Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is a country making up the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud as well as a number of small archipelagos. Cuba is located where the north Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, as well as Atlantic Sea satisfy. Cuba is located at the east of the Yucatán Peninsula (Mexico), south of both the American state of Florida as well as the Bahamas, west of Hispaniola (Haiti/Dominican Republic), as well as north of both Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

Havana is the largest city and also capital; other significant cities consist of Santiago de Cuba and also Camagüey. The main area of the Republic of Cuba is 109,884 km2 (42,426 sq mi) (without the territorial waters). The main island of Cuba is the biggest island in Cuba and also in the Caribbean, with an area of 104,556 km2 (40,369 sq mi). Cuba is the second-most heavily populated nation in the Caribbean after Haiti, with over 11 million citizens.

The region that is now Cuba was lived in by the Ciboney Taíno individuals from the 4th millennium BC up until Spanish colonization in the 15th century. From the 15th century, it was a colony of Spain till the Spanish– American War of 1898, when Cuba was occupied by the United States as well as acquired nominal freedom as a de facto United States protectorate in 1902. As a delicate republic, in 1940 Cuba tried to strengthen its autonomous system, but mounting political radicalization and social strife finished in a military coup and also subsequent dictatorship under Fulgencio Batista in 1952. Open up corruption and fascism under Batista’s rule resulted in his ousting in January 1959 by the 26th of July Motion, which after that established communist policy under the management of Fidel Castro.

Considering that 1965, the state has actually been controlled by the Communist Party of Cuba. The country was a point of opinion during the Cold War between the Soviet Union as well as the United States, and also a nuclear battle virtually broke out during the Cuban Projectile Dilemma of 1962. Cuba is among a few extant Marxist– Leninist socialist states, where the function of the vanguard Communist Party is enshrined in the Constitution. Under Castro, Cuba was associated with a wide range of military as well as altruistic tasks throughout both Africa as well as Asia.

Culturally, Cuba is considered part of Latin America. It is a multiethnic nation whose people, society as well as customs derive from diverse beginnings, consisting of the Taíno Ciboney peoples, the extended period of Spanish manifest destiny, the intro of enslaved Africans and also a close relationship with the Soviet Union in the Cold War.

Cuba is a starting member of the United Nations, the G77, the Non-Aligned Motion, the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, ALBA and also the Organization of American States. It has currently one of the world’s only planned economic situations, and its economy is controlled by the tourist market and also the exports of experienced labor, sugar, tobacco, and coffee. Cuba has traditionally– both prior to and during Communist rule– executed far better than various other countries in the area on numerous socioeconomic signs, such as proficiency, baby mortality and life expectancy.