or Death"</small><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bc.gov.cu/English/cuban_bills.asp|title=Cuban Peso Bills|publisher=Central Bank of Cuba|accessdate=2009-09-07}}</ref>
| national_anthem=''[[La Bayamesa]]''{{nbsp|2}}<small>("The Bayamo Song")</small><ref>{{cite web|url=http://mipais.cuba.cu/cat_en.php?idcat=91&idpadre=83&nivel=2|title=National symbols|publisher=Government of Cuba|accessdate=2009-09-07}}</ref> [[Fileឯកសារ:United States Navy Band - La Bayamesa.ogg]]
| official_languages=[[ភាសាអេស្ប៉ាញSpanish language|Spanish]]
| demonym=Cuban
| ethnic_groups=65.1% [[White Latin American|White]], 10.1% [[Afro-Cuban|African]], 24.8% [[Mulatto]] and [[Mestizo]]<ref name=autogenerated1/>
| capital=[[Havana]]
| latd=23|latm=8|latNS=N|longd=82|longm=23|longEW=W
| largest_city=capital
| government_type=[[Unitary state|Unitary]] [[republic]], [[Marxist-Leninist]] [[single party state]]
(contracted; show full)'where fertile land is abundant'' (cubao),<ref>Alfred Carrada, ''[http://www.alfredcarrada.org/notes8.html The Dictionary of the Taino Language (plate 8)]''{{Verify credibility|date=September 2009}}</ref> or ''great place'' (coabana).<ref>[http://members.dandy.net/~orocobix/terms1.htm Dictionary – Taino indigenous peoples of the Caribbean Dictionary --]{{Verify credibility|date=June 2009}}</ref> Authors who believe that [[Origin
_  theories_  of_  Christopher_  Columbus#Portuguese_  hypothesis|Christopher Columbus was Portuguese]] state that ''Cuba'' was named by Columbus for the [[Cuba (Portugal)|ancient town of Cuba]] in the district of [[Beja (Portugal)|Beja]] in [[Portugal]].<ref>Augusto Mascarenhas Barreto: O Português. Cristóvão Colombo Agente Secreto do Rei Dom João II. Ed. Referendo, Lissabon 1988. English: The Portuguese Columbus: secret agent of King John&nbsp;II, Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 0-333-56315-8</ref><ref>da Silva, Manuel L. and Silvia Jorge da Silva. (2008). ''Christopher Columbus was Portuguese'', Express Printing, Fall River, MA. 396pp. ISBN 978-1-60702-824-6.</ref>

==  History  ==
<!-- Please keep this section as a summary and consider making additions to the main History of Cuba article -->
{{Main|History of Cuba|Timeline of Cuban history}}

===  Pre-Columbian era  ===
[[Fileឯកសារ:Arowak woman by John Gabriel Stedman.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Sketch of a [[Taíno people|Taíno]] woman, also known as the Arawak by the Spanish]]
Cuba was inhabited by [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] people known as the [[Taíno people|Taíno]], also called [[Arawak peoples|Arawak]] by the Spanish, and [[Guanajatabey]] and [[Ciboney people]] before the arrival of the Spanish. The ancestors of these Native Americans migrated from the mainland of North, Central and South America several centuries earlier.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Art and archaeology of pre-Columbian Cuba|page=22|year=1996|author=Ramón Dacal Moure, Manuel Rivero de la Calle|publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press|isbn=0-8229-3955-X|url=http://books.google.com/?id=PEE9oipDYksC&pg=PA22}}</ref> The native Taínos called the island ''Caobana''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indio.net/taino/main/language/Tisland.htm |title=Taino Name for the Islands |publisher=Indio.net |date= |accessdate=2010-11-07}}</ref> The Taíno were farmers and the Ciboney were farmers, fishers and [[hunter-gatherer]]s.

