Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean, consisting of the main island, Isla de la Juventud, and numerous smaller islands and cays. Located at the intersection of the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and Atlantic Ocean, its neighbors include the Yucatan Peninsula, Florida, the Bahamas, Hispaniola, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Havana is its capital and largest city. With approximately 10 million inhabitants, Cuba is the third-most populous and largest country by area in the Caribbean. Culturally, Cuba is considered part of Latin America.
On 20 May 1902, Cuba gained formal independence from the U.S. as the Republic of Cuba, though the U.S. retained rights to intervene and leased the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base.
In 1902, Cuba gained independence after the Spanish–American War, following a period of occupation by the United States.
In 1902, the Republican period began, marking a time of construction of prominent public and commercial buildings in Cuba.
In 1906, following disputed elections, the U.S. intervened in Cuba, occupying it and appointing Charles Edward Magoon as governor for three years.
In 1908, self-government was restored when José Miguel Gómez was elected president, but the U.S. continued intervening in Cuban affairs.
In 1912, the Partido Independiente de Color's attempt to establish a separate black republic in Oriente Province was suppressed by General Monteagudo with considerable bloodshed.
In 1921, Jose R. Capablanca became the Cuban world chess champion.
In 1924, Gerardo Machado was elected president of Cuba. During his administration, tourism increased and American-owned hotels and restaurants were built.
In 1927, Jose R. Capablanca's reign as Cuban world chess champion ended.
The Wall Street crash of 1929 led to a collapse in the price of sugar, political unrest, and repression in Cuba.
Between 1899 and 1930, close to a million Spaniards immigrated to Cuba, with many eventually returning to Spain. In 1930 the large wave of Spanish immigration to Cuba ended.
In 1930, protesting students, known as the Generation of 1930, turned to violence in opposition to the increasingly unpopular Machado.
In August 1933, a general strike, uprisings, and an army revolt forced Gerardo Machado into exile, after which he was replaced by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada.
In September 1933, the Sergeants' Revolt, led by Sergeant Fulgencio Batista, overthrew Céspedes, resulting in the appointment of Ramón Grau San Martín as provisional president.
Between 1933 and 1958, Cuba extended economic regulations enormously, causing economic problems.
In 1933, a coup toppled the democratically elected government of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada, marking the beginning of a long period of military influence, particularly by Fulgencio Batista.
In 1934, Ramón Grau San Martín resigned as provisional president, paving the way for Batista's dominance in Cuban politics.
During the period 1935–1936, Cuba saw three different presidents.
During the period 1935–1936, Cuba saw three different presidents.
The period from 1933 to 1937 was a time of "virtually unremitting social and political warfare" in Cuba.
Batista adhered to the 1940 constitution's strictures preventing his re-election.
In 1940, Cuba adopted a new constitution that promoted progressive ideas, and Batista was elected president, holding the post until 1944.
In 1940, Cuba implemented a new constitution amidst mounting political unrest.
In 1952, Batista, after leading a military coup, suspended the 1940 constitution.
On balance, during the period 1933–1940, Cuba suffered from fragile political structures.
After finishing his term in 1944, Batista lived in Florida, returning to Cuba to run for president in 1952.
In 1944, Batista's term as president ended.
Ramon Grau San Martin was the winner of the next election, in 1944.
Carlos Prío Socarrás, a protégé of Grau, became president in 1948. The two terms of the Auténtico Party brought an influx of investment, which fueled an economic boom, raised living standards for all segments of society, and created a middle class in most urban areas.
The labor unions, manipulated by the previous government since 1948 through union "yellowness", supported Batista until the very end.
In 1952, Batista led a Cuban coup d'état, establishing an autocratic government.
In 1952, facing inevitable electoral defeat, Batista led a military coup, suspended the 1940 constitution, and outlawed the Cuban Communist Party.
In 1956, Fidel Castro and about 80 supporters landed from the yacht Granma in an attempt to start a rebellion against the Batista government.
