{
  "id": "cuba",
  "title": "Cuba",
  "lang": "en",
  "source_lang": "en",
  "summary": "Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean and a sovereign island nation in the Greater Antilles, covering about 110,860 km².",
  "category": "geography",
  "subcategory": "",
  "type": "place",
  "aliases": [
    "Republic of Cuba",
    "República de Cuba"
  ],
  "generated_at": "2026-10-08",
  "model": "pro/claude-haiku-5-5",
  "url": "https://aiwiki.page/en/cuba/",
  "translations": {
    "zh-Hans": {
      "url": "https://aiwiki.page/zh/cuba/",
      "json": "https://aiwiki.page/zh/cuba.json"
    }
  },
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "",
      "text": "Cuba is a sovereign island nation in the Caribbean, the largest island in the West Indies, and the westernmost island of the Greater Antilles. Its main island, a long and narrow landmass, is accompanied by the Isle of Youth and more than a thousand keys and islets, which together give the country a total area of about 110,860 km². Its position at the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico, between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, has shaped its ports, its climate, its exposure to hurricanes, and its role as a crossroads of trade and culture. The geography of Cuba is also central to its economy, which depends on agriculture, mineral resources, tourism, and energy, and it is directly affected by climate change through rising temperatures, sea-level rise, and changing rainfall.\n\nThis entry treats Cuba as a physical and human geographic system. It begins with the country's location, extent, and island structure, then turns to its relief, including the Sierra Maestra and the karst landscapes of the west, and to its geological setting and mineral resources. It next covers rivers, groundwater, and water security, followed by the tropical climate, seasonal rhythms, hurricanes, and the observed and projected effects of climate change. The later sections address ecosystems and biodiversity, population distribution and urbanization, land use and agriculture, energy and electrical infrastructure, ports and transport, and the legal definition of its boundaries and maritime zones. Throughout, the entry notes where sources give differing figures, such as the height of its highest peak."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Location and territorial extent",
      "text": "Position in the Caribbean\n\nCuba sits at the northern edge of the Caribbean Sea, where the Gulf of Mexico opens to the Atlantic. It lies roughly 150 km south of Key West, Florida, and its nearest neighbours are Florida across the Straits of Florida, the Yucatán Peninsula to the west, Hispaniola to the southeast, Jamaica to the south, and the Bahamas to the northeast. The island is bounded by the Gulf of Mexico on its western side, the Straits of Florida to the north, and the Caribbean to the south. The Windward Passage, the Yucatán Channel, and the Straits of Florida are the main sea routes that frame it, and their strategic weight is discussed in the map-based sections and in the transport section.\n\nArea and why figures differ\n\nThe most widely reproduced total is 110,860 km², with 109,820 km² of land and 1,040 km² of water, a set of values attributed to the CIA World Factbook. Other official or reference sources give a smaller figure of 109,884 km² for the country, and the difference is mainly a matter of method and inclusions rather than a dispute over land. The main island by itself is usually given as about 104,500 to 105,000 km², so most of the national total comes from the main island, with the rest made up by the Isle of Youth and the surrounding cays. The Guantánamo Bay enclave is included in the national figures, even though the United States holds the base under a lease and the Cuban government regards the territory as part of Cuba. The inclusion of enclave land, rounding, and the decision whether to count inland water and offshore keys are the main reasons the totals differ between sources.\n\nLength, width, and shape\n\nThe main island stretches about 1,200 km from Cape Maisí in the east to Cape San Antonio in the west, a distance comparable to that between New York and Chicago. Its width varies sharply, from about 35 km at its narrowest to about 200 km at its broadest, which gives the island a long, tapered form. This elongated outline is often compared to a cigar lying between the peninsulas of Florida and Yucatán, and the image is widely used in descriptions of the island's position. The narrow form also means that few places are far from the sea, a feature that affects climate and river length, as discussed in later sections.\n\nLegal definition of the territory\n\nCuba's legal territory includes the main island, the Isle of Youth, and a large number of surrounding cays and islets. The Isle of Youth, known as the Isle of Pines until 1978, is the second-largest island in the country, with an area of about 2,200 km². It lies about 47 km south of the main island across the Gulf of Batabanó. It is administered as a special municipality, outside any province, and is therefore governed directly by the central government. The island's legal status has a long history. The Platt Amendment of 1901 left the Isle of Pines outside the proposed constitutional boundaries of Cuba and deferred its title to a later treaty. The Hay–Quesada Treaty, negotiated in 1904 but not ratified by both parties until 1925, recognized Cuban sovereignty over the island.\n\nThe Guantánamo Bay Naval Base occupies a separate legal position. Under the lease, the United States operates the base, while the territory remains part of Cuba. This arrangement creates a 28.5 km land border between the two countries, which is the only land boundary Cuba has. The legal definition of Cuba's territory therefore combines the main island, the Isle of Youth, the surrounding cays, and the leased enclave, and this combination explains why national totals and coastline figures vary among sources. Maritime zones, which extend from the coast into the sea, are treated in the section on boundaries and legal geography."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Island groups, coastline, and offshore islands",
      "text": "Cuba's main island is surrounded by four principal archipelagos. The Colorados Archipelago lies off the northwestern coast and consists mostly of smaller cays. The Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago runs along the northern coast and includes the Jardines del Rey group. Its coral reef system is often described as the most extensive in the western hemisphere, and it is considered the largest system of keys in the Caribbean. The Jardines de la Reina lies roughly 60 miles off the south coast, and its more than 600 islands and cays are relatively isolated from central Cuba, which has helped protect its reefs and mangroves from tourism and fishing pressure. The Canarreos Archipelago, also to the south, contains the Isle of Youth and many smaller keys.\n\nCounting the keys and islets\n\nPublished totals vary widely. Older references and some tourist and reference sites give about 1,600 keys and islets, while more recent lists count 4,195 islands and cays. Other sources round this to \"about 4,200\" or \"more than four thousand.\" A 1911 encyclopedia estimated roughly 1,300 coral keys, which at that time blocked access to perhaps half of the coastline. The differences mostly come from decisions about what qualifies as an island: whether tiny rocks, reef flats that are exposed only at low tide, and features visible only on large-scale charts are included. The date and scale of the survey also matter. Archipelago-level figures are inconsistent too. The Canarreos is credited with about 350 islands in one source and with more than 670 keys and islets in another.\n\nCoastline\n\nCoastline figures depend on whether bays, reefs, and the Guantánamo Bay area are counted. One widely cited set of figures gives the main island a coastline of about 5,746 km, a value that includes the U.S. Navy's Guantánamo Bay Naval Base. A commonly cited national figure is 3,735 km. A 1911 reference, which excluded reefs, islets, keys, and minor indentations, gave about 2,500 km, which shows how strongly the method affects the result. The coast itself is highly irregular, with hundreds of bays and inlets, and many narrow, shallow rivers reach the sea through it.\n\nThe Isle of Youth\n\nThe Isle of Youth (Isla de la Juventud) is the second-largest island in the Cuban territory, after the main island, and the seventh-largest island in the West Indies. It was known as the Isle of Pines (Isla de Pinos) until 1978. Its area is reported as about 2,200 km² for the island itself, while the Special Municipality, which also covers adjacent islets, is about 2,419 km². It lies across the Gulf of Batabanó from the main island, and its distance from the coast is given as 50 km in some sources and about 100 km in others. Because of its size, population, and economy, it is administered directly by the central government rather than as part of any province, and its capital is Nueva Gerona."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Relief and topographic regions",
      "text": "Published estimates of how much of Cuba is flat differ, mostly because authors draw the line between \"plain\" and \"hill\" in different places. One encyclopedic profile says slightly more than half the island consists of flat or rolling terrain, and the remainder is hilly or mountainous, with mountains covering about a quarter of its total area. Other works put the plains at almost two-thirds of the Cuban landscape, and a tourism guide reaches three-fourths of the national territory by counting grasslands, hills and the lower, gentler mountain slopes. The point on which sources agree is that the mountains are a minority of the land and are grouped into separate blocks rather than one continuous spine.\n\nPlains and fertile valleys\n\nMost of the flat land is not level in a strict sense. Its undulation is slight, and the hills on it stay low, by the presence of hill less than 100 m above sea level. Two lowland basins are especially prominent. The lowlands include the Havana–Matanzas plains in the north-west and the wide Cauto basin in the east, the island's largest. The plains also sit between the mountain blocks: between these mountain systems is a large plain in the western province of Matanzas and another in the eastern province of Camagüey.\n\nThese lowlands are the core of Cuban agriculture. One description notes that three-fifths of Cuba displays flat or gently rolling fields and wide, fertile valleys—ideal for sugar cane and tobacco, while another adds that cattle graze on these fertile flatlands, and sugarcane, coffee, and tobacco are grown there. The fertility of the soils, rather than the relief alone, explains why the flatlands have been cultivated for so long.\n\nNorthern and southern coasts\n\nThe two coasts differ in character. The northern shore is usually described as low and somewhat rocky, and it is fringed by white sand beaches and palm trees with coral reefs just offshore. One encyclopedia profile instead calls the northern coast low and marshy, so the rocky-versus-marshy contrast is not uniform across sources.\n\nThe southern coast is the marshier of the two. Along the southern coast are long stretches of lowlands and swamps, including the great Zapata Swamp, which covers over 4,520 km2 (1,750 sq mi), making it the largest such area in the country. An older account describes the southern marsh as narrow: this marsh or low strip of coast is only a mile or two in width, except in the great Zapata area, and it gives way where higher ground meets the sea near Trinidad and Cienfuegos. These wetlands are discussed further in the section on wetlands and in the Zapata Swamp entry.\n\nHigher terrain in the southeast\n\nThe most substantial uplands lie toward the southeast. The southeastern tip of the island has rugged hills and mountains, and the most extensive mountainous zone of Cuba lies near its eastern extremity. The principal range there is the Sierra Maestra, which rises abruptly from the coast. Among Cuban ranges it is regarded as the steepest, and its summits are the highest in the country.\n\nOther uplands in the east are lower but still substantial. The Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa massif includes Pico Cristal (1,231 m), the second highest Cuban peak after Pico Turquino. Elsewhere the relief is less dramatic: smaller mountain zones with lower elevations occur near the midsection and in the far west. The central Escambray and the western ranges are treated in the section on mountains, which also covers the highest peaks."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Mountain ranges and highest points",