===  Spanish colonization  ===

After first landing on an island then called [[Guanahani]] on {{Nowrap|October 12}}, 1492,<ref name=Henken2008 /> [[Christopher Columbus]] landed on Cuba's northeastern coast near what is now [[Baracoa]] on {{Nowrap|October 27}}<ref name=Henken2008>{{cite book|author=Ted Henken|title=Cuba: a global studies handbook|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Mv7anQoCbzgC|year=2008|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-984-9|page=[http://books.google.com/books?id=Mv7anQoCbzgC&pg=PT59 30]}} ((contracted; show full)onial/encomienda-slavery.pdf Encomienda or Slavery? The Spanish Crown's Choice of Labor Organization in Sixteenth-Century Spanish America.]" (PDF). Latin American Studies.</ref> which resembled a feudal system in Medieval Europe.<ref>Lyle N. McAlister (1984). "''[http://books.google.cz/books?id=lFwnCYl85VEC&pg=&dq&hl=en#v=onepage&q=&f=false Spain and Portugal in the New World, 1492-1700]''". University of Minnesota Press. p.164. ISBN 0
-8166-1218-8.</ref> Within a century the indigenous people were virtually wiped out due to multiple factors, including Eurasian [[infectious disease]]s aggravated in large part by a lack of natural resistance as well as privation stemming from repressive colonial subjugation.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies|last=Diamond|first=Jared M.|publisher=W.W. Norton & Co|location=New York, NY|year=1998|url=http://www.pbs.org/gunsgermssteel/variables/smallpox.html|isbn=0-393-03891-2}}</ref> In 1529, a [[measles]] outbreak in Cuba killed two-thirds of the natives who had previously survived [[smallpox]].<ref>{{Cite book
  | first = Joseph Patrick
  | last = Byrne
  | title = Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Pandemics, and Plagues: A-M
  | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=5Pvi-ksuKFIC&pg=PA413&dq#v=onepage&q=&f=false
  | publisher = ABC-CLIO
  | year = 2008
  | page = 413
  | isbn = 0-313-34102-8}}
</ref><ref>J. N. Hays (2005). "''[http://books.google.com/books?id=GyE8Qt-kS1kC&pg=PA82&dq&hl=en#v=onepage&q=&f=false Epidemics and pandemics: their impacts on human history]''". p.82. ISBN 1-85109-658-2</ref>
[[Fileឯកសារ:DiegoVelazquezCuellar.jpg|thumb|upright|Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, [[conquistador]] of Cuba]]
Cuba remained a Spanish possession for almost 400 years (1511–1898), with an economy based on [[Agriculture of Cuba|plantation agriculture]], [[mining]], and the export of [[sugar]], [[coffee]], and [[tobacco]] to Europe and later to North America. The work was done primarily by [[African slave trade|African slaves]] brought to the island.

The small land-owning elite of Spanish settlers held social and economic powers supported by a population of Spaniards born on the island ([[Criollo (people)|Criollos]]), other Europeans, and African-descended slaves. The population in 1817 was 630,980, of which 291,021 were white, 115,691 free black, and 224,268 black slaves.<ref>''[http://books.google.com/books?id=o-OVsN5SwPIC&pg=PA352&dq&hl=en#v=onepage&q=&f=false Latin America's Wars: The age of the caudillo, 1791–1899]''. Robert L. Scheina (2003). p.352. ISBN 1-57488-450-6</ref>

===  Independence wars  ===
In the 1820s, when the rest of Spain's empire in [[Latin America]] rebelled and formed independent states, Cuba remained loyal. Although there was agitation for independence, the Spanish Crown gave Cuba the motto ''La Siempre Fidelísima Isla'' ("The Always Most Faithful Island"). This loyalty was due partly to Cuban settlers' dependence on Spain for trade, their desire for protection from [[pirate]]s and against a [[slave rebellion]], and partly because they feared the rising power of the United States more than they disliked Spanish rule.{{Citation needed|date=August 2009}}

====  Ten Years' War  ====
[[Fileឯកសារ:Carlos Manuel de Cespedes.jpg|thumb|upright|Carlos Manuel de Céspedes is known as ''Father of the Homeland'' in Cuba, having declared the nation's independence from Spain in 1868.]]
Independence from Spain was the motive for a rebellion in 1868 led by [[Carlos Manuel de Céspedes]]. De Céspedes, a sugar planter, freed his slaves to fight with him for a free Cuba. On 27 December 1868, he issued a decree condemning slavery in theory but accepting it in practice and declaring free any slaves whose masters present them for military service.<ref name="ChomskyCarrSmorkaloff2003pp115-117">{{Harvnb|Chomsky|Carr|Smorkaloff|2003|pp=[http://books.google.com/books?id=Sr2hQkCIihMC&pg=PA115 115–117]}}</ref> The 1868 rebellion resulted in a prolonged conflict known as the [[Ten Years' War]]. The United States declined to recognize the new Cuban government, although many European and Latin American nations did so.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cubagenweb.org/mil/e-war-hist.htm|title=Historia de las Guerras de Liberación de Cuba}}{{Verify credibility|date=September 2009}}</ref> In 1878, the [[Pact of Zanjón]] ended the conflict, with Spain promising greater autonomy to Cuba. In 1879–1880, Cuban patriot [[Calixto García]] attempted to start another war known as the [[Little War (Cuba)|Little War]] but received little support.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/funfacts/lilwar.htm|title=The Little War (La Guerra Chiquita)}}{{Verify credibility|date=September 2009}}</ref>

====  Period between wars  ====
In Cuba, a sophisticated and prosperous sugar industry had employed [[chattel slavery]] until the final third of the 19th century. Cuba produced 720,250 metric tons of sugar in 1868, more than forty percent of cane sugar reaching the world market that year. Slavery had been maintained in Cuba, however, while abolition was underway elsewhere. Abolition in Cuba began the final third of the 19th century, and was completed in the 1880s.<ref>{{cite book|author=Rebecca Jarvis Scott|title=Slave emancipation in Cuba: the transition to free labor, 1860–1899|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=-mMBmhYxg8sC|year=2000|publisher=University of Pittsburgh Pre|isbn=978-0-8229-5735-5|page=[http://books.google.com/books?id=–mMBmhYxg8sC pg=PA3 3]}}</ref><ref name="ChomskyCarrSmorkaloff2003pp37-38">{{cite book|last1=Chomsky|first1=Aviva|last2=Carr|first2=Barry|last3=Smorkaloff|first3=Pamela María|title=The Cuba reader: history, culture, politics|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Sr2hQkCIihMC|year=2003|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0-8223-3197-1|pages=[http://books.google.com/books?id=Sr2hQkCIihMC&pg=PA37 37–38]|ref=harv}}</ref>