In 1957, Cuba had an infant mortality rate of 32 infant deaths per 1,000 live births.
In December 1958, Batista resigned under pressure from the US Embassy and as the revolutionary forces headed by Fidel Castro were winning militarily.
By late 1958, the rebels had broken out of the Sierra Maestra and launched a general popular insurrection.
In 1958, Castro's July 26th Movement emerged as the leading revolutionary group, and the U.S. imposed an arms embargo against Batista's government.
In January 1959, the 26th of July Movement overthrew Fulgencio Batista's autocratic government during the Cuban Revolution, leading to communist rule under Fidel Castro.
On 1 January 1959, after Castro's fighters captured Santa Clara, Batista fled to the Dominican Republic. On 8 January 1959 Fidel Castro's forces entered the capital.
Starting in January 1959, post-revolution Cuba experienced significant emigration, leading to a large diaspora community.
After the 1959 revolution, the Cuban government started a national literacy campaign, offered free education, and established rigorous sports, ballet, and music programs.
Before 1959, the Cuban peso (CUP) was set at par with the US dollar.
Following the 1959 revolution, broad restrictions on travel were imposed to prevent mass emigration of people.
From 1959 until the 1990s, official policies of the Cuban government were hostile towards homosexuality, with the LGBT community marginalized on the basis of heteronormativity, traditional gender roles, and strict criteria for moralism.
Immediately following the 1959 Revolution, public trials and executions occurred targeting members of the Batista regime accused of torture and murder.
In 1959, militant anti-Castro groups, funded by the CIA and Rafael Trujillo, carried out armed attacks and set up guerrilla bases in Cuba's mountainous regions, leading to the Escambray rebellion.
Since 1959, Cuba has regarded the U.S. military presence in Guantánamo Bay as illegal.
Since 1959, the Cuban government has maintained stringent control over the economy, contributing to the island's persistent shortages of food and medicine.
The Republican period lasted until 1959 and saw construction of prominent public and commercial buildings in Cuba.
In February 1960, Castro signed a commercial agreement with Soviet Vice-Premier Anastas Mikoyan.
In March 1960, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved a CIA plan to arm and train Cuban refugees to overthrow Fidel Castro's government.
On 6 April 1960, American diplomat Lester D. Mallory wrote an internal memo arguing in favor of an embargo as a means of alienating internal support for the Cuban government through economic hardship.
In 1960, the U.S. embargo on Cuba was initiated by President Dwight Eisenhower, prohibiting all exports to Cuba, with the exception of medicines and certain foods, in response to nationalizations of American properties.
Ongoing since 1960, the United States embargo against Cuba stands as one of the longest-running trade and economic measures in bilateral relations in history.
On April 15, 1961, Brigade 2506 carried out airstrikes on Cuban military airfields. The Bay of Pigs Invasion took place on April 17, 1961, with about 1,400 Cuban exiles disembarking at the Bay of Pigs. By April 19, 1961, Cuban troops and local militias defeated the invasion.
Although Cuba's population has grown by about four million people since 1961, the rate of growth slowed during that period.
From 1961 to 1965, Cuba supported Algeria.
In 1961, the Cuban government imposed broad restrictions on travel to prevent the mass emigration of people after the 1959 revolution.
In 1961, the Foreign Assistance Act approved by Congress was used as basis to extend the restrictions to Cuban imports.
In January 1962, Cuba was suspended from the Organization of American States (OAS).
In October 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis almost sparked World War III due to the Soviet decision to deploy R-12 missiles in Cuba.
In 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred, widely considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into nuclear war.
In 1962, under the administration of John F. Kennedy, the U.S. embargo on Cuba was intensified, extending the restrictions to Cuban imports. The United States even imposed a naval blockade on Cuba during the Missile Crisis, but this was lifted following the resolution of the crisis.
Since 1962, the U.S. trade embargo has been in place, contributing to Cuba's persistent shortages of food and medicine.
