Polity · 1905 CE – 2018 CE
Republic of Cuba
República de Cuba · Cuba · República de Cuba
Also recorded as Cuba
- Peak recorded area
- 124,054 km²
- 1926 CE
- Rulers on record
- 2
- from 1976 CE
- Data series
- 89
- 1905 CE–2018 CE
Overview
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country in the Caribbean. It comprises the eponymous main island as well as 4,195 islands, islets, and cays. Situated at the convergence of the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and Atlantic Ocean, Cuba is located east of the Yucatán Peninsula, south of both Florida and the Bahamas, west of Hispaniola, and north of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Havana is the largest city and capital.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
4 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. CShapes 2.0 holds 3 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before 2018 CE, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 23 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population73 obs · 1820 CE–1959 CE | 7.1Mpersons1959 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Urban Population56 obs · 1902 CE–1959 CE | 1.6Mpersons1959 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Life Expectancy21 obs · 1899 CE–1959 CE | 62.35years1959 CE · Clio-Infra |
| City Pop Havana16 obs · 1737 CE–1950 CE | 1.1Mpersons1950 CE · Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban Population |
| Infant Mortality Rate10 obs · 1950 CE–1959 CE | 66.44per 1000 live births1959 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female10 obs · 1950 CE–1959 CE | 65.07years1959 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 19 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP160 obs · 1800 CE–1959 CE | 9,944int'l $ (inflation adj.)1959 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP per capita68 obs · 1690 CE–1959 CE | 3,0062011 int'l $1959 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Total Exports56 obs · 1902 CE–1959 CE | 638million USD (current)1959 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Total Imports56 obs · 1902 CE–1959 CE | 742million USD (current)1959 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Balance56 obs · 1902 CE–1959 CE | -104million USD (current)1959 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Openness56 obs · 1902 CE–1959 CE | 1,380million USD (current)1959 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
Military
6 of 9 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| CINC Score56 obs · 1902 CE–1959 CE | 0.0017CINC (share of world capability)1959 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption56 obs · 1902 CE–1959 CE | 5.3Mcoal-ton equivalents1959 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production56 obs · 1902 CE–1959 CE | 29Ktons1959 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel56 obs · 1902 CE–1959 CE | 19Kpersons1959 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Arms Imports Tiv Million42 obs · 1951 CE–2004 CE | 8tiv_million2004 CE · SIPRI Arms Transfers TIV |
| Military Expenditure30 obs · 1919 CE–1957 CE | 56.1Mcurrent USD1957 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 11 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Oil Production60 obs · 1900 CE–1959 CE | 0.302TWh1959 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Electricity From Coal %29 obs · 1990 CE–2018 CE | 0%2018 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Electricity From Hydro %29 obs · 1990 CE–2018 CE | 0.6959%2018 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Electricity From Nuclear %29 obs · 1990 CE–2018 CE | 0%2018 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Electricity From Oil Gas %29 obs · 1990 CE–2018 CE | 83.71%2018 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Renewable Electricity Output Kwh29 obs · 1990 CE–2018 CE | 614.8Mkwh2018 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Governance
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index171 obs · 1789 CE–1959 CE | 0.149index (0-1)1959 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index171 obs · 1789 CE–1959 CE | 0.063index (0-1)1959 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index171 obs · 1789 CE–1959 CE | 0.122index (0-1)1959 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index171 obs · 1789 CE–1959 CE | 0.241index (0-1)1959 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type60 obs · 1900 CE–1959 CE | 1RoW index (0-3)1959 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity258 obs · 1902 CE–1959 CE | 0index (-10 to 10)1959 CE · Clio-Infra |
Development
6 of 21 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index171 obs · 1789 CE–1959 CE | 0.364index (0-1)1959 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Railway Line Km83 obs · 1830 CE–1957 CE | 5,099km1957 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Merchant Shipping Tonnage42 obs · 1900 CE–1949 CE | 36gross tons1949 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Electricity Production32 obs · 1928 CE–1959 CE | 2.8BGWh1959 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Commercial Vehicles30 obs · 1928 CE–1959 CE | 47count1959 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Passenger Cars30 obs · 1928 CE–1959 CE | 174Kcount1959 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Rulers
2 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Fidel CastroHead of State1976 CE – 2008 CE
- Raúl CastroHead of State2008 CE – 2018 CE
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- Spanish
- Currency
- Cuban pesos (CUP)
Memberships
- 21-member Entente (1936)Historical alliance · member1936 CE – 1945 CE
- 20-member Defense Pact (1945)Military alliance · member1945 CE – 1947 CE
- 35-member Defense Pact (1947)Military alliance · member1947 CE – 1962 CE
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban PopulationChandler 1987 / Modelski 2003
Chandler, T. (1987). Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth; Modelski, G. (2003). World Cities: -3000 to 2000.
Compiled from published works (Chandler 1987; Modelski 2003)
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Barbieri, K. & Keshk, O. (2016). Correlates of War Project Trade Data Set, v4.0.
Free academic use, citation
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
Our World in Data (2024). Energy dataset. Based on Energy Institute & Ember.
CC BY 4.0
SIPRI (2024). Arms Transfers Database (Trend-Indicator Values).
Free for non-commercial use, attribution
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
Republic of Cuba is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.