      "text": "The Sierra Maestra\n\nThe Sierra Maestra is the most rugged massif in Cuba. It lies at the southeastern end of the main island, running westward across the south of the old Oriente Province and rising abruptly from the coast. Its dimensions are roughly 240 km in length and 30 km in width, and most of it lies within Santiago de Cuba and Granma provinces. Its steep profile is one of the main features that distinguishes it from the lowland plains that cover most of the island. Because it is so steep, its slopes are poorly suited to cultivation, and its forests have survived better than those in the west of the country.\n\nPico Turquino, at 1,974 m (~6,500 ft), is the range's and the country's highest point. The summit sits inside Turquino National Park, a protected area established in 1980 and named after the peak. The name is thought to be a corruption of the Spanish word for turquoise, so-named for its apparent blue hues seen by the heights in certain views. The peak is also notable for its climate. It is the only place in Cuba where snowfall has been officially recorded, which last fell in February 1900.\n\nPublished heights for Pico Turquino are not uniform. Most geographic and national references give 1,974 m (6,476 ft), while the park's own listing and some image databases round this to 1,975 m. Older or less standardized figures of 2,005 m and 1,829 m could not be confirmed in the sources reviewed here, so they are not adopted in this entry. The differences among confirmed figures are a few metres and reflect survey methods and reference points rather than a change in the mountain itself.\n\nThe Escambray\n\nThe Sierra del Escambray, also called the Guamuhaya mountains, occupies the centre of the island. It is after the Sierra Maestra, Cuba's second most important mountain range. The massif spans about 80 kilometers (50 mi) from east to west, and 80 kilometers (50 mi) from north to south, and the Agabama River divides it into two sections: the western Guamuhaya and the eastern Sierra de Sancti Spíritus.\n\nIts highest summit is Pico San Juan, which sources give at 1,140 m. One Wikipedia-based source instead lists 960 m for the highest peak, but that figure carries a citation-needed flag, and the 1,140 m figure appears in more sources. The summit originally measured 1,142 m, and the top was lowered by 2 m in the 1980s to install a meteorological radar. The Escambray is also distinctive in its climate. Around Topes de Collantes, the mountainous area has its own microclimate and is always a couple of degrees cooler than Trinidad, and it's also far more likely to rain here than down by the coast. Cloud forests occur above about 1,000 m here and in the Sierra Maestra.\n\nThe Sierra de Trinidad\n\nThe name \"Sierra de Trinidad\" is used less consistently than the names above. The sources reviewed describe the terrain around the city of Trinidad on the south coast as a narrow strip wedged between the south coast and the Escambray Mountains, with the Escambray rising to the northwest of the town. No separate dimensions or peak heights were found for a distinct range, so this entry treats the area as the southern foothills of the Escambray rather than as an independent massif.\n\nMountain climate and rainfall\n\nElevation changes Cuba's climate in a consistent way. Moist northeast trade winds are pushed upward by the highlands, which cools the air and leads to heavier rain on exposed slopes; this process is known as orographic precipitation. In the Sierra Maestra, in the upper atmosphere, a northeast to southwest direction prevails. Consequently, cloud masses release the most rainfall on the windward side, meaning the northern part of the Park. Rainfall figures differ between sources. One park study reports annual average ranging from 1500 mm to 1700 mm between 600 and 1,900 m, while a botanical study gives between 1 600 and 2 000 mm and notes that condensation of cloud occurs mainly between 800 and 1 200 mosl. The two ranges likely reflect different sites and observation periods rather than a contradiction.\n\nTemperature falls with altitude as well. Upland pine forests in Cuba are reported to be somewhat less at higher elevations than the lowlands. Above about 1,000 m, the cooler and wetter air supports cloud forests that differ sharply from the dry scrub and tropical forest found near sea level. These contrasts make the mountains important both for biodiversity and as a source of water for the surrounding lowlands."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Karst, wetlands, and distinctive landscapes",
      "text": "Much of Cuba's scenery is karst terrain, which develops where limestone bedrock is chemically dissolved by slightly acidic rainwater. Karst is the general term for landscapes formed when limestone is dissolved by carbonic acid, in rain water. Over long periods, the same water enters fractures and widens them, which is why the process produces both surface relief and an underground network of passages. Heavy tropical rain speeds this dissolution. When cavities beneath the surface collapse, the ground above sinks and leaves behind steep, isolated hills called mogotes, as described in one account of the process: In the tropics, due to the heavy rains, the dissolution is fast. The ground collapses above the caves and the karst landscape may evolve to mogotes, which are isolated and steep-sided limestone hills.\n\nThe most famous karst scene is the Viñales Valley in Pinar del Río Province. The valley lies within the Sierra de los Órganos, part of the Guaniguanico range, and the conspicuous limestone mounds rising like islands from the bottom of the valley are called mogotes. They can be up to 300 m tall. Geologically, these hills are not the product of mountain building. Instead of forming through a mountainbuilding process, the mogotes are Jurassic remnants of a limestone plateau carved by chemical weathering and water. The valley's protected status dates from the 1970s, when it was designated for protection under the constitution in February 1976 and declared a National Monument in October 1978. Its karst and traditional agriculture were later recognized internationally, and the Viñales Valley was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in November 1999 for its outstanding karst landscape, traditional agriculture, vernacular architecture, arts, and music.\n\nBeneath these surface forms lies a substantial cave record. Cave passages in the Los Órganos mountain karst are often horizontal and open directly into the flanks of the mogotes. One study notes that caves are as long as 45 km, the largest in the country, with up to five levels. The same region shows a two-part pattern of underground drainage: the vertical (vadose) karstic features are due to the infiltration of the local rain (1800-2500 mm/year), while the horizontal pattern is due to the combined effects of fluvial drainage and uplift of the mountains. In Viñales, many caves are formed along fractures and bedding planes, with many of the cave systems, such as Cueva Santo Tomás, form as fracture and bedding controlled river systems within the resistant Jurassic rocks. Caves elsewhere in the island are also substantial. The Cueva del Gato Jibaro, for example, is 11 km long. Some regions remain poorly explored: there is a spectacular deep cone karst in the Camaguey region, which because of the difficulties of exploration, is virtually unexplored.\n\nKarst also extends offshore. Blue holes have been found in the northern and southern shelf, and the deepest, known as \"Ojo del Megano\", has the base at 70 m below sea level. On the south coast, a distinct cave type formed where tectonic rifting pulled the limestone apart. The caves are also anchialine waters that have an inland surface connection and subterranean connections to the sea. At the boundary between fresh and salt water, a sharp drop in dissolved oxygen occurs and a very unique fauna can be found.\n\nThe Zapata Swamp (Ciénaga de Zapata) is the island's main coastal wetland. Its area is reported inconsistently: one ecoregion dataset gives an area of 450 km2, a tourism-oriented source gives over 4,000 square kilometers, and another reference describes it as a expansive biosphere reserve [that] spans about 2,300 square miles. The differences likely reflect whether the reserve boundary or only the swamp itself is measured. The wetland mixes habitats: marshes, brackish lagoons, and mangrove swamps. Its marshes matter for fish reproduction, since they are used as nursery areas by juvenile fish, which in turn become food for overwintering migratory birds. Biological inventories list more than 900 species of plants, 175 species of birds, 31 species of reptiles, and more than 1,000 unique invertebrates, along with several endemic birds, including the Zapata wren and Zapata rail.\n\nCuba's wetlands extend beyond Zapata. The ecoregion covers 5,631 km2 (2,174 sq mi), about 4% of the island's area. They occur on lowland floodplains on island's northern and southern (Caribbean) shores. The best-known conservation concern is the Cuban crocodile, which is found only in the Zapata Swamp on mainland Cuba, and recently reintroduced to the Lanier swamp on the Isle of Youth. Its genetic identity is under pressure, because of the uncontrolled hybridization, the Cuban crocodiles are quickly losing their genetic identity. Monitoring methods are also changing. A 2023 environmental DNA study detected 47 (62.7%) of the 75 species known to inhabit the aquatic ecosystems of Zapata Swamp, as well as eight newly recorded species."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Geological setting and mineral resources",
      "text": "Tectonic position\n\nCuba sits in a structurally complicated part of the Caribbean. Most reconstructions place the island on the North American side of the plate boundary, with the Oriente transform fault marking the division from the Caribbean Plate (a tectonic map of the Caribbean shows Cuba as part of the North American Plate, separated from the Caribbean Plate by the Oriente Transform Fault). The island's rocks record an older collision. The Cuban orogenic belt developed through oblique convergence between the leading edge of the Caribbean Plate and the North American margin, and its continental and oceanic units now lie in thrust sheets pushed mainly toward the north-northeast (formed as a by-product of oblique convergence of the leading edge of the Caribbean Plate against the North American Plate). Cuba is therefore a remnant of a Cretaceous to early Tertiary orogenic belt, which survived because of the particular arrangement of the two plates (it is a remnant of a Cretaceous to early Tertiary orogenic belt that has been preserved because of the local configurations of the North American and Caribbean plates). To the south, the Cayman Trough is a pull-apart basin whose spreading centre has recorded the eastward drift of the Caribbean Plate since the late Eocene (a pull-apart basin whose spreading center has been recording the eastward migration of the Caribbean plate since the late Eocene). Ophiolites also form the floor of the trench (They also form the floor of the Cayman Trench.).\n\nRock types and sedimentary cover\n\nThe bedrock falls into three broad groups. The first is oceanic material. Ophiolites, which are fragments of former ocean crust, occur across the Caribbean, and Cuba holds the most extensive ultramafic outcrops in the region (Ophiolites are common throughout the Caribbean and extend from the Motagua fault zone, between the Maya and Chortis block, to Puerto Rico. Cuba's outcrops of ultrabasic rocks are the most extensive in the region.). The second is Cretaceous volcanic-arc and intrusive rock, which forms the central and northern belts of the island. The third is sedimentary cover. Cuba exposes Upper Jurassic and Cretaceous pelagic sediments that are rare, if not unique, in the Americas (Cuba exposes sequences of Upper Jurassic and Cretaceous nonvolcanic pelagic sediments that are rare, if not unique, in the Caribbean as well as in North, Central, and South America.). Carbonate terranes supply high-grade limestone, marble and sand used in industry (sand from carbonate terranes). This limestone-rich cover underlies the karst landscapes described elsewhere in this entry.\n\nMetallic and industrial minerals\n\nNickel and cobalt are the most economically important resources. They occur in laterite soils that formed on top of the ophiolites and hold the country's largest reserves of both metals (its mineral endowment includes chromite deposits in preserved fragments of oceanic crust known as ophiolites, and laterite soils that developed on top of the ophiolites; these laterite soils contain the country's most significant reserves of cobalt and nickel). The deposits near Moa and Nicaro in the east are the main sources, and Cuba is one of the world's significant producers of lateritic nickel (Cuba has a notable mineral and mining heritage, particularly for nickel and cobalt, which are hosted in lateritic deposits developed over ultramafic rocks derived from ophiolites, especially in eastern Cuba near Moa and Nicaro. Cuba is one of the world's significant producers of lateritic nickel.). The USGS estimated that Cuba ranked fifth among world cobalt producers in 2024, with about 1.1% of global output (In 2024, Cuba was estimated to be the world's 5th-ranked producer of cobalt, accounting for 1.1% of global production). Production is carried out largely by Moa Nickel S.A., a joint venture between the government and Sherritt International, with each partner holding half (Moa Nickel S.A., which was a joint venture between the Government and Sherritt International Corp. of Canada (Sherritt) (50% each) continued to mine laterite ore by open pit methods).\n\nOther metals are of lesser weight. Chromite, iron, manganese, copper and gold are present but considered secondary (Other mineral resources include chromite, iron, manganese, copper, and gold, though most are of secondary importance.). Copper and zinc occur in volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits, and copper also occurs in porphyry deposits (copper and zinc in volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits, copper in porphyry deposits). Among industrial minerals, kaolin is recorded at the Rio del Callejón deposit on the Isle of Youth (Rio del Callejon deposit, Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Pines; Island of Youth)). Salt and silica sand are also produced (Other mineral commodities produced in the country included bentonite, cement, crushed stone, feldspar, gypsum, kaolin, lime, limestone, marble, nitrogen, salt, silica sand).