By 1963, Cuba was moving towards a full-fledged communist state system modeled on the USSR.
Between 1960 and 1964 the U.S. imposed a range of sanctions, eventually including a total ban on trade between the countries and a freeze on all Cuban-owned assets in the U.S.
In 1964, Eloy Gutiérrez Menoyo set up a guerrilla training camp in the Dominican Republic for the anti-Castro group Alpha 66.
By the middle of 1965, Cuba had begun supplying arms to the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA).
From 1961 to 1965, Cuba supported Algeria.
In 1965, Eloy Gutiérrez Menoyo entered Cuba and was captured, but Alpha 66 continued its raids under new leadership.
In 1966, Cuban aid also reached the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde.
Starting in 1968, a campaign titled the "revolutionary offensive" was initiated to nationalize all remaining private small businesses, totaling about 58,000 small enterprises, to spur industrialization and focus on sugar production with a harvest deadline by 1970.
In November 1969, the Portuguese captured Cuban Captain Pedro Rodriguez Peralta.
By 1970, the ten million ton sugar harvest goal was not reached. The Cuban economy fell into decline after large sectors of the economy were neglected when large amounts of urban labor mobilized to the countryside.
In 1970, Fidel Castro admitted the failures of economic policies in a speech.
In 1972, a major Cuban military mission consisting of tank, air, and artillery specialists was dispatched to South Yemen.
Between November 1973 and May 1974, during the Syrian-Israeli conflict, Israeli sources reported the presence of a Cuban tank brigade in the Golan Heights.
The Syrian-Israeli conflict that followed the Yom Kippur War ended in May 1974.
In November 1975, Cuba deployed more than 65,000 troops and 400 Soviet-made tanks in Angola.
From 1975 until the late 1980s, Soviet military assistance enabled Cuba to upgrade its military capabilities.
In 1975, the OAS lifted its sanctions against Cuba, with the approval of 16 member states, including the United States. However, the U.S. maintained its own sanctions.
Since 1975, the Communist Party of Cuba has held six party congress meetings.
In 1976, the Constitution defined Cuba as a socialist republic.
In December 1977, Cuba sent its combat troops from Angola, the People's Republic of the Congo, and the Caribbean to Ethiopia, assisted by mechanized Soviet battalions, to help defeat a Somali invasion.
On January 24, 1978, Ethiopian and Cuban troops counterattacked, inflicting 3,000 casualties on the Somali forces.
In 1979, the U.S. objected to the presence of Soviet combat troops on the island of Cuba.
The 1980 Mariel boatlift was one of Cuba's largest migration events.
In 1981, public sector employment in Cuba was 91.8% compared to 8.2% in the private sector.
Following the 1983 coup and execution of Grenadian Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, U.S. forces invaded Grenada in 1983, overthrowing the pro-Castro government.
According to a declassified CIA report, Cuba had received $33 billion in Soviet aid by 1984.
In 1985, Cuba devoted more than 10% of its GDP to military expenditures.
According to Amnesty International, official death sentences from 1959 to 1987 numbered 237, of which all but 21 were carried out.
In 1988 at the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale, the Cubans alongside their MPLA allies fought UNITA rebels and apartheid South African forces.
Cuban forces remained in Ethiopia until September 1989.
Cuba gradually withdrew its troops from Angola starting in 1989 and lasting until 1991.
Between 1957 and 1990 the infant mortality rate in Cuba declined from 32 to 10 infant deaths per 1,000 live births.
Soviet troops began to withdraw from Cuba in September 1991.
The collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991 (known in Cuba as the Special Period) severely tested Castro's rule.
In 1991, medical care in Cuba, like the rest of the Cuban economy, suffered from severe material shortages following the end of Soviet subsidies.
In 1991, the dissolution of the Soviet Union led to the most severe living crisis experienced by Cuba until the blackouts of 2024-2025.
On 12 June 1992, Cuba signed the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity.
Between 1992 and 1997, contact between foreign visitors and ordinary Cubans was de facto illegal.