====  War of 1895  ====
An exiled dissident named [[José Martí]] founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party in [[New York]] in 1892. The aim of the party was to achieve Cuban independence from Spain.<ref name=sandler>{{Cite book|title=Ground warfare: an international encyclopedia|volume=Part 25, Volume 1|page=549|year=2002|editor=Stanley Sandler|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=1-57607-344-0|url=http://books.google.com/?id=L_xxOM85bD8C&pg=PP1|accessdate=2009-09-06}}</ref> In {{Nowrap|January 1895}} Martí traveled to [[San F(contracted; show full)se in the camps, numbers verified by the [[Red Cross]] and United States Senator and former [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] [[Redfield Proctor]]. American and European protests against Spanish conduct on the island followed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spanamwar.com/proctorspeech.htm|title=Cuban Reconcentration Policy and its Effects|author=The Spanish-American War|authorlink=Spanish-American War|accessdate=2007-01-29}}{{Verify credibility|date=September 2009}}</ref>

====
  Spanish–American War  ====
{{Main|Spanish–American War}}

=====  USS Maine  =====
The U.S. battleship [[USS Maine (ACR-1)|''Maine'']] arrived in Havana on {{Nowrap|25 January}} 1898 to offer protection to the 8,000 American residents on the island, but the Spanish saw this as intimidation. On the evening of {{Nowrap|15 February}} 1898, the ''Maine'' blew up in the harbor, killing 252 crew. Another eight crew members died of their wounds in hospital over the next few days.<ref name=morison>{{Cite book|title=The American Battleship|url=ht(contracted; show full)on/> The [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]] passed a resolution calling for intervention, and President [[William McKinley]] complied.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Documentary Source Book of American History, 1606–1898|page=597|last=Macdonald|first=William|publisher=Macmillan Co|location=New York, NY|year=1908|url=http://books.google.com/?id=zaUmd7uAuFsC&pg=PA597|accessdate=2009-09-14|isbn=978-1-4067-6345-4}}</ref> Spain and the United States declared war on each other in late April.

===
  Early 20th century  ===
{{main|History of Cuba (1902–1959)}}
After the [[Spanish-American War]], Spain and the United States signed the [[Treaty of Paris (1898)]], by which Spain ceded [[Puerto Rico]], the [[Philippines]], and [[Guam]] to the United States for the sum of {{Nowrap|$20 million}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/sp1898.asp|title=Treaty of Peace Between the United States and Spain|date=December 10, 1898|work=The Avalon Project|publisher=Yale Law School}}</ref> Under the same (contracted; show full)ued intervening in Cuban affairs. In 1912, the [[Partido Independiente de Color]] attempted to establish a separate black republic in Oriente Province,<ref>{{Cite book|title=The War of 1898, and U.S. interventions, 1898–1934: an encyclopedia|editor=Benjamin Beede|page=134|year=1994|publisher=Garland|location=New York|isbn=0-8240-5624-8|url=http://books.google.com/?id=48g116X9IIwC&pg=PA134|accessdate=2009-09-06}}</ref> but was suppressed by General Monteagudo with considerable bloodshed.

[[
Fileឯកសារ:Teatro Garcia Lorca.jpg|thumb|[[García Lorca]] Theater in Havana]]
During [[World War I]], Cuba exported considerable quantities of sugar to Britain. Cuba was able to avoid [[U-boat]] attacks by the subterfuge of shipping the sugar to [[Sweden]]. The [[Mario García Menocal|Menocal]] government declared war on Germany very soon after the United States.

(contracted; show full)ly|Italy]] on {{Nowrap|December 11}}, 1941. Cuban armed forces were not greatly involved in combat during World War&nbsp;II, although president Batista suggested a joint U.S.-Latin American assault on [[Spanish State|Francoist Spain]] in order to overthrow its [[authoritarian]] regime.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,802544,00.html "Batista's Boost"], ''Time'', {{Nowrap|January 18}}, 1943. Retrieved {{Nowrap|March 2}}, 2010.</ref>

[[
Fileឯកសារ:cuba yank tank.jpg|thumb|Many so-called [[yank tank]]s remain in use from pre-revolutionary days. The balcony above belongs to a ''[[casa particular]]''.]]
(contracted; show full)d 1958, Cuba extended economic regulations enormously, causing economic problems.<ref name=horowitz/><ref name="Thomas 1173"/> Unemployment became a problem as graduates entering the workforce could not find jobs.<ref name=horowitz/> The middle class, which was comparable to the United States, became increasingly dissatisfied with unemployment and political persecution. The labor unions supported Batista until the very end.<ref name=horowitz/><ref name=bethell/>

