Cuba is an island associated most with cigars and warm climate, but there is so much more to Cuba. Cuba is the largest island of the West Indies and makes up the Greater Antilles archipelago along with Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico. Cuba is located south of the Tropic of Cancer in the Caribbean Sea, its western tip extends into the Gulf of Mexico between Florida and the Yucatan Peninsula. The capital of Cuba is Havana and it is located on the northwest coast, 92 nautical miles (170 kilomiles) from Key West Fla.

The main island lies in a east-west direction. It is 780 miles long and averages 60 miles in width. Most of the island is a rolling limestone plain. The median elevation is less than 300 feet above sea level. Only about one quarter of the island is covered by mountainous areas and those areas are spread out. Along Cuba's 2,000-mile coastline there lies a boarder of coral reefs and mangrove swamps.

Cuba is ruled by the dictator, President Fidel Castro. He is the sole decision-maker involved in all aspects of government and national decisions.

People

The majority of the people living in Cuba are of Spanish descent and speak the primary lanugage: Spanish. The total population in Cuba is 11,018,000 of which 2,867,000 are children. About 66 percent of the population are white, 12 percent black, and 22 percent of mixed heritage (The Latin American Alliance, 1997). The annual rate of population growth is 1.1 percent, one of the lowest in the Caribbean (The Latin American Alliance, 1997). The life expectancy at birth is 73 years for males and 76 years for females (The Latin American Alliance, 1997).

Since the 1958 revolution, religion has become insignificant, and education is compulsory and free. On average Cubans attain a seventh grade education, while 96 percent of adults are literate (Latin American Alliance, 1997).

About 70 percent of the population lives in urban areas. Havana had a population of 2 million which is six times larger than the next largest city (The Latin American Alliance, 1997).

For more statistical information click here

References
The Latin American Alliance. (1997). Cuba General Information. http://www.latinsynergy.org/cuba.html (1998, November 30).

This page was written by Lauren Clark, contributing group members Jenn Hamm, Julia Hitchings, and Sandi Yarow.

The purpose of this website is to portray the lives of children living in Cuba. It was designed by Lauren Clark, Jenn Hamm, Julia Hitchings, and Sandi Yarow, as part of a collaborative web project in a freshman writing seminar: Children and Society, taught at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, by Professor April Brayfield.
December 18, 1998