In 1992, a tightening of the U.S. embargo further exacerbated the material shortages affecting medical care in Cuba.
In 1992, the Constitution of 1976 was replaced by a new Constitution which is "guided by the ideas of José Martí and the political and social ideas of Marx, Engels and Lenin."
In 1992, the Cuban Democracy Act stated that sanctions will continue. The UN General Assembly has passed a resolution every year since 1992 condemning the embargo.
In 1992, the Cuban government amended the constitution to drop the state's characterization as atheistic, increasing religious freedom.
In 1993, the Cuban government finally accepted American donations of food, medicines and cash.
On 8 March 1994, Cuba became a party to the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity.
On August 5, 1994, state security dispersed protesters in a spontaneous protest in Havana.
On September 9, 1994, the U.S. and Cuban governments agreed that the U.S. would grant at least 20,000 visas annually in exchange for Cuba's pledge to prevent further unlawful departures on boats.
After the loss of Soviet subsidies, Cuba scaled down the numbers of military personnel, from 235,000 in 1994 to about 49,000 in 2021.
The 1994 Cuban rafter crisis was one of Cuba's largest migration events.
From the start of the crisis until 1995, Cuba saw its gross domestic product (GDP) shrink by 35%.
In 1996, after Cuban fighter jets shot down two small aircraft piloted by a Florida-based anti-Castro group, the U.S. Congress passed the Helms–Burton Act.
In 1996, the United States, then under President Bill Clinton, brought in the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act, better known as the Helms–Burton Act.
Between 1992 and 1997, contact between foreign visitors and ordinary Cubans was de facto illegal.
Pope John Paul II visited Cuba in 1998, marking a significant event in the country's religious history.
Between 1990 and 2000 the infant mortality rate in Cuba declined from 10 to 6.1 infant deaths per 1,000 live births.
The 2002 Cuban census found that 65.05% of the population was white.
In 2003, 1.9 million tourists visited Cuba, predominantly from Canada and the European Union, generating revenue of US$2.1 billion.
In 2003, the European Union (EU) accused the Cuban government of "continuing flagrant violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms".
In 2003, the government arrested and imprisoned a large number of civil activists, a period known as the "Black Spring".
As of 2004, Batista is the only non-white Cuban to win the nation's highest political office.
Between 2000 and 2005 the infant mortality rate in Cuba stayed at 6.1 infant deaths per 1,000 live births.
In 2005, Cuba's exports amounted to US$2.4 billion, ranking 114th globally, while imports totaled US$6.9 billion, ranking 87th.
In 2005, oil exploration by the US Geological Survey revealed that the North Cuba Basin could produce about 4.6 billion to 9.3 billion barrels of oil.
In July 2006, Fidel Castro suffered a serious gastrointestinal illness.
By 2006, Cuba saw a shift in employment with public sector employment at 78% and private sector employment at 22%, compared to 1981 figures.
In 2006 Cuba's birth rate (9.88 births per thousand population in 2006) is one of the lowest in the Western Hemisphere.
In 2006, Cuba started to test-drill these locations for possible oil exploitation.
In 2006, less than half of the Cuban population identified as Catholic, but it remained the dominant faith.
On 24 January 2008, Cuba's revision of its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan was received by the convention.
In February 2008, Fidel Castro resigned as President of the State Council.
In 2008, Fidel Castro retired after 49 years, and Raúl Castro was elected his successor.
In 2008, Raúl Castro began enacting agrarian reforms to boost food production, as 80% of food was being imported at that time.
In 2008, it was announced that wage caps would be abandoned in Cuba to improve the nation's productivity.
In 2008, the European Union (EU) and Cuba agreed to resume full relations and cooperation activities.
In March 2009, Raúl Castro removed some of his brother's appointees.
On June 3, 2009, the Organization of American States adopted a resolution to end the 47-year ban on Cuban membership of the group. However, full membership would be delayed until Cuba conformed with OAS practices.
