59 Facts About Cuba

Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is a country comprising the island of Cuba as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. 

Cuba has an area of 110,860 square km. 

Havana is its capital and largest city. 

Spanish is the official language of Cuba. 

Peso (CUC) is its official currency. 

In 2015, Cuba achieved one of the world's greatest public health achievements by eliminating mother-to-child HIV and syphilis transmission.

Cuba has one of the highest literacy rates in the world, at 99.8%.

Coca-Cola can now only be purchased or sold in two countries around the world, at least officially. They are Cuba and North Korea, both of which are subject to long-term US trade embargoes (Cuba since 1962 and North Korea since 1950).

Cubans were not permitted to own cell phones until 2008, when the government of President Raul Castro lifted the ban.

The United States pays Cuba about $4,085 per year to lease the 45-square-mile Guantánamo Bay Naval Station. Cuba, on the other hand, has not accepted the payment since 1959.

The island of Cuba looks like a crocodile from the air. As a result, it is also known as "El Crocodilo" or "El Caima" in Spanish.

In Cuba, there is a dual monetary system because two currencies are used: the CUP (Cuban peso) and the CUC (Cuban convertible peso) (convertible peso). The Cuban peso is the country's currency. The convertible peso, on the other hand, is pegged to the US dollar at a 1:1 ratio.

Half of Cuba's 38,000 miles of roadway are unpaved.

Cuban cigars are widely regarded as the finest in the world. They are made by hand from locally grown tobacco.

Their main crop is sugar made from sugar cane.

Cuba is the largest of the Caribbean's islands. There are up to 4000 other islands in the region that are significantly smaller than Cuba. Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) is the Caribbean's second largest island, with Jamaica coming in third.

After Hispaniola, Cuba is the most populous island in Cuba and the Caribbean.

The closest neighbouring country to Cuba is Haiti, which is 48 miles to the east. Jamaica is only 87 miles away.

Since the 18th century, the sugarcane crop has played an important role in the Cuban economy. Rice, citrus fruits, potatoes, bananas, and other crops contribute significantly to the country's economy.

The domino game is Cuba's national pastime.

Voting is required by law in Cuba.

Cuba has the world's highest doctor-to-patient ratio. As a result, many Cuban doctors are sent to countries where medical assistance is needed.

Bacardi rum was first produced in Cuba. However, after Fidel Castro took over Cuba, production was relocated to Puerto Rico.

Cuba is home to the world's smallest frog (the Mount Iberia frog) and smallest hummingbird (the bee hummingbird).

It is the world's 17th largest island.

Until 1997, Christmas was not recognised as an official holiday in Cuba.

In January 1998, Pope John Paul II paid a visit to Cuba.

The communist party is the country's sole legal party.

The famous writer Ernest Hemingway wrote "The Old Man and the Sea" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls" while living in Cuba.

Every day, Cuba receives nearly 100,000 barrels of oil from Venezuela.

Americans visiting the island are permitted to bring home a total of $100 in cigars and rum.

The colour of schoolchildren's uniforms represents their grade level. Every child between the ages of 6 and 15 must attend school.

In Cuba, recipes are passed down from generation to generation. They almost never write down their recipes.

In recent years, the number of daily newspapers published in Cuba has decreased from 58 in the 1950s to 20.

It is a New Year's Eve tradition in Cuba to burn dolls to symbolise the forgetting of bad times and looking forward to a fresh start with the New Year.

Cuba, discovered by explorer Christopher Columbus in 1492, was under Spanish control until 1898.

Fidel Castro freely allowed approximately 124,000 Cubans to migrate to the United States between April and September 1980.

Baseball is the most popular sport in Cuba.

Pico Turquino is Cuba's highest point (1,974 m (6,476 ft)).

The Communist Party of Cuba has ruled the country since 1965.

The island of Cuba is long and narrow.

Cuba was among the first to prohibit the sale of incandescent lighting.

The Cauto River is Cuba's longest river. It stretches for 230 miles.

Cuba is the Caribbean's most populous country.

Diego Velazquez de Cuellar founded the first Spanish settlement on Cuba, Baracoa, in 1511.

Cuba was temporarily occupied by the United States between 1898 and 1902. In 1902, Cuba declared independence from the United States.

In the 18th century, Cuba was the most important source of raw sugar for the Spanish empire.

On October 16, 1953, Cuba's dictator (Fidel Castro) was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Fidel Castro enjoyed smoking Cohiba cigars. The CIA allegedly once attempted to assassinate Castro by sending him a box of poisoned cigars.

Fidel Castro resigns as president on February 19, 2008, and his brother Raul Castro is elected president by the country's National Assembly on February 24, 2008. Fidel Castro passed away in November 2016.

Cuba's economy is dominated by state-owned enterprises. The state owns the majority of the labour force because the government owns and operates the majority of industries. The government subsidises healthcare, food, and education for Cubans.

With the resignation of former President Raul Castro on April 18, 2018, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez took over as President of Cuba.

An estimated 4.7 million tourists visited Cuba in 2017. Tourism is one of the island's main sources of revenue.

Gay marriages are set to become legal in Cuba after the National Assembly approves a document that defines marriage as a "consensual union of two people, regardless of gender."

The UNESCO World Heritage List includes nine properties in Cuba. Seven of them are cultural, while the other two are natural.

Slavery was abolished in Cuba in 1886.

Despite having a gross national income per capita of $5,539, Cubans earn only $20 per month.

Cuba has the world's 138th largest export economy and the 75th most complex economy, according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI).

In 2015, Cuba opened its first public Wi-Fi hotspots. However, users were also charged a fee for accessing the internet.