\n\nMining's economic weight\n\nThe sector's place in the economy has changed over time. Early Spanish mining focused on gold before shifting to building materials, and the El Cobre copper deposit was recorded in 1534 (Early Spanish efforts focused on gold, but limited reserves led to a shift toward building materials and ship caulking substances. In 1534, the El Cobre copper deposit was discovered). Before 1959 most mineral wealth was held by foreign firms, and the revolutionary government nationalized these assets (Before 1959, most of Cuba's mineral wealth was controlled by foreign firms. The 1959 Revolution nationalized these assets). After the Soviet Union's collapse, the sector declined, and later efforts concentrated on nickel and cobalt (After the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991, Cuba's mining sector struggled, but efforts to revitalize it continue, with a focus on nickel and cobalt production). The value of mining and quarrying fell to 0.6% of GDP in 2013, from 1.4% in 2000 (In 2013, the value of mining and quarrying activities accounted for 0.6 percent of Cuba's gross domestic product, compared with 1.4 percent in 2000).\n\nPetroleum and natural gas\n\nHydrocarbon exploration began with the Motembo oilfield, discovered in 1881, and about 25 oilfields have been found since, the largest being Boca de Jaruco and Varadero (Oil and gas exploration in Cuba began with the discovery of the Motembo oilfield in 1881. and some 25 oilfields have subsequently been discovered. the largest of which are Boca de Jaruco and Varadero.). The island has two oil-bearing provinces: a northern one containing the overthrust belt, and a southern one with Cretaceous–Tertiary basins (Two oil‐bearing provinces are known: the Northern Cuban Province, which includes the overthrust belt; and the Southem Cuban Province). The northern province is roughly 1,000 km long and 80–100 km wide, with sediments up to 12 km thick (Northern Cuban Province measures 1,000 km long and 80-100 km wide, with sediments up to 12 km thick.).\n\nDomestic output covers only part of demand. The USGS reports that about one-third of domestic petroleum demand is met by extra-heavy crude from near-offshore and onshore fields, and that the rest has come from Venezuela since at least 2007 (About one-third of Cuba's domestic petroleum demand is met by near-offshore and onshore production of extra heavy crude oil. Since at least 2007, the remaining two-thirds of Cuba's petroleum demand has been met by imports from Venezuela.). Other sources give a different picture. One paper states that domestic sources cover less than half of petroleum and petroleum product needs (Currently the petroleum and petroleum products needs of the island state are satisfied by own sources by less than a half.), while a report from a national network on Cuba says that 99% of domestic oil comes from the Heavy Crude North Coast Field (Ninety-nine percent of Cuban oil comes from the Heavy Crude North Coast Field). These figures measure different things, namely share of consumption versus share of domestic production, and the variation in the reported numbers should be read with that in mind. The crude is heavy: at Varadero, for example, the oil is dense and sulfur content exceeds 2% (the density of oil at the field of Varadero is 0.96-1 g/cm3 heaving up to upper horizons, oil recovery factor is 0.07-0.12, sulfur content exceeds 2%).\n\nNatural gas output is much smaller. Current production includes associated gas from onshore and shallow-water oil reservoirs, with the USGS noting about 20,000 barrels per day of oil equivalent in 2013 (Cuba's current crude oil and associated natural gas production from onshore and shallow water reservoirs is approximately 50,000 barrels per day of liquids and about 20,000 barrels per day oil equivalent of natural gas). Flared gas at the Matanzas–Varadero fields has been captured for power generation (Canadian energy and mining firm Sherritt Ltd. to convert flared gas from its Matanzas-Varadero oil fields into fuel through a combined cycle process.). Larger prospects remain largely unexploited. There is no deepwater hydrocarbon production at present (There is currently no deepwater production of hydrocarbons.), and estimates suggest the largest undeveloped reserves lie offshore (Cuban petroleum geologists predict that the largest undeveloped reserved are believed to be offshore.). Assessments of the North Cuba Basin are probabilistic estimates of undiscovered resources, not proven reserves, and they vary widely between studies."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Rivers, groundwater, and water resources",
      "text": "Cuba's rivers are short and carry relatively modest flows, and this shapes how the island stores and uses water. The longest is the river Cauto. Reference works put its length at about 343 km (213 mi), flowing west and north-west from the Sierra Maestra before reaching the Caribbean north of Manzanillo. Other sources give about 370 km (230 mi), so the published figures differ. Its navigable stretch is also reported inconsistently, but the estimates converge on roughly 70 miles, or about 110 km. Its drainage basin is usually cited at around 9,000 km², and the river forms a delta where it meets the Gulf of Guacanayabo. Apart from the Cauto, the country's rivers are brief. One study notes that the mean length of all major Cuban rivers is only 58 miles (93 kilometers), and due to the short course of the rivers, and the rapidity with which rainfall reaches the sea, much rainfall cannot be captured by aquifers. Flow is also strongly seasonal: eighty percent of the total flow of Cuban rivers occurs during the rainy season.\n\nRainfall is the basis of nearly all freshwater supply. Cuba's Second National Communication describes rainwater as its only water resource, a claim that sits uneasily with the groundwater figures discussed below. Estimates of mean annual rainfall vary with the period and method used. A long-term figure of 1,410 millimeters appears in one study, while an INRH resolution cited in an official-style fact sheet gives 1 335 mm, and a hydrogeological paper reports a 30-year average of about 1780 mm. Year-to-year variation is large. Rainfall varying from year to year by as much as 30 to 40 percent is typical, and in 1981 mean precipitation fell to about 70 percent of its 1980 level. For the water sector, this means that a few dry years can quickly empty reservoirs and reduce river flow.\n\nGroundwater is the other half of the picture. A Japanese government white paper describes Cuba as depending on groundwater for most of its water supply. Carbonate aquifers are central here: one study states that 66% of the Cuban land territory sits over carbonate aquifers, and these are the primary source of freshwater. Recharge follows the seasons. Research in the La Yana region found that the processes of infiltration and replenishment of groundwater resources have a seasonal nature, and on the Guanahacabibes Peninsula, groundwater rises quickly after rain and then falls off soon afterward. The main constraint is salinity. Coastal floods and sea water inundations have caused saline intrusion into aquifers, and the same concern appears for coastal aquifers in western Cuba. Havana's main source, the Cuenca Sur aquifer, illustrates the problem: its supply covers only approximately 60% of the water demand, and the volume of water intake from the Cuenca Sur aquifer dropped by half in the period between 2000 and 2010.\n\nWater management relies on a network of reservoirs and wells, and it is strained during drought. Water authorities have reported 242 reservoirs controlled by the INRH, the agency responsible for water resources. In 2026, the drought was severe: until March, the drought affected 62% of Cuban territory and water reserves were at 38% of their capacity, the lowest level since 2015. In Holguín, some communities reportedly went up to 90 days without water in October 2026, and an INRH delegate described reserves as favorable but unevenly distributed. Independent outlets have reported a different picture of the same events, so official and non-official accounts should be read side by side. Supply also depends on pumps and power. Pumping stations, aging pipes, and electricity supply all bear on delivery, and a complete dependence on electricity supply for pumping makes water service vulnerable to blackouts. Losses in distribution are another constraint. A 2017 report by Al Jazeera put losses from a leaking drainage system at more than 50 percent of the available water. Cistern trucks are the fallback, and one source estimates that 6% of Cubans must get their water from cistern trucks or other means. International cooperation has targeted groundwater management, including a Japanese technical project launched in 2013 that began with a \"groundwater model\" that will clarify the state of water quality, levels, and currents in the Cuenca Sur aquifer.\n\nTaken together, these sources point to a system in which reservoirs buffer short dry spells, aquifers provide the baseline supply, and rivers play a smaller role than their size suggests. The balance between surface and groundwater is still described differently across sources, and the gaps in data on rainfall, aquifer condition, and distribution losses make precise national estimates difficult."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Climate regime and seasonal rhythm",
      "text": "Cuba's climate is generally classed as tropical, and reference summaries describe the trade winds as its main moderating influence. The north-east trade winds, which blow for much of the year, keep daytime conditions comfortable, and the island's long, tapering form matters here too. Because almost no point lies far from the sea, onshore breezes reach most regions, which limits the seasonal swing in temperature. Afternoon sea breezes also offset much of the midday heat, so coastal areas feel more comfortable than their thermometer readings suggest.\n\nThe rainfall calendar is usually described as having two halves. Most sources place a drier period from roughly November to April and a wetter one from May to October, though the exact boundaries shift from place to place and from source to source. The wet season carries most of the annual rain, but the share varies in reporting. The Blue Green Atlas says about two-thirds of the total falls in the wetter months, while the same publication elsewhere gives three-quarters, apparently for rainy days rather than rainfall volume. The national average is often cited as about 1,400 mm a year, and it varies considerably from one year to the next. Wet-season rain tends to come in brief, heavy bursts, sometimes with lightning, and it is a seasonal pattern rather than a continuous drizzle.\n\nTemperature is where the seasonal contrast is least pronounced. Figures differ among sources. Wikipedia's geography entry gives an average of 23.1 °C in January and 27 °C in July, a gap of only about 4 °C. The Blue Green Atlas gives 22 °C for January and identifies August as the warmest month. A travel-oriented table gives higher monthly means of 24 °C in January and 31 °C in July. Reported average daily minimums and maximums are commonly given as about 21 °C and 28 °C, and the humidity typically ranges from about 75 to 95 percent throughout the year. Station-based figures for Guantánamo, the city in the far southeast, put January and July means near 24.6 °C and 29.1 °C, which suggests that local records can run warmer than national averages.\n\nRainfall and temperature vary markedly by region. The Blue Green Atlas reports that the mountains receive more than 1,800 mm a year, most lowland areas receive roughly 900 to 1,400 mm, and the area around Guantánamo Bay receives less than 650 mm. It describes the southeastern Guantánamo region as the island's driest, with totals as low as 500 mm. The same source also reports about 3,000 mm a year in northeastern Cuba, a sharp contrast that underlines how much local exposure and terrain shape the totals. Elevation also lowers temperatures. In the high Sierra Maestra, nighttime and winter temperatures can drop to around 5 to 10 °C, and frost is reported in some highland areas. Across the island, the interior is generally cooler than the coast, the southern coast is usually cooler than the north, and the northern coast is generally wetter than the south, except for sheltered spots such as Santiago de Cuba, which is one of the hotter cities."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Hurricanes and extreme weather",