As of 2009, the European Union (EU) has continued to call regularly for social and economic reform in Cuba, along with the unconditional release of all political prisoners.
In 2009, Cuba's infant mortality rate was 5.13 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, continuing a trend of decline.
On 17 April 2009, United States President Barack Obama stated in Trinidad and Tobago that "the United States seeks a new beginning with Cuba", and reversed the Bush Administration's prohibition on travel and remittances by Cuban-Americans from the United States to Cuba.
In July 2010, the Cuban Human Rights Commission reported 167 political prisoners in Cuba, a decrease from 201 at the start of the year, with harassment and intimidation replacing long prison sentences.
According to the official census of 2010, Cuba's population was 11,241,161, comprising 5,628,996 men and 5,612,165 women.
In 2010, Cubans were allowed to build their own houses, though the government would not endorse these new houses or improvements.
In 2010, the Pew Forum estimated that religious affiliation in Cuba is 59.2% Christian, 23% unaffiliated, 17.4% folk religion, and the remaining 0.4% consisting of other religions.
On August 2, 2011, The New York Times reported that Cuba reaffirmed its intent to legalize "buying and selling" of private property before the year's end.
In 2011, Cuba hosted a small community of approximately 6,000 Muslims.
In 2011, Cuba recorded 2,688,000 international tourists, the third-highest figure in the Caribbean.
In 2011, Cuba's most important mineral resource was nickel, accounting for 21% of total exports.
In 2011, the Communist Party stated that there were 800,000 members, and representatives generally constitute at least half of the Councils of state and the National Assembly.
Pope Benedict XVI visited Cuba in 2011, continuing a trend of papal visits to the island nation.
The lung cancer vaccine, Cimavax, has been available for free to the Cuban population since 2011.
In December 2012, the director of the Cuban Music Institute, Orlando Vistel, threatened to bar sexually explicit songs and music videos from public radio and television.
According to a 2012 study, Cuba is the only country in the world to meet the conditions of sustainable development put forth by the WWF.
At the end of 2012, tens of thousands of Cuban medical personnel worked abroad, with as many as 30,000 doctors in Venezuela alone via the two countries' oil-for-doctors programme.
In 2012, Cuba hosted a small community of approximately 500 Jews.
In 2012, Cuba's major export partners were Canada (17.7%), China (16.9%), Venezuela (12.5%), Netherlands (9%), and Spain (5.9%).
Since 2012, when the Cuban population peaked at 11.2 million, there has been a 13% loss of population.
Effective January 14, 2013, Cuba ended the requirement that citizens who wished to travel abroad must obtain an expensive government permit and a letter of invitation.
Prior to January 13, 2013, Cuban citizens needed official permission, a government-issued passport, and a travel visa to travel abroad, leave, or return to Cuba, but this requirement was lifted on January 13, 2013.
In February 2013, President of the State Council Raúl Castro announced he would resign in 2018, ending his five-year term, and that he hopes to implement permanent term limits for future Cuban presidents, including age limits.
In October 2013, Raúl Castro said he intended to merge the two currencies, but the dual currency system remained in force as of August 2016.
As of 2013, Cuba's nickel reserves were estimated at 5.5 million tons, over 7% of the world total.
As of 2013, the top emigration destinations for Cubans were the United States, Spain, Italy, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.
In 2013, ETECSA opened 118 cybercafes across Cuba. Also in 2013, the Cuban government launched EcuRed, an online encyclopedia operating in a "wiki" format.
As of September 2014, there were around 50,000 Cuban-trained health care workers aiding 66 nations.
During the thaw in Cuba–U.S. relations starting in December 2014 under the Obama administration, a growing number of U.S. lung cancer patients traveled to Cuba to receive vaccine treatment.
On 17 December 2014, United States President Barack Obama announced the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba.
