Explore Cuba in North America

Description and Basic Information

Cuba with its capital Havana is located in North America (Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean). It covers some 110,861 square kilometres (slightly smaller than Pennsylvania) with 11,423,000 citizens. Spanish is the language used by the people in Cuba. United States is a bordering country.

Cuba is the largest Caribbean island, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. Walk along the Malécon during the early evening and take in some of Havana's culture. A popular saying goes that the best Cuban food can be found in the United States. Within Cuba, the best food will generally be found in your casa particular or in paladares (locally owned restaurants in private homes). Cuban national cocktails include the Cuba Libre (rum and cola) and the Mojito (rum, lime, sugar, mint leaves, club soda and ice). Cuba is generally a very safe country; strict and prominent policing, combined with neighborhood-watch-style programs keep the streets safe from violent crime. Cuba is considered very healthy except for the water; even many Cubans boil their water. That said, some travelers drink untreated water without ill effect. The best solution is bottled water and lots of it, especially for visitors who are not used to the 30+°C/85+°F temperatures. Cubans are generally friendly and helpful people. If you're staying at a hotel or casa particular, it's likely there will be a television, and watching Cuban television is a good place to observe Cuba's unique mix of vibrant culture, sports and controversial politics.

Pictures from Havana (Capital)

Photos provided by Panoramio are under the copyright of their owners.

About Cuba

The landscape features mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast. The average density of population is about 103 per km². The climate in can be described as tropical with moderated by trade winds, dry season (November to April), rainy season (May to October). Potential threats by nature are the east coast being subject to hurricanes from August to November (in general, the country averages about one hurricane every other year) or droughts are common.

To reach someone in Cuba dial +53 prior to a number. There are 1,168,000 installed telephones. And there are 443,000 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks operate on frequencies of 900 Mhz. Websites typically end with the top level domain ".cu". If you want to bring electric appliances (e.g. battery charger), keep in mind the local 110/220V - 60Hz.

The country consists of 15 regions/states which are listed below.

Regions/States of Cuba

Cuba Tourism Information

Unesco World Heritage Properties

Cuba has 4 more world heritage locations. To see all of them, visit the Cuba Unesco Heritage location overview.

Alejandro de Humboldt National Park

Complex geology and varied topography have given rise to a diversity of ecosystems and species unmatched in the insular Caribbean and created one of the most biologically diverse tropical island...

Archaeological Landscape of the First Coffee Plantations in the South-East of Cuba

The remains of the 19th-century coffee plantations in the foothills of the Sierra Maestra are unique evidence of a pioneer form of agriculture in a difficult terrain. They throw considerable light...

Desembarco del Granma National Park

Desembarco del Granma National Park, with its uplifted marine terraces and associated ongoing development of karst topography and features, represents a globally significant example of...

Historic Centre of Camagüey

One of the first seven villages founded by the Spaniards in Cuba, Camagüey played a prominent role as the urban centre of an inland territory dedicated to cattle breeding and the sugar...

Old Havana and its Fortifications

Havana was founded in 1519 by the Spanish. By the 17th century, it had become one of the Caribbean's main centres for ship-building. Although it is today a sprawling metropolis of 2 million...

Demographic Information

Age Distribution in Cuba

Each pair of bars represents a single age group (male/female). Each group is spanning 5 years. E.g. 0 to 5 years, 5 to 10 etc. and group "0 to 5" being at the left end and "100 +" at the right end of the chart.

Natural Population Growth

Population, Migration and Growth: The population in Cuba is growing at an rate of 0.22% (or by 24,906 citizens). Each year 17,905 people leave this country (or 1.60 per thousand citizens) - making it an emmigration country. This leads to an absolute natural increase rate of the population of 0.37%. Or an total increase of 42,811 citizens.

Based on content from wikitravel.org. The original article can be found here based on the work of these users.
Geographic information is based on the data provided by geonames.org, CIA factsbook and Unesco.