      "text": "Cuba lies across one of the main lanes along which Atlantic tropical cyclones move toward the Gulf of Mexico and the Straits of Florida. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June to November, and a tropical cyclone that crosses the island can affect every province. A Berkeley case study on climate displacement puts the average at about two hurricanes a year, alongside periods of severe, prolonged drought. Because the island is long and narrow, track matters as much as strength. A storm passing the western end brings surge and wind to Pinar del Río and Artemisa, while one crossing the east tends to bring heavy rain, flooding, and landslides to Granma, Holguín, and Santiago de Cuba.\n\nRecent storms show how these patterns play out. Hurricane Irma in September 2017 crossed almost the whole north coast, affected 13 of the 15 provinces, and killed 10 people. In 2022, Hurricane Ian moved over the west with winds of about 200 km/h in places. Its centre stayed over the provincial capital of Pinar del Río for roughly 90 minutes, and sea water pushed up to two kilometres inland, with floodwaters reaching 1.5 metres. Ian left three people dead in Pinar del Río. Earlier, the 2008 hurricanes damaged an estimated 444,000 housing units, and about 63,000 were destroyed, in a country that already had a large housing deficit.\n\nDamage usually spreads across several systems at once. Hurricane Melissa struck eastern Cuba in late October 2025, after months of drought had emptied reservoirs in Granma, Guantánamo, Holguín, and Santiago de Cuba. The rapid switch from dryness to intense flooding caused landslides and overflowing reservoirs. UN reporting from mid-November 2025 described nearly 150,000 homes affected in Santiago de Cuba province, around 95,000 of them there, with about 2,300 total collapses, and agricultural damage estimated at 158,000 hectares. Nearly 60 per cent of the province was still without electricity at that time. Crop losses carry particular weight because the island imports an estimated 70 to 80 per cent of its food, so harvest losses translate into higher import needs. Tobacco, which an earlier UN assessment linked to roughly a tenth of goods exports, has also been damaged in past storms.\n\nExtreme heat and drought are as significant as wind. A 2024 study of heat waves from 1951 to 2023 counted about 224 events during dry seasons and 169 during rainy seasons. Although the east is the hottest region on average, the western and central regions experienced more hot extremes per year, and dry-season temperature anomalies were generally larger. Drought has repeatedly strained water supplies: an official of the national hydraulic institute recalled 38 months of intense drought before Irma's rains in 2017. The problem persisted into 2026. By March 2026, drought covered about 62 per cent of national territory, reservoir levels stood at 38 per cent of capacity, the lowest since 2015, and in May nearly 2.7 million people lacked regular access to drinking water. Heavy rain also arrives in short, severe bursts, which can overwhelm drainage in towns such as Havana, where low-lying neighbourhoods flood after downpours or storm surges.\n\nCuba's preparedness system is one of the most developed in the region and rests on evacuation rather than only on forecasting. Its national weather network includes sixty-eight stations that track storms, and the National Civil Defense maintains an early warning system and rescue teams. Every citizen takes part in an annual two-day drill, the Ejercicio Meteoro, which has run since 1986, and every person is assigned a refuge in advance of a storm. Evacuations are large and fast: about 180,000 people were moved in July 2021 ahead of Tropical Storm Elsa, and some residents of mountainous areas took refuge in prepared caves. For Ian, the Cuban Red Cross was activated 72 hours before landfall to help with evacuations. Preparedness does not remove the constraints on recovery, however. Power failures can disable water pumping, communications, and hospitals, and a US Embassy alert issued before Melissa warned that a fragile grid and limited capacity to supply goods could hamper both emergency response and recovery.\n\nFor the coming season, a 2026 warning from Cuban meteorologists anticipated drought and extreme heat in summer, possibly lower Atlantic cyclone activity under El Niño, and a potentially dangerous winter with intense rain, cold fronts, and tornadoes, especially in the west and centre. Early warning therefore has to cover both hurricanes and the slow-moving drought that often precedes them, as well as the heat waves and climate-related shifts in rainfall that are expected to intensify these risks."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Climate change, sea-level rise, and adaptation",
      "text": "Warming and changing rainfall\n\nEstimates of past warming in Cuba depend on the period and dataset chosen. A Cuban state-media report says the average annual temperature has risen 0.9 degrees Celsius since the middle of the last century. World Bank reanalysis data show a rate of 0.17 °C per decade since 1970, while an older UNDP country profile found that mean annual temperature had not shown a significant rate of increase since 1960. The gap probably reflects the different start dates and data sources.\n\nProjections point more consistently toward warming. One CMIP5-based estimate suggests that mean annual temperature in Cuba will rise by a median estimate of 1.6°C by 2050, with a sharp increase in days above 35 °C. A study of heat waves from 1951 to 2023 found that their mean maximum temperature has risen by roughly 0.3 °C per decade in the rainy season across all three regions.\n\nRainfall projections are less certain. Observed annual rainfall has been falling, at -10.7 mm per decade since 1970. Model ensembles for the 2090s give median changes of -3 to -8%, with individual models ranging widely. The coastal adaptation project documentation projects reduced rainfall, occurring mostly during the summer rainy season. Commentators also expect more intense downpours, since the wet season could become shorter and more concentrated.\n\nWater supply\n\nBecause rainfall is Cuba's only water source, reduced or erratic precipitation translates directly into supply stress. Salt is a second threat. Seawater moving into freshwater systems can cause the salination of aquifers and agricultural land, which reduces the freshwater available for groundwater pumping and irrigation.\n\nSea-level rise and saltwater intrusion\n\nA UNDP assessment projects that sea level could rise between 0.27m and 0.85m by the year 2100, flooding up to 5,969 km² and affecting more than 220 coastal settlements. Estimates of the national share of land at risk are much lower: one study of tide-gauge data found that flooding by 2100 would cover 8.24% of Cuban territory, assuming that all or most of the keys and islands will be flooded or seriously affected. Tide-gauge trends themselves vary by site, ranging from 0.005 cm/year at Casilda and 0.214 cm/year at Siboney. A figure of about six centimetres a year, cited by provincial officials, is far above these records and should be treated with caution.\n\nExposure is concentrated because a large share of the population lives near the sea. With 57 per cent of its population living in coastal municipalities, Cuba faces heightened vulnerability to sea-level rise and storms. In Havana, the coastal zone houses 37% of the population of Havana. Authorities in Sancti Spíritus report that saltwater intrusion, soil erosion and the disappearance of mangroves are increasingly noted in the local municipalities. Researchers expect seawater intrusion in rivers and aquifers will increase as the sea rises. In response, the national sea-level debate has increasingly focused on saltwater intrusion as a core planning problem.\n\nImpacts on agriculture, forestry, tourism, and health\n\nAgriculture is among the most exposed sectors. Rice growers in Sancti Spíritus are seeking varieties that are more resistant to saltwater and water stress, and are also restoring freshwater channels to limit salt penetration. A background overview of the economy notes that warming and changing rainfall will severely impact industries key to the economy, including agriculture, forestry and tourism. Coastal tourism is also at risk: one travel-industry report describes chronic shoreline retreat at Varadero and Cayo Coco, though this source is not a scientific study and its claims need independent confirmation. Public health is another concern, as warmer temperatures may affect the health of the population, and heat-related and coastal hazards are both listed among the main risks to Havana.\n\nNational responses\n\nCuba's main policy framework is the Tarea Vida State Plan to Confront Climate Change, which was adopted by Cuba's national assembly in April 2017. Sources differ on which body approved it. Its implementation is organised around eleven key tasks, the first of which calls for adaptation measures in 15 priority areas. The government identifies water and food security, reducing the exposure of its population to sea level rise, flooding and drought and the protection of its ecosystems as its main adaptation priorities. The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (CITMA) liaises closely with the local and provincial government on local response plans.\n\nCuba's third nationally determined contribution was submitted in February 2025. It treats adaptation as the top national priority, although the country's emissions are very small, at 0.08 per cent of global emissions. Major externally funded projects support this work. The Green Climate Fund-financed MI COSTA project covers 1,300 km of coastline, 24 communities, and 1.3 million people, and includes the restoration of 11,427 ha of mangroves. A separate project for the Havana coast aims to prepare an adaptation plan that considers the medium (2030) and long-term (2050) climate risks and specific vulnerabilities."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Ecosystems and biodiversity",
      "text": "Cuba's coastal habitats form a linked mosaic rather than separate patches. In a seventeen-year study of two reef crests on the northwest coast, researchers found that the connection between mangroves, seagrass beds and coral reefs helps reefs recover from disturbance, and that this linkage may explain why one site was in better condition than the other. Ecological connectivity between the mangrove ecosystem, seagrasses, and coral reefs makes reefs more resilient to disturbances. These nursery habitats also carry real economic weight. In the Jardines de la Reina area, large mangrove forests shelter young fish that later reach fisheries far beyond Cuban waters, which is why conservation groups treat the site as a regional fish source. Jardines de la Reina's vast mangrove forests sustain young fish that may eventually end up on dinner plates in Miami. Mangroves also reduce storm damage to the coast, a service that matters given the island's exposure to hurricanes.\n\nReef decline is the most serious trend in the marine record. Caribbean reef crests have lost roughly 80% of the foundational coral Acropora palmata, with declines recorded from the 1950s, mainly because of human activity. In the northwest study, the authors recorded an overall fall in A. palmata density and coral cover, along with a marked rise in macroalgae, over the 2005–2021 period. The authors linked the losses to anthropogenic activities and hurricanes. Local pressures include runoff from oil extraction and a thermoelectric plant, which may threaten the reef at one site. The reef at Rincón de Guanábo could be affected by pollutants produced by oil drilling and extraction from the Boca de Jaruco thermoelectric power station.\n\nCuba's biodiversity is high in endemic species, which is a consequence of its island history. Sea levels have repeatedly connected and separated the islands, and at times the Cuban islands were more connected to land and other islands around them, for instance when sea level was lower thousands of years ago, and at other times they have been very isolated. Estimates of endemism vary by group. A museum resource states that roughly half of all plants and a third of all vertebrates in Cuba are endemic. Amphibians show an even higher share: 56 of the 59 known amphibian species (95%) are endemic. For flora, one overview puts the figure at approximately 53% endemic among more than 7,000 species, while another gives around 49-53% of Cuban flora as endemic, so the exact percentage depends on the count used. Among mammals, the 59 native species, 24 extinct ones and 35 surviving species are mostly endemic to the Cuban archipelago.\n\nSeveral threats are acting on these species. Land use is the most widespread: the same overview identifies habitat fragmentation and loss, which reduce many ecosystems to small patches, as a current problem, and it lists historic deforestation, mining, intensive agriculture, urbanization, climate change and illegal wildlife trade among the main pressures. Invasive species are a serious concern for small endemic animals. A total of 44 mammal species have been introduced since 1509, and 33 of these invasive species live in the wild, exerting different levels of impact mainly through predation and competition. Feral cats are a documented predator of the endemic Cuban solenodon and the Cuban hutia. Climate change adds stress through warming and storm damage, and the threat to reefs from hurricanes, described above, is an example.\n\nCuba has built a substantial protected-area system. Its marine protected areas, which are managed under categories adapted from IUCN classifications, cover 30% of Cuba's coral reefs, 24% of seagrass beds, and 35% of mangrove ecosystems. A recent addition, the MPA east of the Los Colorados archipelago, spans 728 square kilometers and helps raise the nation's marine protected coverage to 28.5% of its marine continental shelf. On land, six sites are recognized as UNESCO biosphere reserves, each combining marine, coastal and terrestrial ecosystems. One example is the Ciénaga de Zapata, a 628,171-hectare reserve that encompasses the Zapata Swamp and is one of the largest and most important wetlands in the Caribbean region. The Península de Guanahacabibes reserve, which dates from 1987, shelters Cuba's westernmost mangroves, which are renowned for their rich biodiversity and high levels of endemism. Reported area figures for some sites differ. For Jardines de la Reina, one source gives about 684,000 hectares, while another gives an extent of more than 536,219 acres, which is much smaller. Because these sources use different boundaries or units, the figure should be checked against the official designation before it is cited."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Population distribution and urbanization",