===
  Revolution  ===
{{Main|Cuban Revolution}}
[[Fileឯកសារ:CheyFidel.jpg|thumb|170px|right|[[Che Guevara]] and Fidel Castro, photographed by Alberto Korda in 1961.]]
On 2 December 1956 a party of 82 people on the yacht ''[[Granma (yacht)|Granma]]'' landed in Cuba. The party, led by [[Fidel Castro]], had the intention of establishing an armed resistance movement in the [[Sierra Maestra]]. While facing armed resistance from Castro's rebel fighters in the mountains, Fulgencio Batista's regime was weakened and crippled by a United States (contracted; show full)ediate withdrawal of Soviet nuclear missiles placed in Cuba placed in response to U.S. nuclear missiles in [[Turkey]] and the [[Middle East]]. The Soviets and Americans soon came to an agreement. The Soviets would remove Soviet missiles from Cuba and the Americans would remove missiles from Turkey and the Middle East. Kennedy also agreed not to invade Cuba in the future. Cuban exiles captured during the Bay of Pigs Invasion were exchanged for a shipment of supplies from America.<ref name=bethell/>
[[
Fileឯកសារ:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-L0614-040, Berlin, Fidel Castro an der Grenze.jpg|thumb|Fidel Castro and members of the [[East Germany|East German]] [[Politburo]] in 1972]]
(contracted; show full)

In 1975 the OAS lifted its sanctions against Cuba, with the approval of 16 member states, including the U.S. The U.S., however, maintained its own sanctions.<ref name="Peterson"/>

===
  Recent affairs  ===
More than one million Cubans of all social classes have left the island [[Cuban migration to Miami|to the United States]],<ref>http://immigration-online.org/77-cuban-immigration.html</ref><ref>Pedraza (2007)</ref> and to [[Spain]], [[Italy]], [[Mexico]], [[Canada]], [[Sweden]], and other countries. As of 2002, some 1.2 million persons of Cuban background (about 10% of the current population of Cuba) reside in the U.S.<ref>[http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01-8(contracted; show full)00 Cubans left the Peruvian Embassy for [[Costa Rica]]. On {{Nowrap|21 April}}, many of those Cubans started arriving in [[Miami]] via private boats and were halted by{{Clarify|date=June 2010}} the U.S. State Department, but the emigration continued, because Castro allowed anyone who desired to leave the country to do so through the [[Mariel boatlift|port of Mariel]]. Over 125,000 Cubans emigrated to the U.S. before the flow of vessels ended on {{Nowrap|15 June}}.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}}

[[
Fileឯកសារ:Dmitry Medvedev in Cuba 28 November 2008-4.jpg|thumb|Raúl Castro and President [[Dmitry Medvedev|Medvedev]] of Russia]]
Castro's rule was severely tested in the aftermath of the Soviet collapse (known in Cuba as the [[Special Period]]), with effects such as food shortages.<ref name=cmaj>{{cite journal|title=Health consequences of Cuba's Special Period|publisher=Canadian Medical Association Journal|pmc=2474886|year=2008|volume=179|issue=3|pmid=18663207|page=257|doi=10.1503/cmaj.1080068|journ(contracted; show full)p would be delayed until Cuba was “in conformity with the practices, purposes, and principles of the OAS.”<ref name="Peterson"/> Cuban leaders have repeatedly announced they are not interested in rejoining the OAS, and Fidel Castro restated this after the OAS resolution had been announced.<ref>[http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-06/04/content_11485277.htm China View 2009-06-04: Cuba's Fidel Castro calls OAS a "U.S. Trojan horse"] Retrieved 2012-04-12</ref>

==
  Human rights  ==
{{Main|Human rights in Cuba|Censorship in Cuba|Cuban dissidents}}
[[Fileឯកសារ:02.Trinidad (59).JPG|thumb|[[Trinidad, Cuba]], a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] since 1988]]
The Cuban government has been accused of numerous [[human rights abuse]]s including [[torture in Cuba|torture]], arbitrary imprisonment, unfair trials, and extrajudicial executions (also known as "''El Paredón''").<ref>{{cite web|year=1967|month={{Nowrap|April 7}}|url=http://www.cidh.org/countryrep/Cuba67sp/indice.htm|title=Information about human rights in Cuba|publisher=Comisio(contracted; show full)

Citizens cannot leave or return to Cuba without first obtaining official permission in addition to their passport and the visa requirements of their destination.<ref name=hrw2006/>