In December 2014, talks with Cuban and American officials, including President Barack Obama, resulted in the release of Alan Gross, fifty-two political prisoners, and an unnamed non-citizen agent of the United States in return for the release of three Cuban agents currently imprisoned in the United States. Additionally, the embargo between the United States and Cuba was relaxed to allow import, export, and certain limited commerce.
A 2014 study found that autosomal genetic ancestry in Cuba is 72% European, 20% African, and 8% Indigenous.
In 2014, remittances to Cuba amounted to US$3,129 million, which was the seventh highest in Latin America.
On 30 June 2015, Cuba and the U.S. reached a deal to reopen embassies in their respective capitals on 20 July 2015 and reestablish diplomatic relations.
On 30 June 2015, Cuba and the U.S. reached a deal to reopen embassies in their respective capitals on 20 July 2015 and reestablish diplomatic relations.
Pope Francis visited Cuba in September 2015, continuing a tradition of papal visits to the island.
As of 2015, the foreign-born population in Cuba was 13,336 inhabitants per the World Bank data.
In 2015, Cuba became the first country to eradicate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis, a milestone hailed by the World Health Organization.
In a 2015 survey sponsored by Univision, 44% of Cubans said they were not religious and 9% did not give an answer while only 34% said they were Christian.
As of August 2016, the dual currency system in Cuba remained in force despite intentions to merge the two currencies.
According to the CIA World Factbook, Cuba's GDP per capita was $12,300 as of 2016.
In 2016, approximately 27% of Cubans earned under $50 per month, 34% earned $50 to $100 per month, and 20% earned $101 to $200 per month.
Until 2016 American tourism was incredibly limited due to the Cuban Missile Crisis until 2016, when most restrictions were limited but some remained in place.
On 17 September 2017, the United States considered closing its Cuban embassy following mysterious medical symptoms experienced by its staff.
On 8 September 2017, Hurricane Irma struck Cuba, with winds of 260 km/h at the Camagüey Archipelago and continued to pound Cuba the next day. Widespread damage occurred, including hospitals and factories, and nearly a million people were evacuated.
By 2017 the Cuban government expects there to be approximately 10,000 cooperatives operating.
In 2017, Cuba signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
On 18 April 2018, Miguel Díaz-Canel was elected president after the resignation of Raúl Castro.
A study in 2018 indicated that Cuba has potential for mountaineering, which could be a key contributor to tourism.
As of 2018, Cuba spent about US$91.8 million on its armed forces, which is 2.9% of its GDP.
In 2018, Raúl Castro retired as president of the Council of State, and Miguel Díaz-Canel was elected president by the National Assembly.
Since 2018, access to the internet and widespread use of social media have fueled calls for political and economic liberalization in Cuba.
In May 2019, Cuba imposed rationing of staples such as chicken, eggs, rice, beans, soap and other basic goods.
In June 2019, the Cuban government announced an increase in public sector wages of about 300%, specifically for teachers and health personnel.
According to 2019 data, China stands as Cuba's main trading partner, followed by countries such as Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, and Cyprus.
Cuba approved a new constitution in 2019, with 90% of voters approving it. The new constitution recognizes private property, imposes presidential term limits, enshrines access to health and education as fundamental rights, and strengthens the rights of multinationals investing with the state.
Following the ratification of the 2019 Constitution, the President of Cuba, elected by the Assembly, serves for five years with a limit of two consecutive five-year terms.
In 2019, Cuba had a Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 5.4/10, ranking it 102nd globally out of 172 countries.
In 2019, remittances to Cuba grew to US$6,616 million.
In July 2020, Cuba opened new stores accepting only foreign currency while simultaneously eliminating a special tax on the U.S. dollar.
According to the World Bank, Cuba's GDP per capita was $9,500 as of 2020.
In 2020, Cuba ranked 171st out of 180 on the World Press Freedom Index.
In 2020, remittances to Cuba dropped to US$1,967 million due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2020, the number of tourists in Cuba decreased by 75% due to the pandemic, severely affecting the country's revenue stream.