      "text": "Cuba's population figure depends heavily on the source. Compilations based on United Nations estimates put the population at about 10.9 million in 2026, while the national statistics office (ONEI) reports a much smaller effective (resident) population. ONEI counted 9,434,593 residents at the end of 2025, a fall of 313,414 in one year. The gap is driven largely by emigration, which the government does not fully publish. The last full census, taken in September 2012, counted 11,167,325 people, so the population has declined substantially since then. An independent estimate by the demographer Juan Carlos Albizu-Campos put the end-2024 figure at 8,025,624, far below the official count, and he argues that emigration to destinations other than the United States is underestimated.\n\nUrban share\n\nUrban population estimates also vary. One UN-based profile gives an urban share of about 82% for 2026. A different compilation puts it at 78.6% and records a rise from 75.3% in 2000. These differences partly reflect national definitions of \"urban,\" which are not harmonized across countries. Some aggregator sites report an urban share near 98%, a figure that is not consistent with the other series and should be treated with caution. In practice, Cuba is one of the more urbanized societies in the Caribbean, but a large share of its people live in small towns and in the countryside, particularly in the eastern provinces.\n\nHavana and the major cities\n\nHavana dominates the national settlement pattern. The 2012 census recorded about 2.15 million people in the province of La Habana, the largest of any province. City-level figures depend on whether one counts the municipal core or a wider urban agglomeration. UN-based data put the city at about 1.81 million in 2023, while other estimates for 2025 give about 1.59 million for the urban area. The second city, Santiago de Cuba, recorded 507,167 people in 2022 and has historically been the island's second urban centre. Further down the urban hierarchy are Holguín, Camagüey, Santa Clara, Bayamo, and Guantánamo, each with populations in the low hundreds of thousands according to the same estimates.\n\nHistorical patterns of settlement\n\nThe current distribution reflects colonial geography. Santiago de Cuba was founded in 1515 by the Spanish conquistador Diego Velázquez, and it grew as a port on the south-eastern coast, which faced the Caribbean sea lanes. Havana, on the north-western coast, became the main harbour through which Spanish shipping was organized, and its role as a port city drew commerce, administration, and population to the north coast. The fertile western and central lowlands developed into plantation zones for sugar and tobacco, relying on enslaved African labour until abolition in 1886. Plantation towns, mill centres, and port cities thus formed the early urban network, and many of these towns remain significant today. The Spanish colonial government also established the provincial divisions in 1879, which shaped later administrative patterns.\n\nUrban strain and rural–urban differences\n\nCities concentrate housing demand, water use, and transport needs, and in Cuba these pressures are compounded by old building stock and aging infrastructure. Dense urban areas such as Havana can experience higher temperatures than surrounding areas, a pattern described as the urban heat island effect, which increases cooling demand at times when the electrical grid is already under stress. Water and sanitation systems in older neighbourhoods are also costly to maintain. Rural areas face different constraints: agricultural work, limited services, and in many cases a steady outflow of young people to provincial cities, the capital, or abroad. These movements, together with the country's low fertility and rapid population aging, mean that the urban–rural balance is shifting in ways that planners must address in housing, health care, and infrastructure investment. Further detail on these trends appears in the urbanization and urban planning literature."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Land use, agriculture, and forests",
      "text": "Agricultural land and crop structure\n\nAgricultural land covers a large share of Cuba, but the figure depends on the dataset and year. The World Bank series puts agricultural land at about 61.7 percent of land area in 2023 Cuba CU: Agricultural Land: % of Land Area data was reported at 61.667 % in Dec 2023. A 2018 national-style table separates the total further, giving about 33.8 percent arable land and 22.9 percent permanent pasture arable land: 33.8% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 22.9% (2018 est.). Arable-only indicators are lower again, with one FAO-based series reporting 28.02 percent for 2018 Arable land (% of land area) in Cuba was 28.02 as of 2018.\n\nSugar cane has shaped this geography more than any other crop. By the late nineteenth century, by 1893 about half of Cuba's cultivated land was in sugar cane. A 1997 survey found the same dominance: cane was accounting for approximately half of the cultivated area. The same survey listed tobacco at only about 67,000 hectares Tobacco 67, reflecting how far the island's cropping had shifted toward cane. Cane was concentrated in the eastern plains, where the plains of the eastern provinces furnish the bulk of the crop. Tobacco, historically associated with western Pinar del Río, remained a specialty crop with a much smaller footprint.\n\nLand reform, state control, and the sugar decline\n\nAfter 1959 the state reorganized land tenure. Agrarian reforms moved about 6 million hectares (14.8 million acres), or 60 percent of the total, were confiscated, expropriated or purchased from mid-1959 to late 1963. Of this, one million hectares were transformed into the state sugar cane farms. Later measures capped private holdings: the remaining private land was held in plots of 67 hectares or less, operated under direction of state-controlled agencies.\n\nThe sugar economy then contracted sharply. Output decreased from 7.1 million tons to 4.4 million tons between 1991 and 1993, and by 2007 it had decreased to 1.2 million tons. Production hit a low of 300,000 tonnes in 2024, and Reuters reported that Cuba expected to output a similar volume in 2025, as it struggles to find the resources to plant cane. Cane's share of farm output also fell, from nearly two thirds in 1990 to a little under a third in later assessments. Smallholders' role has grown in relative terms: one source states that small-scale farmers control only 25 percent of Cuba's farmland, yet produce more than 65 percent of the country's food. This figure is older and comes from a single source, so it should be treated with caution.\n\nSoil condition, inputs, and urban agriculture\n\nSoil quality is a persistent constraint. A 2007 assessment by a Cuban agronomist reported that 75 percent of Cuba's farmland was degraded to some degree, with large areas low in fertility and organic matter. Input supply has been unreliable. Due to the shortage of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, a popular movement of urban agriculture developed. By 2002, 35,000 acres (140 km2) of urban gardens produced 3.4 million metric tons of food. In Havana, 90% of the city's fresh produce come from local urban farms and gardens.\n\nOrganic farming is widespread in practice but small in formal terms. Estimates suggest that about 25% of Cuban farms operate organically. However, in terms of land area officially classified as organic farmland, sources report a much smaller figure, around 0.03%. The gap is attributed to agroecological methods, which often go uncertified. Reliable recent data on irrigated area are scarce in the sources consulted, so this section does not give an irrigated-land figure.\n\nWeather is a recurring shock to production. Inclement weather, in particular hurricanes intermixed with periodic droughts, frequently limits Cuba's agricultural production. In 2001, Hurricane Dennis devastated Cuban agriculture production to the point that the country had to import over $4 million worth of food and agricultural products in the last six weeks of that year. A 2026 figure, reported in a general overview, states that agricultural output fell by 60% following a fuel blockade by the United States. This number has not been independently verified here, and the attribution is disputed in public debate.\n\nForest cover and reforestation\n\nForest history runs in the opposite direction. Before Spanish colonization, Cuba was estimated to have forest coverage of 90%. Clearing for sugar and timber was extensive: both the foreign-owned timber and sugarcane industries played significant roles in destroying much of Cuba's lush forest areas. Estimates of cover in 1959 differ, with one source giving only 14% of Cuba was thought to be covered in forest and another citing 11%.\n\nAfter 1959 the government began large-scale planting. Between 1960 and 1990, as a result of the revolutionary government's reforestation program, 2.5 billion trees were planted in Cuba. Official estimates put forest cover at 18.2 percent of the national territory by 1992, and at 30.6% of its territory by the end of 2015. Recent figures vary by source: one table gives forest at 27.3 percent for 2018 forest: 27.3% (2018 est.), while another reports about 31 percent for 2018 increased forest coverage from 14 percent at that time to 31 percent in 2018. Planting has also slowed. National statistics show the planted area in the country decreased from 12,615.9 hectares in 2020 to 8,191.7 hectares in 2024.\n\nForests also carry a protective role in national policy. A 2011 FAO report noted that Cuba has the highest proportion of its forest designated for protective functions in Latin America and the Caribbean."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Energy resources and electrical infrastructure",
      "text": "Domestic petroleum and import dependence\n\nCuba produces some of its own oil, but domestic output covers only part of national demand, and published shares vary. The IEA gives domestic crude production as 40.8% of total crude oil supply in 2024. A Worldometer calculation based on 2024 consumption puts domestic output at about 26% of consumption. An industry compilation puts it at 25–30% of demand. The gap largely comes from comparing crude alone with all petroleum liquids, and from using total supply rather than consumption as the denominator. Most of the country's oil is burned for electricity, with comparatively little used for transport. The output is mainly heavy, sulfur-rich crude, which needs more complex refining than Cuba has built, and much of the refining capacity sits idle. Imports have historically come mainly from Venezuela, which was Cuba's primary supplier before the ouster of Nicolás Maduro, and the loss of that supply has made the deficit acute. petroleum and fossil-fuel imports therefore shape the entire energy system.\n\nGeneration mix: thermoelectric plants, gas, and solar\n\nFossil fuels dominate. Oil and natural gas supply roughly 80% of total primary energy, and in 2024 about 96% of electricity was generated from fossil sources. The core of the system is a set of thermoelectric plants. Reporting from the Ministry of Energy and Mines describes eight plants with 20 generating blocks, which form the base of the system. Many blocks are old: most have run for more than 30 years, and seven have run for more than 40. Natural gas, which is produced domestically and also used for power, makes up a smaller but significant share of installed capacity. natural-gas and electricity are central to this mix.\n\nSolar power has expanded quickly. Chinese-funded solar-energy parks, each of about 22 MW, are being installed across the provinces. The government says 144 solar parks with a total capacity of 1,418 MW are operating and supply roughly a fifth of generation, though these figures come from official statements and have not been independently verified. Analysts point out that Cuba has almost no grid-scale battery storage, so daytime solar output cannot cover evening demand, and that solar cannot replace thermoelectric plants for steady baseload power. The official target is 24% of generation from renewable-energy by 2030.\n\nGrid condition and the 2026 collapses\n\nThe grid has been operating with very little margin. In 2023 about 15,331 GWh was generated, and transmission and distribution losses reached roughly 24%. Peak demand is around 3,000 MW, and a 2024 analysis recorded a generation deficit of 1,378 MW. Operators have repeatedly rationed power, and some Havana neighborhoods have gone without electricity for more than 24 consecutive hours. Individual plants fail often; in 2026 the Felton plant in Holguín stopped after a pump-system fault, and the Antonio Guiteras plant in Matanzas, one of the largest, also went offline.\n\nThe 2026 nationwide collapses are reported in several different ways. On July 6, the Energy Ministry said the national grid had suffered a total collapse, and the state utility Unión Eléctrica (UNE) described a \"total disconnection.\" Some reports counted that event as the third nationwide blackout of the year, others as the fourth. By the blackout of August 2, which the U.S. Embassy in Havana reported at 10:43 p.m. Eastern time, Fox News counted six nationwide failures in 2026, three of them in July. Residents faced heat indexes above 100°F without air conditioning, and the outages also disrupted phone and internet service.\n\nCompeting explanations\n\nCuban officials attribute the fuel shortages to U.S. sanctions and pressure on fuel shipments, and CNN described the crisis as worsened by an effective U.S. blockade on fuel shipments. Washington's tariff order on any country supplying oil to Cuba is cited as a factor in the decline of supply. Other analysts emphasize that the system was failing before these measures. They point to decades of underinvestment, deferred maintenance, and Soviet-era generating equipment, and argue that the grid had been in progressive decline since at least 2024. Reporting on specific collapses is also inconsistent. Fox News noted that the cause of the latest blackout was unclear, and UNE attributed one disruption during partial restoration to weather conditions that affected units online. Accounts of each collapse therefore depend on whether the emphasis is on fuel supply, equipment age, or operating conditions."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Ports, transport, and strategic location",