==
  Economy  ==
{{Main|Economy of Cuba|Tourism in Cuba|Rationing in Cuba|Sociolismo}}
[[Fileឯកសារ:Cuba006.jpg|thumb|[[Tobacco]] plantation, [[Pinar del Río]]]]
The Cuban state adheres to [[socialist]] principles in organizing its largely state-controlled [[planned economy]]. Most of the means of production are owned and run by the government and most of the labor force is employed by the state. Recent years have seen a trend toward more private sector employment. By 2006, public sector employment was 78% and private sector 22%, compared to 91.8% to 8.2% in 1981.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxfa(contracted; show full)[Tourism in Cuba|tourism]]. Cuba has developed a unique urban farm system (the ''[[organopónicos]]'') to compensate for the end of food imports from the Soviet Union. In recent years, Cuba has rolled back some of the market oriented measures undertaken in the 1990s. In 2004 Cuban officials publicly backed the [[Euro]] as a "global counter-balance to the US dollar", and eliminated U.S. currency from circulation in its stores and businesses.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}
[[
Fileឯកសារ:Vista Varadero calle 38.jpg|thumb|right|[[Varadero]] beach gets 1 million foreign visitors per year]]
Tourism was initially restricted to enclave resorts where tourists would be segregated from Cuban society, referred to as "enclave tourism" and "tourism apartheid".<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Cuban Tourism During the Special Period|first=María Dolores|last=Espino|url=http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/cb/cuba/asce/cuba10/espino.pdf|journal=Cuba in Transition|volume=10|publisher=Association (contracted; show full)
It will cut more than one million state jobs including party bureaucrats which resist the changes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-14368316 |title=Cuba National Assembly approves economic reforms |date=August 2, 2011 | work=BBC News}}</ref>

==
  Government and politics  ==
{{Main|Politics of Cuba|Provinces of Cuba|Municipalities of Cuba}}
[[Fileឯកសារ:Revolution square.jpg|thumb|upright|Revolution Square: José Martí Monument designed by Enrique Luis Varela, sculpted by [[Juan José Sicre]], and finished in 1958.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.latam.ufl.edu/News/content/fall2006.pdf|title=José Martí and Juan José Sicre: The Model and the Artist|journal=The LatinAmericanist|publisher=University of Florida, Center for Latin American Studies|volume=37|issue=2|date=Fall/Winter 2006|accessdate=2009-09-13|ref=harv}}</ref>]]
(contracted; show full)<li>[[Las Tunas Province|Las Tunas]]</li>
<li>[[Granma Province|Granma]]</li>
<li>[[Holguín Province|Holguín]]</li>
<li>[[Santiago de Cuba Province|Santiago de Cuba]]</li>
<li>[[Guantánamo Province|Guantánamo]]</li>
<li>[[Isla de la Juventud]]</li>
</ol>
| [[
Fileឯកសារ:CubaSubdivisions.png|400px]]
|}

===  Military  ===
{{Main|Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces}}

Cuba devoted 9–13% of its [[GDP]] to military expenditures.<ref name=expenditure>{{cite web|url=http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/cb/cuba/asce/cuba6/23perlopez.fm.pdf|title=Cuban Military Expenditures: Concepts, Data and Burden Measures}}{{dead link|date=November 2011}}</ref> Under the leadership of Fidel Castro, Cuba built up one of the largest armed forces in [[Latin America]]; second only to that of [[Brazilian Armed Forces|Brazil]].<ref name=military/> From 1975 until the late 1980s, [[Soviet Armed Forces|Soviet military]] assistance enabled Cuba to upgrade its military capabilities. Since the loss of Soviet subsidies, Cuba has scaled down the numbers of military personnel, from 235,000 in 1994 to about 60,000 in 2003.<ref>[http://www.redorbit.com/news/general/618165/cuban_army_called_key_in_any_postcastro_scenario/index.html Cuban army called key in any post-Castro scenario Anthony Boadle] Reuters 2006{{Verify credibility|date=September 2009}}</ref>

===  Foreign relations  ===
<!-- Please keep this section as a summary and consider making additions to the main Foreign relations of Cuba article -->

{{Main|Foreign relations of Cuba}}

(contracted; show full)State|accessdate=2009-09-06}}</ref> and reversed the [[George W. Bush|Bush Administration]]'s prohibition on travel and remittances by Cuban-Americans from the United States to Cuba.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.america.gov/st/texttrans-english/2009/April/20090413170610eaifas0.2033502.html|title=U.S. Administration Announcement on U.S. Policy Toward Cuba|date=2009-04-13|publisher=Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State|accessdate=2009-09-06}}</ref>

==
  Geography  ==
{{Main|Geography of Cuba}}

[[Fileឯកសារ:Alejandro de Humboldt National Park.jpg|thumb|[[Alejandro de Humboldt National Park]] in eastern Cuba]]

Cuba is an [[archipelago]] of islands located in the northern [[Caribbean Sea]] at the confluence with the [[Gulf of Mexico]] and the Atlantic Ocean. It lies between latitudes [[19th parallel north|19°]] and [[24th parallel north|24°N]], and longitudes [[74th meridian west|74°]] and [[85th meridian west|85°W]]. The United States lies 90 miles across the [[Straits of Florida]] to the north and northwest (contracted; show full)land in the [[Caribbean]] and [[List of islands by area|16th-largest island]] in the world by land area. The main island consists mostly of flat to rolling plains apart from the [[Sierra Maestra]] mountains in the southeast, whose highest point is [[Pico Turquino]] ({{convert|1975|m|abbr=on}}). The second-largest island is [[Isla de la Juventud]] (Isle of Youth) in the Canarreos archipelago, with an area of {{convert|3056|km2|abbr=on|0}}. Cuba has a total land area of {{convert|110860|km2|abbr=on|0}}.