In January 2021, Cuba underwent an economic reform that increased salaries. Prices of internet connections decreased. There were 6.68 million mobile connections in Cuba.
In January 2021, then-U.S. President Donald Trump added Cuba to the State Sponsors of Terrorism list, which implemented a new series of economic sanctions on the country.
On January 1, 2021, Cuba's dual currency system was formally ended, phasing out the convertible Cuban peso (CUC) and leaving the Cuban peso (CUP) as the sole currency.
In April 2021, Raúl Castro announced at the Eighth Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba that he was retiring as first secretary of the Communist Party. Miguel Díaz-Canel was voted in as his successor on April 19th.
On 19 April 2021, Díaz-Canel became First Secretary of the Communist Party. He is the first non-Castro to be in such top position since the Cuban revolution of 1959.
Cuban citizens had until June 2021 to exchange their convertible Cuban pesos (CUCs) as the dual currency system was ended.
In July 2021, several large protests against the government occurred under the banner of Patria y Vida. Cuban exiles also conducted protests overseas, and the song associated with the movement received international acclaim, including a Latin Grammy Award.
After a reform in 2021, the minimum monthly wage in Cuba is approximately 2100 CUP (US$81), and the median monthly wage is around 4000 CUP (US$155).
After the loss of Soviet subsidies, Cuba scaled down the numbers of military personnel, from 235,000 in 1994 to about 49,000 in 2021.
In 2021, 39,000 Cubans tried to enter the United States through the Mexican border, a number which would surge to over 224,000 in 2022.
In 2021, Cuba was ranked 19th by the number of imprisoned journalists of any nation, according to sources like the Committee to Protect Journalists and Human Rights Watch.
In 2021, Raúl Castro retired as First Secretary of the Communist Party, and Miguel Díaz-Canel was elected thereafter.
In 2021, the United Nations Development Programme gave Cuba a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.764.
Monetary reforms in 2021 introduced shocks of inflation, further exacerbating Cuba's food scarcity and boosting the black market's prominence.
On 25 September 2022, Cuba approved a referendum which amended the Family Code to legalize same-sex marriage, allow surrogate pregnancy and same-sex adoption. Gender reassignment surgery and transgender hormone therapy are provided free of charge under Cuba's national healthcare system.
In November 2022, Cuban leader Miguel Diaz-Canel visited Vladimir Putin in Moscow, where the two leaders opened a monument of Fidel Castro, as well as speaking out against U.S. sanctions against Russia and Cuba.
In 2022, more than 2% of the Cuban population (almost 250,000 Cubans out of 11 million) migrated to the United States, and thousands more went to other countries.
In 2022, the number of Cubans trying to enter the United States, primarily through the Mexican border, surged to over 224,000, up from 39,000 in 2021.
A 2023 study by the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH) estimated that 88% of the population lives in extreme poverty.
In 2023, Cuba is undergoing its most severe socioeconomic crisis since the fall of the Soviet Union, leading to a record number of Cubans fleeing the island.
In 2023, the United Nations agency estimated Cuba's Multidimensional Poverty Index of 0.003.
Since signing a defense pact with Belarus in January 2024, Cuba has upgraded its S-125 Pechora air defense systems with Belarusian support.
According to the 2024 Global Peace Index, Cuba is the 98th most peaceful country in the world.
Cuba ranks 29th on the 2024 Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index, the highest ranking of a developing country.
In 2024, Cuba experienced severe blackouts, marking the most severe living crisis since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. President Díaz-Canel blamed the United States embargo for preventing the arrival of needed supplies and replacement parts.
In 2024, it was reported that 8.19 million Cuban people have Internet access.
Emigration has continued into the 2020s, with the Cuban national population dipping below 10 million for the first time since 1980 in 2025.
The 2024-2025 Cuba blackouts were the most severe living crisis that the country has experienced since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. President Díaz-Canel blamed the blackout on the United States embargo against Cuba, which he said prevented much needed supplies and replacement parts from reaching Cuba.
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