      "text": "Harbors and maritime gateways\n\nHavana is the island's oldest and most important port. It has been the main port in Cuba for more than 500 years, and its services include cargo handling, cruise terminals, and ship repair. The harbor lies in a sheltered, landlocked bay whose narrow entrance is flanked by fortifications such as El Morro Castle, which made it easy to defend but limited its room for large modern vessels. The Havana Bay channel is constrained by a tunnel that restricts depths to 11 metres, which is why the newer container facilities were built elsewhere.\n\nMariel, about 45 km west of Havana, is the main modern deep-water gateway. It is sited in a protected bay and forms the core of the Mariel Special Development Zone, which is meant to attract foreign investment. Sources disagree on its depth: one industry notice reports a dredged channel that accommodates vessels up to 1,200 feet long, 170 feet wide and 49 feet deep, while another directory gives a dredging target of up to 60ft. Its container terminal was planned with an annual capacity of 850,000 to 1 million containers, compared with Havana's 350,000. The port was Brazilian-financed and opened in 2014 as a modern facility.\n\nOther harbors have more limited roles. Santiago de Cuba, on the southeastern coast, is generally described as the second-largest port, and its bay is linked to the Caribbean. Guantánamo Bay, in the far east, is divided into inner and outer harbors and is among the largest ports on the island. Bahía Honda, on the northwest coast, had long been noted as a site with a limited area of anchorage for deep drafts, a limitation that early naval assessments treated as decisive for its strategic value.\n\nShipping routes and strategic position\n\nCuba's location gives it control over several of the Caribbean's main routes. Havana faces the Straits of Florida, which connects the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic with the Caribbean and separates the island from Florida. Western Cuba and South Florida form a close maritime relationship across roughly 90 miles of water. Guantánamo's bay faces the Windward Passage, the channel between Cuba and Hispaniola that carries traffic between the Atlantic and the Caribbean. The Yucatán Channel, to the west of Cuba, links the Gulf of Mexico with the Caribbean and is the approach to the Panama Canal from the north. Havana's historical role as a convoy assembly point for Spanish fleets reflects this position.\n\nRail and road networks\n\nThe rail system is organised around a single long spine. The National Railway Company, formed in 1924, runs standard-gauge track that extends from Guane, Pinar del Río province, in the westernmost part of the island up to Guantánamo bay in the eastern part. The main Central line runs from Havana to Santiago de Cuba, and the network connects the main seaports and the provincial capitals. Sources differ on its size: one reference gives a track length of 4,556 kilometres, while a transport overview lists a total of 8,285 km including narrow-gauge lines. Electrified lines are short, at about 1,055 kilometres in a system that is otherwise mostly diesel.\n\nRoads follow the same east–west logic. The Carretera Central is classified as part of the national motorway project, and the planned Autopista A1 is intended to run about 900 km from Havana to Guantánamo, though it is only partly built. The Circuito Norte, at 1,222 km, is the second-longest highway after the Carretera Central. Because the island is so elongated, travel between the western and eastern extremes takes a long time, and the most developed corridors cluster around Havana and the northern coast. Eastern and southern areas are linked to the core mainly through this long axis.\n\nGuantánamo Bay Naval Base\n\nThe naval base at Guantánamo Bay is the most unusual feature of the island's strategic geography. It originated in the Platt Amendment, under which Cuba agreed to sell or lease to the United States lands necessary for coaling or naval stations. The lease was signed in February 1903 for coaling and naval stations, and a later agreement set the payment terms. The 1903 arrangements acknowledged Cuban sovereignty, but granted to the United States \"complete jurisdiction and control over\" the property so long as it remained occupied.\n\nA 1934 treaty tied the lease to a binding rule: the lease can only be modified or abrogated pursuant to an agreement between the United States and Cuba, and the territorial limits of the naval station remain as they were in 1934, unless the two governments agree otherwise. The Cuban government has repeatedly demanded the return of the base, while the base continues to operate under the lease. Its legal status as a U.S.-operated enclave on Cuban territory, along with its use for detention operations, remains a subject of political and legal debate."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Boundaries, maritime zones, and legal geography",
      "text": "The land boundary at Guantánamo Bay\n\nCuba's only land boundary is the one around Guantánamo Bay. The main island has 28.5 km of land border, a figure that includes the U.S. Navy's Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. The arrangement dates from the 1903 lease. In February 1903, the United States and Cuba signed a lease for \"coaling and naval stations\", and the lease recognized the continuing ultimate sovereignty of the Republic of Cuba, while giving the United States \"complete jurisdiction and control\" over the area during its occupation. The lease area is usually given as 45 square miles of land and water around the bay, roughly 116.5 km², although a press account of the period gives about 117 km².\n\nThe lease's duration is a legal matter. A 1934 treaty reaffirmed the lease and made it permanent unless both governments agreed to end it, or until the U.S. abandoned the base. According to the Congressional Research Service, the territorial limits of the naval station remain as they were in 1934, unless the United States abandons Guantanamo Bay or the two governments agree to modify its boundaries.\n\nMaritime boundaries with neighbouring states\n\nCuba has no land neighbours, so its boundaries with Mexico, the United States, the Bahamas, Haiti, Honduras and Jamaica are all maritime. The first agreement with Mexico was made by diplomatic notes in 1976. It established a maritime boundary in the Yucatan Channel, which connects the Gulf of Mexico to the Caribbean Sea. The line follows the equidistance principle, and it was drawn from a set of coordinates so far as can be determined from the best information available.\n\nThe boundary with the United States was negotiated in 1977. The parties agreed to provisional application, effective January 1, 1978, pending permanent entry into force after the exchange of instruments of ratification, and that exchange has not taken place. The line has been observed since 1978 but has not been ratified. In 2017, the two countries agreed to a short two-point extension of the boundary into the extended continental shelf in the eastern Gulf. Cuba's agreements with the Bahamas and Haiti are listed by the UN as well; the Bahamas agreement entered into force on 9 March 2012.\n\nTerritorial sea, contiguous zone, EEZ and continental shelf\n\nCuba's maritime zones are set by a series of domestic decree-laws, and they are the national basis for the rules of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The territorial sea is set by Decree-Law No. 1 of 1977 at 12 nautical miles. The contiguous zone was added in 1995 and extends up to 24 nautical miles. The exclusive economic zone is established by Decree-Law No. 2 of 1977 and Decree-Law 266 of 2009, and in the Gulf of Mexico its extension is 200 nautical miles. Cuba also deposited a list of geographical coordinates for the outer limits of its exclusive economic zone in the Gulf of Mexico in June 2009.\n\nUnder the Convention, the exclusive economic zone gives a coastal state sovereign rights for exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, living or non-living, of the waters, seabed and subsoil. The continental shelf is handled separately. Cuba made a submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf on 1 June 2009, and a 2024 executive summary covers the high seas of the eastern part of the Gulf of Mexico, bounded by the exclusive economic zones of Cuba, Mexico and the United States.\n\nArea and coastline figures\n\nSources give different totals for Cuba, and most of the gap comes from definitions. The CIA-based figure is 110,860 km² with a land area of 109,820 km², while the official Cuban area is 109,884 km². The difference between total and land area is the water area of 1,040 sq km. The definitions matter: total area is the sum of all land and water areas delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines, and land area excludes inland water bodies such as lakes, reservoirs and rivers. Other series exclude more. The World Bank-style land indicator, for instance, excludes inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones, and it gives 103,800 km² for 2021.\n\nThe main island is a separate case. Its area is 105,006 km², which makes it the 16th largest island in the world by land area, though one source ranks it 17th. Coastline figures also diverge: one profile gives 3,735 km for the total coastline, while another gives 5,746 km for the main island, including Guantanamo Bay. The sources do not explain the gap, but measurement scale and the treatment of cays and inlets are the usual causes. Even the Isle of Youth has conflicting figures: 2,200 sq km in one source and 3,056 km² in another.\n\nMapping sources and remote sensing\n\nTerritorial and maritime figures depend on the cartographic base used. Equidistance lines are computed from baselines and coastlines, so changes in the input data move the boundary. Modern territorial studies usually rely on geographic information systems and remote sensing to measure coastlines and compare them across scales. For example, a recent global remote sensing analysis suggested there were 675 km² of tidal flats in Cuba, a figure that depends on the satellite method used. Readers comparing national statistics should therefore check whether a source counts Guantánamo, excludes inland water, or uses EEZ and shelf data."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    "climate-change",
    "sea-level-rise",
    "map",
    "wetland",
    "mountain",
    "biodiversity",
    "karst",
    "river",
    "drainage-basin",
    "climate",
    "groundwater",
    "irrigation",
    "sustainable-development",
    "electrical-grid",
    "population-ageing",
    "infrastructure",
    "urbanization",
    "urban-planning",
    "petroleum",
    "fossil-fuel",
    "natural-gas",
    "electricity",
    "solar-energy",
    "renewable-energy"
  ],
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    },
    {
      "title": "Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa",
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    },
    {
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    },
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    },
    {
      "title": "Karst haystacks, called mogotes, are limestone remnants of a higher...",
      "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Karst-haystacks-called-mogotes-are-limestone-remnants-of-a-higher-landscape-that_fig9_283975293"
    },
    {
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      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vi%C3%B1ales"
    },
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    },
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      "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Los-Organos-mountain-karst-in-western-Cuba-Very-large-horizontal-caves-show-entrances-in_fig1_292995400"
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      "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/figure/a-Tectonic-map-of-the-Caribbean-showing-the-position-of-Cuba-as-a-part-of-the-North_fig3_252786886"
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    },
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    },
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    },
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    },
