Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule has held the country together since. Cuba's Communist revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. The country is now slowly recovering from a severe economic recession in 1990, following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies, worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually. Havana portrays its difficulties as the result of the US embargo in place since 1961. Illicit migration to the US - using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, or falsified visas - is a continuing problem. Some 3,000 Cubans attempted the crossing of the Straits of Florida in 2001; the US Coast Guard interdicted only about 25% of these.

PEOPLE AND RELIGION
Cuba is a multiracial society with a population of mainly Spanish and African origins. The largest organized religion is the Roman Catholic Church, but evangelical protestant denominations are growing rapidly. Afro-Cuban religions, a blend of native African religions and Roman Catholicism, are widely practiced in Cuba. Officially, Cuba has been an atheist state for most of the Castro era.

HISTORY
Spanish settlers established the raising of cattle, sugarcane, and tobacco as Cuba's primary economic pursuits. As the native Indian population died out, African slaves were imported to work the ranches and plantations. Slavery was abolished in 1886.

ECONOMY
The Cuban Government continues to adhere to socialist principles in organizing its state-controlled economy. Most of the means of production are owned and run by the government and, according to Cuban Government statistics, about 75% of the labor force is employed by the state. The actual figure is closer to 93%, with some 150,000 small farmers and another 108,000 "cuentapropistas," or holders of licenses for self-employment, out of a total workforce of about 4.4 million people.

U.S.-CUBAN RELATIONS
The fundamental goal of U.S. policy toward Cuba is to promote a rapid, peaceful transition to a stable, democratic form of government and respect for human rights. U.S. policy has two fundamental components: maintaining pressure on the Cuban Government for change through the embargo and the Libertad Act while providing humanitarian assistance to the Cuban people and working to aid the development of civil society in the country. President Bush announced an Initiative for a New Cuba on May 20, 2002, that called on the Cuban Government to undertake political and economic reforms and conduct free and fair elections for the National Assembly.

Full country name: Republic of Cuba
Area: 110,860 sq km
Population: 11 million
Capital city: Havana (pop 2,200,000)
People: 60% Spanish descent, 22% mixed-race, 11% African descent, 1% Chinese
Language: Spanish
Religion: 47% Catholic, 4% Protestant, 2% Santerķa (many Catholics also practice Santerķa
Government: Communist republic
Head of State: Fidel Castro
GDP: US$20 billion
GDP per head: US$2000
Annual growth: 2.5%
Major industries: Sugar, minerals, tobacco, agricultural, medicine & tourism
Major trading partners: Western Europe, Latin America, Russia, China, Iran & North Korea