Alberto SOLIS Blanco]; Citizen Action Party or PAC [Otton SOLIS]; Costa
Rican Renovation Party or PRC [Justo OROZCO]; Democratic Force Party or
PFD [Jose M. NUNEZ]; Libertarian Movement Party or PML [Otto GUEVARA
Guth]; National Christian Alliance Party or ANC [Alejandro MADRIGAL];
National Independent Party or PNI [Jorge GONZALEZ Marten]; National
Integration Party or PIN [Walter MUNOZ Cespedes]; National Liberation
Party or PLN [Sonia PICADO]; Social Christian Unity Party or PUSC [Luis
Manuel CHACON] note: mainly a two-party system - PUSC and PLN - until
the 3 February 2002 election in which the PAC captured a significant
percentage, forcing a run-off in April 2002
Political pressure groups and leaders: Authentic Confederation of
Democratic Workers or CATD (Communist Party affiliate); Chamber of
Coffee Growers; Confederated Union of Workers or CUT (Communist Party
affiliate); Costa Rican Confederation of Democratic Workers or CCTD
(Liberation Party affiliate); Federation of Public Service Workers or
FTSP; National Association for Economic Development or ANFE; National
Association of Educators or ANDE; Rerum Novarum or CTRN (PLN affiliate)
[Gilbert Brown]
International organization participation: BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77,
IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM (observer),
OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Jaime DAREMBLUM Rosenstein chancery: 2114 S Street NW, Washington, DC
20008 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston,
Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Antonio, San
Francisco, St. Paul, and Tampa consulate(s): Diplomatic representation
from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador John J. DANILOVICH embassy:
Calle 120
APO AA 34020 telephone:
Flag description: five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red
(double width), white, and blue, with the coat of arms in a white disk
on the hoist side of the red band
Economy Costa Rica
Economy - overview: Costa Rica's basically stable economy depends
on tourism, agriculture, and electronics exports. Poverty has been
substantially reduced over the past 15 years, and a strong social safety
net has been put into place. Foreign investors remain attracted by the
country's political stability and high education levels, and tourism
continues to bring in foreign exchange. However, traditional export
sectors have not kept pace. Low coffee prices and an overabundance of
bananas have hurt the agricultural sector. The government continues to
grapple with its large deficit and massive internal debt and with the need
to modernize the state-owned electricity and telecommunications sector.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $31.9 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 0.3% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $8,500 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 11% industry: 37% services:
52% (2000)
Population below poverty line: 20.6% (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.7%
highest 10%: 34.6% (2001)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 45.9 (1997)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12.1% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 1.9 million (1999)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 20%, industry 22%, services 58%
(1999 est.)
Unemployment rate: 5.2% (2000 est.)
Budget: revenues: $1.91 billion expenditures: $2.35 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
Industries: microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing,
construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products
Industrial production growth rate: -2.1% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: 6.887 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 1.15% hydro: 82.56%
other: 16.29% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 5.895 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 532 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 22 million kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: coffee, pineapples, bananas, sugar, corn, rice,
beans, potatoes; beef; timber
Exports: $5 billion (2001)
Exports - commodities: coffee, bananas, sugar; pineapples; textiles,
electronic components, medical equipment
Exports - partners: US 51.8%, EU 20%, Central America 10.6%, Puerto
Rico 2.8%, Mexico 1.7% (2000)
Imports: $6.5 billion (2001)
Imports - commodities: raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment,
petroleum
Imports - partners: US 53.2%, EU 10.3%, Mexico 6.2%, Venezuela 5.3%,
Central America 4.9% (2000)
Debt - external: $4.6 billion (2001 est.)
Currency: Costa Rican colon (CRC)
Currency code: CRC
Exchange rates: Costa Rican colones per US dollar - 343.08 (January
2002), 328.87 (2001), 308.19 (2000), 285.68 (1999), 257.23 (1998), 232.60
(1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Costa Rica
Telephones - main lines in use: 450,000 (1998) note: 584,000 installed
in 1997, but only about 450,000 were in use in 1998
Telephones - mobile cellular: 143,000 (2000)
Telephone system: very good domestic telephone service domestic:
and coaxial cable link rural areas; Internet service is available
international: connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite
earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); two submarine cables (1999)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 50, FM 43, shortwave 19 (1998)
Radios: 980,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 6 (plus 11 repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 525,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .cr
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 3 (of which only one is legal) (2000)
Internet users: 250,000 (2001)
Transportation Costa Rica
Railways: total: 950 km narrow gauge: 950 km 1.067-m gauge (260 km
electrified) (2000 est.)
Highways: total: 37,273 km paved: 7,827 km unpaved: 29,446 km (1998 est.)