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      "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/w11101989"
    },
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      "title": "www.mofa.go.jp",
      "url": "https://www.mofa.go.jp/files/000175937.pdf"
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      "url": "https://www.rudmet.ru/journal/2347/article/38627/?language=en"
    },
    {
      "title": "Between Drought and Floods, Cuba Seeks to Improve Water Management",
      "url": "https://www.ipsnews.net/2018/09/drought-floods-cuba-seeks-improve-water-management/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Lack of rainfall exacerbates drought in Camagüey and threatens food production and water supply",
      "url": "https://en.cibercuba.com/noticias/2026-08-22-u1-e209363-s27061-nid338486-falta-lluvias-agrava-sequia-camaguey-amenaza"
    },
    {
      "title": "Authorities Claim \"Favorable\" Water Reserves as Holguín Communities Endure 90-Day Shortages",
      "url": "https://www.cubaheadlines.com/articles/341743"
    },
    {
      "title": "The daily struggle of Cubans with water.",
      "url": "https://en.cibercuba.com/noticias/2026-06-04-u1-e208574-s27061-nid331167-lucha-diaria-cubanos-agua"
    },
    {
      "title": "watering revolution cuba struggle water 170309092028542",
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    },
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    },
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      "title": "Cauto in Granma",
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    },
    {
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    },
    {
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      "url": "https://en.meteorologiaenred.com/Drought-in-Cuba:-reservoirs-at-their-limit--urgent-works-and-water-distribution.html"
    },
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      "url": "https://bluegreenatlas.com/climate/cuba_climate.html"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba Weather, Seasons & Regional Climate Zones",
      "url": "https://www.anywhere.com/cuba/travel-guide/weather"
    },
    {
      "title": "Guantánamo climate: Weather Guantánamo & temperature by month",
      "url": "https://en.climate-data.org/north-america/cuba/guantanamo/guantanamo-3205/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Weather in Cuba by Month: Hurricane Season Guide",
      "url": "https://www.entrycubaform.com/news/cuba-weather-hurricane-season"
    },
    {
      "title": "cuba tiempo .com - Climate and Average Temperatures in Cuba",
      "url": "http://www.cubatiempo.com/gb/climate.php"
    },
    {
      "title": "Hurricane Rafael - Nov 2024",
      "url": "https://reliefweb.int/disaster/tc-2024-000203-cub"
    },
    {
      "title": "Active Hurricane Season Highlights Cuba's Vulnerabilities - Havana Times",
      "url": "https://havanatimes.org/features/active-hurricane-season-highlights-cubas-vulnerabilities/"
    },
    {
      "title": "CubaSí: After the storm - Hurricane report",
      "url": "https://cuba-solidarity.org.uk/cubasi/article/97/after-the-storm---hurricane-report"
    },
    {
      "title": "The Enduring Cuban Housing Crisis: The Impact of Hurricanes",
      "url": "https://ascecubadatabase.org/asce_proceedings/the-enduring-cuban-housing-crisis-the-impact-of-hurricanes/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba, Hurricane Melissa: Flash Update No. 7 (As of 14 November, 2025)",
      "url": "https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/cuba/cuba-hurricane-melissa-flash-update-no-7-14-november-2025"
    },
    {
      "title": "Six things to know about Hurricane Melissa's impact on Cuba",
      "url": "https://www.unocha.org/news/six-things-know-about-hurricane-melissas-impact-cuba"
    },
    {
      "title": "cuba.un.org",
      "url": "https://cuba.un.org/es/download/117656/201992"
    },
    {
      "title": "cuba.un.org",
      "url": "https://cuba.un.org/es/download/117651/201989"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba: Hurricane Ian - Operation Update No. 1, Emergency appeal No. MDRCU008 - Cuba",
      "url": "https://reliefweb.int/report/cuba/cuba-hurricane-ian-operation-update-no-1-emergency-appeal-no-mdrcu008"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba: Hurricane Ian - Final Report, Emergency appeal No. MDRCU008 - Cuba",
      "url": "https://reliefweb.int/report/cuba/cuba-hurricane-ian-final-report-emergency-appeal-no-mdrcu008"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba evacuates 180,000 as tropical storm Elsa approaches",
      "url": "https://cbc.ca/amp/1.6089515"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba evacuates 180,000 as Elsa continues its approach",
      "url": "https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/4/cuba-evacuates-70000-as-elsa-continues-its-approach"
    },
    {
      "title": "Weather Alert",
      "url": "https://cu.usembassy.gov/weather-alert-u-s-embassy-havana-cuba-october-28-2025/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Before the Hurricane: Cuba, Global Model for Risk Reduction - Global ResearchGlobal Research - Centre for Research on Globalization",
      "url": "https://www.globalresearch.ca/before-the-hurricane-cuba-global-model-for-risk-reduction/5608509"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba Case Study",
      "url": "https://belonging.berkeley.edu/climatedisplacement/case-studies/cuba"
    },
    {
      "title": "Between Drought and Floods, Cuba Seeks to Improve Water Management - Cuba",
      "url": "https://reliefweb.int/report/cuba/between-drought-and-floods-cuba-seeks-improve-water-management"
    },
    {
      "title": "Assessing the Increasing Frequency of Heat Waves in Cuba and Contributing Mechanisms",
      "url": "https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41748-024-00443-8"
    },
    {
      "title": "Meteorologists warn of three risk fronts from the El Niño phenomenon affecting Cuba's weather",
      "url": "https://en.cibercuba.com/noticias/2026-08-17-u1-e129488-s27061-nid338000-meteorologos-alertan-tres-frentes-riesgo-fenomeno"
    },
    {
      "title": "Climate change brings transformations in Cuba",
      "url": "https://en.granma.cu/cuba/2018-04-12/climate-change-brings-transformations-in-cuba"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba - Country Overview",
      "url": "https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/country/cuba"
    },
    {
      "title": "UNDP Climate Change Country Profiles Cuba",
      "url": "https://research.fit.edu/media/site-specific/researchfitedu/coast-climate-adaptation-library/latin-america-and-caribbean/cuba-hispanola-jamaica/McSweeney-et-al.--Cuba-UNDP-CC-Profile..pdf"
    },
    {
      "title": "Coastal Resilience to Climate Change in Cuba through Ecosystem Based Adaptation",
      "url": "https://www.adaptation-undp.org/projects/coastal-resilience-climate-change-cuba-through-ecosystem-based-adaptation-mi-costa"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba Under Immediate Threat From Climate Change — SEVENSEAS Media",
      "url": "https://sevenseasmedia.org/cuba-under-immediate-threat-from-climate-change/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Coastal Resilience to Climate Change in Cuba through ...",
      "url": "https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2024-12/pnud-cuba-esar-mi-costa.pdf"
    },
    {
      "title": "Complex Interfaces Under Change: Sea",
      "url": "https://iahs.info/uploads/dms/16639.08-22-27-365-16-Marcelino-et-al.CORR.pdf"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba’s coastal communities fight climate change",
      "url": "https://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=339314"
    },
    {
      "title": "National Adaptation Plan for the Havana Coastal Zone in Cuba",
      "url": "https://www.adaptation-undp.org/projects/naps-gcf-cuba"
    },
    {
      "title": "CSC news: Experts warn of the impact of climate change on central Cuba",
      "url": "https://cuba-solidarity.org.uk/news/article/3457/experts-warn-of-the-impact-of-climate-change-on-central-cuba"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba Protects Coastal Travel Economies And Fragile Marine Reefs In Varadero And Cayo Coco Against Ocean Threats, Find Out Now - Travel And Tour World",
      "url": "https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/x7lb4lt0cog8/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba",
      "url": "https://climatepromise.undp.org/what-we-do/where-we-work/cuba"
    },
    {
      "title": "Havana, Cuba",
      "url": "http://www.aksik.org/node/3541"
    },
    {
      "title": "Seventeen-year study reveals fluctuations in key ecological indicators on two reef crests in Cuba - PMC",
      "url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10812586/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Jardines de la Reina National Park, Cuba — Global Conservation",
      "url": "https://globalconservation.org/projects/jardines-de-la-reina-national-park-cuba/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Ask a Scientist about Cuba's Biodiversity",
      "url": "https://www.amnh.org/explore/ology/biodiversity/ask-a-scientist-about-cubas-biodiversity"
    },
    {
      "title": "GRADES 9-12 ¡Cuba! 1 Cuba: A Case Study of Island Evolution, Biodiversity, and",
      "url": "https://www.amnh.org/content/download/342229/5313801/file/cuba-a-case-study-of-island-evolution-biodiversity-and-conservation.pdf"
    },
    {
      "title": "Flora of Cuba: Native and Endemic Species and Conservation Challenges",
      "url": "https://en.renovablesverdes.com/Cuban-flora:-native-endemic-species-and-challenges-in-their-conservation/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Biodiversity and conservation of Cuban mammals: past, present, and invasive species",
      "url": "https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article/98/4/964/4057133"
    },
    {
      "title": "WildAid Marine Expands Program in Cuba to Protect the Caribbean’s Most Pristine Coral Reefs",
      "url": "https://marine.wildaid.org/wildaid-marine-expands-program-in-cuba-to-protect-the-caribbeans-most-pristine-coral-reefs/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba boosts marine protected coverage with new area spanning reefs to mangroves",
      "url": "https://news.mongabay.com/2022/01/cuba-boosts-marine-protected-coverage-with-new-area-spanning-reefs-to-mangroves/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Ci%C3%A9naga de Zapata Biosphere Reserve",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ci%C3%A9naga_de_Zapata_Biosphere_Reserve"
    },
    {
      "title": "Península de Guanahacabibes Biosphere Reserve, Cuba",
      "url": "https://www.unesco.org/en/mab/mangres-cuba"
    },
    {
      "title": "The Magic of Cuba's Coastal and Underwater Treasures - WILDCOAST",
      "url": "https://wildcoast.org/the-magic-of-cubas-coastal-and-underwater-treasures/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Coral reef fish assemblages exhibit signs of depletion in two protected areas from the eastern of Los Canarreos archipelago (Cuba, Caribbean Sea) - PMC",
      "url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9575676/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Wildlife in Cuba - Types of Cuban Animals - A-Z Animals",
      "url": "https://a-z-animals.com/animals/location/americas/cuba/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba: An Example of Island Evolution, Biodiversity, and ...",
      "url": "https://www.amnh.org/content/download/342228/5313791/file/cuba-an-example-of-island-evolution-biodiversity-and-conservation.pdf"
    },
    {
      "title": "Exploring Cuba’s Biodiversity",
      "url": "https://earthwatch.org/stories/exploring-cubas-biodiversity"
    },
    {
      "title": "Buenavista - Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB)",
      "url": "https://www.unesco.org/en/mab/buenavista"
    },
    {
      "title": "The six natural treasures that only Cuba has",
      "url": "https://en.cibercuba.com/lecturas/2021-07-08-u196555-e13-s27316-seis-tesoros-naturales-solo-tiene-cuba"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba Demographics 2026 (Population, Age, Sex, Trends) - Worldometer",
      "url": "https://www.worldometers.info/demographics/cuba-demographics/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba Population (2026) - Worldometer",
      "url": "https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/cuba-population/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Demographics of Cuba",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Cuba"
    },
    {
      "title": "2012 Cuba census",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Cuba_census"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba now has fewer than 9.5 million inhabitants, according to government figures.",
      "url": "https://en.cibercuba.com/noticias/2026-07-21-u1-e199894-s27061-nid335768-cuba-tiene-menos-95-millones-habitantes-segun-cifras"
    },
    {
      "title": "The population of Cuba has decreased to eight million, according to an independent study.",
      "url": "https://en.cibercuba.com/noticias/2025-03-26-u1-e43231-s27061-nid299621-poblacion-cuba-reduce-ocho-millones-segun-estudio"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuban emigration in 2025: global redistribution of the exodus and demographic collapse",
      "url": "https://en.cibercuba.com/noticias/2025-12-30-u2-e2-s27061-nid317552-emigracion-cubana-2025-redistribucion-global-exodo"
    },
    {