===
  Climate  ===
{{Main|Climate of Cuba}}

[[Fileឯកសារ:Cayol3.jpg|thumb|Beach on [[Cayo Largo del Sur]] in the Canarreos archipelago]]

The local climate is tropical, moderated by northeasterly trade winds that blow year-round. In general (with local variations), there is a drier season from November to April, and a rainier season from May to October. The average temperature is {{convert|21|°C|1}} in January and {{convert|27|°C|1}} in July. The warm temperatures of the Caribbean Sea and the fact that Cuba sits across the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico combine to make the country prone to frequent [[Tropical cyclone|hurricanes]]. These are most common in September and October.

===  Resources  ===
The most important mineral resource is [[nickel]], of which Cuba has the world's second largest reserves (after Russia).<ref name=torres>{{cite web|url=http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/1997/9509097.pdf|title=The Mineral Industry of Cuba|author=Ivette E. Torres|year=1997|publisher=U.S. Geological Survey|accessdate=2009-09-06}}</ref> [[Sherritt International]] of Canada operates a large nickel mining facility in [[Moa, Cuba|Moa]]. Cuba is the world's fifth-largest producer of refined [[cobalt]], a byproduct of nickel mining operations.<ref name=torres/> Recent oil exploration has revealed that the North Cuba Basin could produce approximately {{convert|4.6|Goilbbl|m3}} to {{convert|9.3|Goilbbl|m3}} of oil. In 2006, Cuba started to test-drill these locations for possible exploitation.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1936186,00.html|author=Wayne S. Smith|title=After 46 years of failure, we must change course on Cuba|publisher=Guardian News and Media|date=1 November 2006|accessdate=2009-09-06 | location=London}}</ref>

==  Demographics  ==
{{Main|Demographics of Cuba|Religion in Cuba|Spanish immigration to Cuba}}

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===
  Largest cities  ===

{{Largest cities of Cuba}}

===  Immigration to Cuba  ===
Between 1882 and 1898, a total of 508,455 people left Spain, and more than 750,000 Spanish immigrants left for Cuba between 1899 and 1923, with many returning to Spain.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tau.ac.il/eial/IV_2/bejarano.htm |title=La inmigración entre 1902 y 1920 |publisher=Tau.ac.il |date= |accessdate=2010-11-07}}</ref>

===  Current demographics  ===
According to the census of 2010, the population was 11,241,161, including 5,628,996 men and 5,612,165 women.<ref name=cubacensus2010 /> The population of Cuba has very complex origins and intermarriage between diverse groups is general. There is disagreement about racial statistics. The Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami says that 62% is black,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/multimedia/news/afrolatin/part4/index.html|title=A barrier for Cuba's blacks|publisher=Miami Herald}}</ref> whereas statistics from the Cuban census state that 65.05% of the population was white in 2002. The [[Minority Rights Group International]] says that "An objective assessment of the situation of Afro-Cubans remains problematic due to scant records and a paucity of systematic studies both pre- and post-revolution. Estimates of the percentage of people of African descent in the Cuban population vary enormously, ranging from 33.9 per cent to 62 per cent".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/49749d342c.html|title=World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples – Cuba: Afro-Cubans}}</ref>

[[Fileឯកសារ:Plaza de la Catedral de San Cristobal de La Habana Cuba.JPG|thumb|The [[Cathedral of Havana|Cathedral of Saint Christopher]] in Havana]]

Immigration and emigration have played a prominent part in the demographic profile of Cuba during the 20th century. During the 18th, 19th, and the early part of the 20th century large waves of [[Canarian people|Canarian]], [[Catalan people|Catalan]], [[Andalusian people|Andalusian]], [[Galician people|Galician]], and other Spanish people immigrated to Cuba. Between 1900 (contracted; show full) since 1976.<ref>{{cite web|date=31 March 2006|url=http://www.moroccotimes.com/Paper/article.asp?idr=2&id=13816|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20061125161820/http://www.moroccotimes.com/Paper/article.asp?idr=2&id=13816|archivedate=2006-11-25|title=Sahrawi children inhumanely treated in Cuba, former Cuban official|publisher=MoroccoTimes.com|accessdate=2006-07-09}} (archived from [http://www.moroccotimes.com/Paper/article.asp?idr=2&id=13816 the original] on 2006-11-25)</ref>
[[
Fileឯកសារ:Young Boys in School Uniform - Pinar del Rio - Cuba.JPG|thumb|left|170px|Young boys in school uniform with soccer ball, [[Pinar del Río]], December 2006]]
(contracted; show full)web|year=2005|month={{Nowrap|June 13}}|url=http://news.bahai.org/story.cfm?storyid=377|title=Government officials visit Baha'i center|publisher=Baha'iWorldNewsService.com}}</ref> Most Jewish Cubans are descendants of Polish and Russian Ashkenazi Jews who fled pogroms at the beginning of the 20th century. There is a sizeable number of Sephardic Jews in Cuba who trace their origin to Turkey. Most of these Sephardic Jews live in the provinces, although they maintain a synagogue in Havana.