Waterways: 730 km (seasonally navigable)
Pipelines: petroleum products 176 km
Ports and harbors: Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puerto Limon, Puerto Quepos,
Puntarenas
Merchant marine: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,716 GRT/NA DWT
ships by type: Airports: 152 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 29 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to
2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 7 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 123 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under
914 m: 95 (2001)
Military Costa Rica
Military branches: no regular indigenous military forces; Air Section,
Ministry of Public Forces (Fuerza Publica)
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,058,283 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 707,927
(2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 39,411
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $69 million (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.6% (FY99)
Transnational Issues Costa Rica
Disputes - international: legal dispute over navigational rights of
Rio San Juan on border with Nicaragua
Illicit drugs: transshipment country for cocaine and heroin from South
America; illicit production of cannabis on small, scattered plots;
domestic cocaine consumption is rising, particularly crack cocaine
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
========================================================================
Central African Republic
Introduction
Central African Republic
Background: The former French colony of Ubangi-Shari became the Central
African Republic upon independence in 1960. After three tumultuous decades
of misrule - mostly by military governments - a civilian government was
installed in 1993.
Geography Central African Republic
Location: Central Africa, north of Democratic Republic of the Congo
Geographic coordinates: 7 00 N, 21 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 622,984 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 622,984 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries: total: 5,203 km border countries: Cameroon 797 km,
Chad 1,197 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,577 km, Republic of
the Congo 467 km, Sudan 1,165 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: tropical; hot, dry winters; mild to hot, wet summers
Terrain: vast, flat to rolling, monotonous plateau; scattered hills in
northeast and southwest
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Oubangui River 335 m highest point:
Mont Ngaoui 1,420 m
Natural resources: diamonds, uranium, timber, gold, oil, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 3% permanent crops: 0% other: 97% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds affect northern areas;
floods are common
Environment - current issues: tap water is not potable; poaching has
diminished its reputation as one of the last great wildlife refuges;
desertification; deforestation
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Tropical Timber 94 signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geography - note: landlocked; almost the precise center of Africa
People Central African Republic
Population: 3,642,739 note: estimates for this country explicitly take
into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result
in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower
population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population
by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 43% (male 788,417; female 776,721) 15-64
years: 53.2% (male 951,908; female 986,947) 65 years and over: 3.8%
(male 60,395; female 78,351) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.8% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 36.6 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 18.62 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.77 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 103.81 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 45.13 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 4.77 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 13.84% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 240,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 23,000 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Central African(s) adjective: Central African
Ethnic groups: Baya 33%, Banda 27%, Mandjia 13%, Sara 10%, Mboum 7%,
M'Baka 4%, Yakoma 4%, other 2%
Religions: indigenous beliefs 35%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%,
Muslim 15% note: animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the
Christian majority
Languages: French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national
language), tribal languages
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total
population: 60% male: 68.5% female: 52.4% (1995 est.)
Government Central African Republic
Country name: Central African Republic conventional short form: local
long form: Republique Centrafricaine abbreviation: CAR
Government type: republic
Capital: Bangui
Administrative divisions: 14 prefectures (prefectures, singular -
prefecture), 2 economic prefectures* (prefectures economiques, singular -
prefecture economique), and 1 commune**; Bamingui-Bangoran, Bangui**,
Basse-Kotto, Gribingui*, Haute-Kotto, Haute-Sangha, Haut-Mbomou,
Kemo-Gribingui, Lobaye, Mbomou, Nana-Mambere, Ombella-Mpoko, Ouaka,
Ouham, Ouham-Pende, Sangha*, Vakaga
Independence: 13 August 1960 (from France)
National holiday: Republic Day, 1 December (1958)
Constitution: passed by referendum 29 December 1994; adopted 7 January
1995
Legal system: based on French law
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Ange-Felix PATASSE (since 22
October 1993) head of government: Prime Minister Martin ZIGUELE (since 1
April 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: president elected by
popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 19 September 1999
(next to be held NA September 2005); prime minister appointed by the
president election results: Ange-Felix PATASSE reelected president;
percent of vote - Ange-Felix PATASSE 51.63%, Andre KOLINGBA 19.38%,
David DACKO 11.15%
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale
(109 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms;
note - there were 85 seats in the National Assembly before the 1998
election) elections: election results: percent of vote by party - MLPC
43%, RDC 18%, MDD 9%, FPP 6%, PSD 5%, ADP 4%, PUN 3%, FODEM 2%, PLD 2%,
UPR 1%, FC 1%, independents 6%; seats by party - MLPC 47, RDC 20, MDD 8,
FPP 7, PSD 6, ADP 5, PUN 3, FODEM 2, PLD 2, UPR 1, FC 1, independents 7
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court
(3 judges appointed by the president, 3 by the president of the National
Assembly, and 3 by fellow judges); Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts;
Inferior Courts
Political parties and leaders: Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP
[Jacques MBOLIEDAS]; Central African Democratic Assembly or RDC [Andre
KOLINGBA]; Civic Forum or FC [Gen. Timothee MALENDOMA]; Democratic Forum
for Modernity or FODEM [Charles MASSI]; Liberal Democratic Party or PLD
[Nestor KOMBO-NAGUEMON]; Movement for Democracy and Development or MDD
[David DACKO]; Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People
or MLPC [the party of the president, Ange-Felix PATASSE]; Patriotic Front
for Progress or FPP [Abel GOUMBA]; People's Union for the Republic or UPR
[Pierre Sammy MAKFOY]; National Unity Party or PUN [Jean-Paul NGOUPANDE];
Social Democratic Party or PSD [Enoch LAKOUE]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC,
CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC (observer),
OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Emmanuel TOUABOY FAX: [1] (202) 332-9893 telephone: [1] (202) 483-7800
chancery: 1618 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Mattie R. SHARPLESS embassy: Avenue David Dacko, Bangui mailing address:
B. P. 924, Bangui telephone: [236] 61 02 00 FAX: [236] 61 44 94
Flag description: four equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white,
green, and yellow with a vertical red band in center; there is a yellow
five-pointed star on the hoist side of the blue band
Economy Central African Republic
Economy - overview: Subsistence agriculture, together with forestry,
remains the backbone of the economy of the Central African Republic
(CAR), with more than 70% of the population living in outlying areas. The
agricultural sector generates half of GDP. Timber has accounted for
about 16% of export earnings and the diamond industry for 54%. Important
constraints to economic development include the CAR's landlocked position,
a poor transportation system, a largely unskilled work force, and a
legacy of misdirected macroeconomic policies. The 50% devaluation of
the currencies of 14 Francophone African nations on 12 January 1994 had
mixed effects on the CAR's economy. Diamond, timber, coffee, and cotton
exports increased, leading an estimated rise of GDP of 7% in 1994 and
nearly 5% in 1995. Military rebellions and social unrest in 1996 were
accompanied by widespread destruction of property and a drop in GDP of
2%. The IMF approved an Extended Structure Adjustment Facility in 1998
and the World Bank extended further credits in 1999 and approved a $10
million loan in early 2001. As of January 2002, many civil servants
were owed as much as 16 months pay during the PATASSE administration,
as well as 14 months pay from the KOLINGBA administration.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $4.6 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 1.8% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 55% industry: 20% services:
25% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 0.7%
highest 10%: 47.7% (1993)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 61.3 (1993)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.6% (2001 est.)
Labor force: NA
Unemployment rate: 8% (23% for Bangui) (2001 est.)
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures
of $NA
Industries: diamond mining, sawmills, breweries, textiles, footwear,
assembly of bicycles and motorcycles
Industrial production growth rate: 3.9% (2001)
Electricity - production: 104 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 20.19% hydro: 79.81%
other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 96.72 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: cotton, coffee, tobacco, manioc (tapioca),
yams, millet, corn, bananas; timber
Exports: $166 million (f.o.b., 2000)
Exports - commodities: diamonds, timber, cotton, coffee, tobacco
Exports - partners: Benelux 64%, Cote d'Ivoire, Spain, China, Egypt,
France (1999)
Imports: $154 million (f.o.b., 2000)
Imports - commodities: food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery,
electrical equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals,
consumer goods, industrial products
Imports - partners: France 35%, Cameroon 13%, Benelux, Cote d'Ivoire,
Germany, Japan (1999)
Debt - external: $881.4 million (2000 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $172.2 million (1995); note - traditional
budget subsidies from France
Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible
authority is the Bank of the Central African States
Currency code: XAF
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US
dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70
(1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the
XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Central African Republic
Telephones - main lines in use: 10,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 570 (1997)
Telephone system: general assessment: fair system domestic: network
consists principally of microwave radio relay and low-capacity,
low-powered radiotelephone communication international: satellite earth
station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001)
Radios: 283,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (2001)
Televisions: 18,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .cf
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)
Internet users: 1,500 (2001)
Transportation Central African Republic
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 23,810 km paved: 429 km unpaved: 23,381 km (2000)
Waterways: 900 km note: traditional trade carried on by means of
shallow-draft dugouts; Oubangui is the most important river, navigable
all year to craft drawing 0.6 m or less; 282 km navigable to craft
drawing as much as 1.8 m
Ports and harbors: Bangui, Nola, Salo, Nzinga
Airports: 51 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to
2,437 m: 2 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 48 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524
to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 15 (2001)
Military Central African Republic
Military branches: Central African Armed Forces (FACA) (including
Republican Guard, Ground Forces, Naval Forces, and Air Force),
Presidential Security Guard, Gendarmerie, National Police
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 845,182 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 442,220
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $29 million (FY96)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.2% (FY96)
Transnational Issues Central African Republic
Disputes - international: none
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
========================================================================
Cuba
Introduction
Cuba
Background: Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron
rule has held the country together since. 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 3,000
Cubans attempted the crossing of the Straits of Florida in 2001; the US
Coast Guard interdicted only about 25% of these.
Geography Cuba
Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North
Atlantic Ocean, 150 km south of Key West, Florida
Geographic coordinates: 21 30 N, 80 00 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total: 110,860 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 110,860 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Land boundaries: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay 29 km note: 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, arable land
Land use: arable land: 33% other: 59% (1998 est.) permanent crops: 8%
Irrigated land: 870 sq km (1998 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: air and water pollution; biodiversity
loss; 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, Wetlands signed, but
not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note: largest country in Caribbean and westernmost island
of the Greater Antilles
People Cuba
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.)
Birth rate: 12.08 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 7.35 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 7.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 79.15 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 1.6 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.03% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 2,800 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 120 (1999 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