      "title": "Population of Cuba. 2026 demographics: density, ratios, growth rate, clock, rate of men to women.",
      "url": "https://www.populationof.net/cuba/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba Population 2026",
      "url": "https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/cuba"
    },
    {
      "title": "Havana - Data Commons",
      "url": "https://datacommons.org/place/wikidataId/Q1563"
    },
    {
      "title": "Santiago de Cuba",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santiago_de_Cuba"
    },
    {
      "title": "Provinces of Cuba",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinces_of_Cuba"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba CU: Agricultural Land: % of Land Area",
      "url": "https://www.ceicdata.com/en/cuba/environmental-land-use-protected-areas-and-national-wealth/cu-agricultural-land--of-land-area"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba Land use - Geography",
      "url": "https://www.indexmundi.com/cuba/land_use.html"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba - Arable land (% of land area)",
      "url": "https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/cuba/indicator/AG.LND.ARBL.ZS"
    },
    {
      "title": "1 The History and Potential of Trade between Cuba and the US",
      "url": "https://webhome.auburn.edu/~thomph1/cubahistory.pdf"
    },
    {
      "title": "Previous Page Table of Contents Next Page",
      "url": "https://www.fao.org/4/y4801e/y4801e07.htm"
    },
    {
      "title": "A SURVEY OF AGRICULTURE IN CUBA U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE",
      "url": "https://esmis.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/release-files/jq085j963/tb09j9150/wd376065v/ERSF-06-10-1969_A_Survey_of_Agriculture_in_Cuba.pdf"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuban agriculture at a glance - Farm and Dairy",
      "url": "https://www.farmanddairy.com/news/cuban-agriculture-at-a-glance/372416.html"
    },
    {
      "title": "Sugar industry in Cuba",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_industry_of_Cuba"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuban Sugar Industry Demise Mirrors Food Crisis",
      "url": "https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2024-11-27/cuban-sugar-industry-demise-mirrors-food-crisis"
    },
    {
      "title": "Where to Next for Cuban Food and Agriculture Cuba",
      "url": "https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/report/downloadreportbyfilename?filename=Where+to+Next+for+Cuban+Food+and+Agriculture_Miami+ATO_Cuba_10-23-2015.pdf"
    },
    {
      "title": "Agriculture in Cuba",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_Cuba"
    },
    {
      "title": "List of countries by organic farmland",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_organic_farmland"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba’s Reforestation Program",
      "url": "https://cubabusinessreport.com/cubas-reforestation-program/"
    },
    {
      "title": "CSC news: Forests now cover 30.6% of Cuba’s land area following government reforestation programme",
      "url": "https://cuba-solidarity.org.uk/news/article/3132/forests-now-cover-306-of-cubarsquos-land-area-following-government-reforestation-programme"
    },
    {
      "title": "Forestry Policies of Cuba's Socialist Government: An Appraisal - ASCE",
      "url": "https://ascecubadatabase.org/asce_proceedings/forestry-policies-of-cubas-socialist-government-an-appraisal/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Current state of forests in Cuba examined",
      "url": "https://www.cadenagramonte.cu/noticia/en/42916/current-state-of-forests-in-cuba-examined"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba - Agricultural Land (% Of Land Area) - 2026 Data 2027 Forecast 1961-2023 Historical",
      "url": "https://tradingeconomics.com/cuba/agricultural-land-percent-of-land-area-wb-data.html"
    },
    {
      "title": "Agrarian reforms in Cuba",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrarian_reforms_in_Cuba"
    },
    {
      "title": "Reforestation in Cuba - Havana Times",
      "url": "https://havanatimes.org/opinion/reforestation-in-cuba/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Forestry Management in Cuba: An Environmental History of the 20th Century",
      "url": "https://cdn.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/science/environmental-science-program/Honours%20Theses/MeghanLambert1and2.pdf"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba deforestation and reforestation",
      "url": "https://www.sustainablemarketfarming.com/tag/cuba-deforestation-and-reforestation/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba’s power grid collapses again despite restoration efforts",
      "url": "https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/3/grid-failure-plunges-cuba-into-nationwide-blackout"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba hit with nationwide blackout as US pressure continues",
      "url": "https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/06/americas/cuba-blackout-electrical-grid-intl-latam"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba suffers power failure as US Embassy Havana warns Americans of disruptions",
      "url": "https://www.foxnews.com/travel/nationwide-power-failure-hits-caribbean-island-american-citizens-warned-prepare"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba Power Grid Collapses Again: US Travelers Face Blackouts And Communication Outages",
      "url": "https://dallasexpress.com/national/cuba-power-grid-collapses-again-us-travelers-face-blackouts-and-communication-outages/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba Nationwide Blackout July 2026 — Grid Collapses Again",
      "url": "https://www.sociedadmedia.com/cuba-nationwide-blackout-july-2026-grid-collapse/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba suffers third nationwide blackout of 2026 as power grid collapses",
      "url": "https://flvoicenews.com/cuba-suffers-third-nationwide-blackout-of-2026-as-power-grid-collapses/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba Grid Collapse 2026: Oil Cutoff Kills the Lights · TFTC",
      "url": "https://www.tftc.io/cuba-grid-collapse-2026-oil-sanctions-blackout"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba - Countries & Regions - IEA",
      "url": "https://www.iea.org/countries/cuba/oil"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba Oil Reserves, Production and Consumption Statistics - Worldometer",
      "url": "https://www.worldometers.info/oil/cuba-oil/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Energy profile: Cuba - Global Energy Monitor",
      "url": "https://www.gem.wiki/Energy_Profile:_Cuba"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba’s Oil Supply Dwindles: U.S. Involvement in Latin America Spurs Backlash — International Relations Review",
      "url": "https://www.irreview.org/articles/2026/3/2/cubas-oil-supply-dwindles-us-involvement-in-latin-america-spurs-backlash"
    },
    {
      "title": "Where Does Cuba Get Its Oil? Venezuela, Mexico & the 2026 Blockade",
      "url": "https://todaywhy.com/cuba-oil-imports-production-by-country-venezuela-crisis/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba’s Offshore Oil Development: Background and U.S. Policy Considerations",
      "url": "https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R41522"
    },
    {
      "title": "Strategies toward an effective and sustainable energy transition for Cuba - ScienceDirect",
      "url": "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032124001102"
    },
    {
      "title": "Thermal Power Plants in Cuba Struggle to Meet Demand",
      "url": "https://www.powermag.com/thermal-power-plants-in-cuba-struggle-to-meet-demand/"
    },
    {
      "title": "China’s Solar Energy Projects Deepen Cuba’s Technological Dependence - Diálogo Américas",
      "url": "https://dialogo-americas.com/articles/chinas-solar-energy-projects-deepen-cubas-technological-dependence/"
    },
    {
      "title": "U.S. Solar Panel Exports to Cuba Skyrocket 1,070% While Chinese Exports Plummet 83%",
      "url": "https://www.cubaheadlines.com/articles/342235"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba looks to sun to solve its energy crisis",
      "url": "https://techxplore.com/news/2025-04-cuba-sun-energy-crisis.html"
    },
    {
      "title": "coming soon",
      "url": "https://foresightcuba.substack.com/p/coming-soon"
    },
    {
      "title": "Largest 38 Ports in Cuba - The Complete List",
      "url": "https://www.bansarchina.com/largest-cuba-ports/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Mariel, Cuba",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariel,_Cuba"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba’s Mariel Container Terminal Ready for Neo-Panamax Vessels",
      "url": "https://www.maritimeprofessional.com/news/cuba-mariel-container-terminal-ready-384096"
    },
    {
      "title": "Notes on Cuban Ports",
      "url": "https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1900/june/notes-cuban-ports"
    },
    {
      "title": "National Railway Company of Cuba",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Railway_Company_of_Cuba"
    },
    {
      "title": "Circuito Norte",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circuito_Norte"
    },
    {
      "title": "Platt Amendment (1903)",
      "url": "https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/platt-amendment"
    },
    {
      "title": "Naval Station Guantanamo Bay: History and Legal Issues Regarding Its Lease Agreements - EveryCRSReport.com",
      "url": "https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R44137.html"
    },
    {
      "title": "Naval Station Guantanamo Bay: History and Legal Issues ...",
      "url": "https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/R/PDF/R44137/R44137.10.pdf"
    },
    {
      "title": "MARIEL Port - Ports Directory",
      "url": "https://ports.marinelink.com/ports/port/mariel"
    },
    {
      "title": "Havana Harbor — Grokipedia",
      "url": "https://grokipedia.com/page/Havana_Harbor"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba port logistics overview",
      "url": "https://cubaportlogistics.com/"
    },
    {
      "title": "Naval Station Guantanamo Bay: History and Legal Issues Regarding Its Lease Agreements",
      "url": "https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R44137"
    },
    {
      "title": "Guantánamo Naval Base - Oxford Public International Law",
      "url": "https://opil.ouplaw.com/display/10.1093/law:epil/9780199231690/law-9780199231690-e301"
    },
    {
      "title": "Transport in Cuba",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_in_Cuba"
    },
    {
      "title": "Autopista A1 (Cuba)",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autopista_A1_(Cuba)"
    },
    {
      "title": "Contracting office provides capitalist support in Cuba",
      "url": "https://www.army.mil/article/70561/contracting_office_provides_capitalist_support_in_cuba"
    },
    {
      "title": "Guant%C3%A1namo Bay",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guant%C3%A1namo_Bay"
    },
    {
      "title": "LIS No. 104 - Cuba & Mexico Maritime Boundary",
      "url": "https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/LIS-104.pdf"
    },
    {
      "title": "LIS No. 110 - Cuba & United States Maritime Boundary",
      "url": "https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/LIS-110.pdf"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba–United States maritime oundary agreement 1977",
      "url": "https://sovereignlimits.com/boundaries/cuba-united-states-maritime"
    },
    {
      "title": "static.un.org",
      "url": "https://static.un.org/Depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/STATEFILES/CUB.htm"
    },
    {
      "title": "Republic of Cuba",
      "url": "https://www.un.org/Depts/los/clcs_new/submissions_files/cub51_09/20240214%20Resumen%20Ejecutivo%20Pres%20Cuba-CLPC%20vIngles.pdf"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba Maritime claims - Geography",
      "url": "https://www.indexmundi.com/cuba/maritime_claims.html"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba Area - Geography",
      "url": "https://www.indexmundi.com/cuba/area.html"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba - Land area (sq. km)",
      "url": "https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/cuba/indicator/AG.LND.TOTL.K2"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cuba Maps & Facts - World Atlas",
      "url": "https://www.worldatlas.com/maps/cuba"
    },
    {
      "title": "Location, size, and extent - Cuba - located, area",
      "url": "https://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Cuba-LOCATION-SIZE-AND-EXTENT.html"
    },
    {
      "title": "Geography of Cuba",
      "url": "https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/45224"
    },
    {
      "title": "Country Profile: Cuba - Caribbean Regional Climate Centre",
      "url": "https://rcc.cimh.edu.bb/files/2018/06/Country-Profile-Cuba.pdf"
    },
    {
      "title": "Treaty of Relation Between Cuba and the United States, Certified Copy Deposited at the League of Nations.",
      "url": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667895/"
    },
    {
      "title": "GUANTANAMO: WHAT IS THE U.S. DOING THERE?",
      "url": "https://vb4cuba.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/guantanamo-fact-sheet-1.pdf"
    }
  ],
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}