===
  Cuban migration  ===
In the last half-century, several hundred thousand Cubans of all social classes have [[Cuban exile|emigrated]] to [[Cuban migration to Miami|the United States]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Political disaffection in Cuba's revolution and exodus|last=Pedraza|first=Silvia|url=http://books.google.com/?id=QCSJ61F4j34C&pg=PA5|page=5|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=New York, NY|isbn=978-0-521-86787-0|accessdate=2009-09-14|year=2007}}</ref> Spain, [[Cubans in the United Kingdom|the United Kingdom]], Canada, Mexico, and other countries. On {{Nowrap|9 September}} 1994, the U.S. and Cuban governments agreed that the U.S. would grant at least 20,000 visas annually in exchange for Cuba's pledge to prevent further unlawful departures on boats.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gao.gov/archive/1995/ns95211.pdf|title=CUBA: U.S. Response to the 1994 Cuban Migration Crisis|publisher=U.S. General Accounting Office|date=September 1995|accessdate=2009-09-14}}</ref>

===  Languages  ===
The official language of Cuba is [[Spanish language|Spanish]] and the vast majority of Cubans speak it. Spanish as spoken in Cuba is known as [[Cuban Spanish]] and is a form of [[Caribbean Spanish]]. [[Lucumi language|Lucumi]], a dialect of the West African language [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]], is also used as a [[liturgical language]] by practitioners of [[Santería]],<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Tndbo3yLEdcC&dq=lucumi+language |title=Santeria from Africa to the New World |author=George Brandon |page=56 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-21114-9 |date=1997-03-01}}</ref> and so only as a second language.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=luq |title=Lucumi: A Language of Cuba (Ethnologue) |accessdate=10 March 2010}}</ref> [[Haitian Creole]] is the second largest language in Cuba, and is spoken by [[Haitians|Haitian]] immigrants and their descendants.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10130814 |title=Cuban Creole choir brings solace to Haiti's children |accessdate=10 March 2010 | work=BBC News}}</ref> Other languages spoken by immigrants include [[Catalan language|Catalan]] and [[Corsican language|Corsican]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=CU |title=Languages of Cuba |accessdate=31 October 2010}}</ref>

==  Education  ==
{{Main|Education in Cuba}}

[[Fileឯកសារ:Università de La Habana.jpg|thumb|[[University of Havana]], founded in 1728]]

The [[University of Havana]] was founded in 1728 and there are a number of other well-established colleges and universities. In 1957, just before Castro came to power, the literacy rate was fourth in the region at almost 80% according to the United Nations, higher than in Spain.<ref name=asce/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reason.com/news/show/125095.html|title=Still Stuck on Castro – How the press handled a tyrant&(contracted; show full)

The [[Higher Institute of Technologies and Applied Sciences]] is a Cuban educational institution that prepares students in the fields of [[Nuclear science|nuclear]] and [[environmental science]]s. It is the only institution in Cuba that provides the opportunities of studies in these topics and one of the few in [[Latin America]]. Its headquarters is in [[Havana]], inside the territory of the “Quinta de los Molinos”.

==
  Health  ==
{{Main|Healthcare in Cuba}}

Historically, Cuba has ranked high in numbers of medical personnel and has made significant contributions to world health since the 19th century.<ref name=asce/> Today, Cuba has [[universal health care]] and although shortages of medical supplies persist, there is no shortage of medical personnel.<ref name=whiteford>{{Cite book|title=Primary Health Care in Cuba: The Other Revolution|page=2|url=http://books.google.com/?id=lJe7uc7X3pYC&pg=PA2|first=Linda M.|last(contracted; show full)

The quality of public healthcare offered to citizens is regarded as the "greatest triumph" of Cuba's socialist system.<ref>Foreign Affairs, July/{{Nowrap|August 2010}}.</ref>

==
  Culture  ==
{{Main|Culture of Cuba|Sport in Cuba}}

Cuban culture is influenced by its melting pot of cultures, primarily those of Spain and Africa. Sport is Cuba's national passion. Due to historical associations with the United States, many Cubans participate in sports which are popular in North America, rather than sports traditionally promoted in other Spanish-speaking nations. [[Baseball in Cuba|Baseball]] is by far the most popular; other sports and pastimes include [[basketball]], [[volleyball]], [[cricket]], and [[track and field athletics|athletics]]. Cuba is a dominant force in [[amateur boxing]], consistently achieving high medal tallies in major international competitions.

===  Music  ===
{{Main|Music of Cuba}}
[[Fileឯកសារ:Casa de la Trova Santiago Cuba.jpg|thumb|A local musical house, Casa de la Trova in Santiago de Cuba]]

Cuban music is very rich and is the most commonly known expression of culture. The central form of this music is [[Son (music)|Son]], which has been the basis of many other musical styles like [[Salsa music|salsa]], [[Cuban Rumba|rumba]] and [[Mambo (music)|mambo]] and an upbeat derivation of the rumba, the [[Cha-cha-cha (music)|cha-cha-cha]]. Rumba music originated in early Afro-Cuban culture. The [[Tres]] was also invented in Cuba, but other traditional Cuban instruments are of African origin, [[Neo-Taíno nations|Taíno]] origin, or both, such as the [[maraca]]s, [[güiro]], [[marimba]] and various wooden drums including the [[mayohuacan]]. Popular Cuban music of all styles has been enjoyed and praised widely across the world. Cuban classical music, which includes music with strong African and European influences, and features symphonic works as well as music for soloists, has received international acclaim thanks to composers like [[Ernesto Lecuona]]. Havana was the heart of the [[rap]] scene in Cuba when it began in the 1990s. During that time, [[reggaetón]] was growing in popularity. Dance in Cuba has taken a major boost over the 1990s.

===  Cuisine  ===
{{Main|Cuban cuisine}}
[[Fileឯកសារ:Cubanfood.jpg|thumb|A traditional meal of ''ropa vieja'' (shredded flank steak in a tomato sauce base), black beans, yellow rice, plantains and fried yuca with beer]]

Cuban cuisine is a fusion of [[Spanish cuisine|Spanish]] and [[Caribbean cuisine]]s. Cuban recipes share spices and techniques with Spanish cooking, with some Caribbean influence in spice and flavor. Food rationing, which has been the norm in Cuba for the last four decades, restricts the common availability of these dishes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/asce/pdfs/volume11/alvarez.pdf|title=Rationed Products and Something Else: Food Availability and Distribution in 2000 Cuba|work=Cuba in Transition|volume=11|pages=305–322|author=José Alvarez|year=2001|publisher=University of Texas at Austin|accessdate=2009-09-06}}{{dead link|date=November 2011}}</ref> The traditional Cuban meal is not served in courses; all food items are served at the same time. The typical meal could consist of plantains, black beans and rice, ''[[ropa vieja]]'' (shredded beef), [[Cuban bread]], pork with onions, and tropical fruits. Black beans and rice, referred to as ''[[Platillo Moros y Cristianos]]'' (or ''moros'' for short), and plantains are staples of the Cuban diet. Many of the meat dishes are cooked slowly with light sauces. Garlic, cumin, oregano, and bay leaves are the dominant spices.

===  Literature  ===
{{Main|Cuban literature}}

Cuban literature began to find its voice in the early 19th century. Dominant themes of independence and freedom were exemplified by José Martí, who led the Modernist movement in Cuban literature. Writers such as [[Nicolás Guillén]] and [[Jose Z. Tallet]] focused on literature as social protest. The poetry and novels of [[Dulce María Loynaz]] and [[José Lezama Lima]] have been influential. Romanticist [[Miguel Barnet]], who wrote ''Everyone Dreamed of Cuba'', reflects a more melancholy Cuba.<ref>[http://www.tobias-hauser.de/vortraege/?cmd=en Costa Rica – Journey into the Tropical Garden of Eden]{{dead link|date=November 2011}}, Tobias Hauser.{{Verify credibility|date=September 2009}}</ref> Writers such as [[Reinaldo Arenas]], [[Guillermo Cabrera Infante]], and more recently [[Daína Chaviano]], [[Pedro Juan Gutiérrez]], [[Zoé Valdés]], [[Guillermo Rosales]] and [[Leonardo Padura]] have earned international recognition in the post-revolutionary era, though many of these writers have felt compelled to continue their work in exile due to ideological control of media by the Cuban authorities.

==  See also  ==
{{portal|History|New Spain|Geography|North America|Caribbean|Latin America|Cuba}}
* [[Outline of Cuba]]
* [[Index of Cuba-related articles]]
* <!-- [[Bibliography of Cuba]] -->
* <!-- {{wikipedia books link|Cuba}} -->
* [[Greater Antilles]]
* [[International rankings of Cuba]]
* [[List of Well Known/Famous Cubans]]
* [[List of island countries]]
* [[List of places in Cuba]]
* [[Television Serrana]]
{{clear}}

==  References  ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==  External links  ==
{{Sister project links|Cuba}}
* [http://www.cubagob.cu/ingles/default.htm Government of Cuba]
* {{Wikiatlas|Cuba}}
* {{Wikitravel|Cuba}}
* [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/world-leaders-1/world-leaders-c/cuba-nde.html Chief of State and Cabinet Members]
* {{CIA World Factbook link|cu|Cuba}}
* [http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/cuba.htm Cuba] from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''
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[[Category:Cuba| ]]
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[[Categoryចំណាត់ថ្នាក់ក្រុម:Spanish-speaking countries]]
[[Categoryចំណាត់ថ្នាក់ក្រុម:States and territories established in 1902]]

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== សូមមើលផងដែរ==
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