165 Interesting Facts About Cuba

165 Interesting Facts About Cuba

There are over 250 museums in Cuba.
Government vehicles in Cuba must stop to pick up hitchhikers.
The average salary in Cuba according to data from 2013 was about $20 per month.
Baseball is Cuba's most popular sport. Boxing is also a popular sport in the country.
Over 22% of Cuba's land is protected.
Between the ages of 17 and 28, both men and women are required to serve two years of service in the Cuban military.
The Cuban government owns and controls all broadcast media, including the country's radio and TV networks.
Cuba gained its independence from the United States in 1902 and became the Republic of Cuba.
A prehistoric fish called Manger is found in Cuba. This is the only place in the world where this fish can be found.
Cuba has 70,000 qualified doctors. The whole of Africa has only 50,000.
Cuba harbors an estimated 7000 different species of plants, half of which are endemic to the island.
Of the 350 species of birds that call Cuba home, at least 12 of them are endemic to the island.
Approximately 2% of Cuba’s arable land is given over to coffee production and the industry supports a workforce of 265,000 workers.
An average person in Cuba earns roughly $20CUC ($20USD) per month in wages.
An average of at least 150,000 licensed US travelers to visit Cuba legally each year.
An average of at least 50,000 illegal US tourists visits Cuba each year.
Cuba has two currencies, the Cuban Convertible, also known as the CUC, is the official tourist currency and is tied to the US Dollar 1=1. The Cuban Peso, also known as Moneda Nacional (MN), is the local currency and converts at $25MN=$1CUC.
Cubans were not allowed to own cell phones until 2008 when the ban was lifted by President Raul Castro’s government.
Did you know that the United States pays Cuba approximately $4,085 a year to lease the 45 square miles that the Guantánamo Bay Naval Station occupies? Cuba, however, has not accepted the payment since 1959.
When viewed from the air, the island of Cuba resembles a crocodile. Hence, it is also referred to in Spanish as “El Crocodilo” or “El Caima.”
In Cuba, there is a dual monetary system since two currencies circulate: the CUP (Cuban peso) and the CUC (convertible peso). The Cuban peso is known as the national currency. The value of the convertible peso, however, is pegged 1:1 to the United States dollar. According to Latin American Post, most workers receive their salary in CUP, while large quantities of commodities are sold in CUC, resulting in a loss for consumers due to high prices.
Cuba is roughly the size (in total area) of the U.S. states of Tennessee or Virginia.
There is a statue of John Lennon in Havana, Cuba called John Lennon Park. The glasses have been stolen so many times that there is now a guard to hold them. They only get placed when tourists arrive for photos.
Cuba did not officially recognize Christmas as a holiday until 1997.
Cuba has over 200 bays and 250 beaches to explore, making it arguably the best beach destination in the Caribbean.
Bacardi Rum was originally manufactured in Cuba, however, production was moved to Puerto Rico after Fidel Castro took power.
Until 2011, there was an import ban on cars in Cuba. Until this time and even still today, a majority of the cars on the road are classic cars from the 1950s.
There are no animals or plants in Cuba that are poisonous or lethal to humans.
It has only snowed once in Cuba. This rare event occurred way back in 1857.
You can't take photos of military personnel, police officers, or airport personnel in Cuba, as this is illegal.
Sexual reassignment surgeries were made legal in Cuba in 2007, and they are supported under the country's public healthcare system.
Until 2008, Cubans were not allowed to own cell phones.
Cuba has two different currencies: One type is used by natives, while tourists use the other currency.
The United States pays Cuba over $4,000 annually to lease Guantanamo Bay. Cuba has not accepted the payment since 1959.
Cuba was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492. Columbus claimed the land for Spain, which controlled it for over 400 years.
Cuba and the United States restored diplomatic relations in 2015 after being at odds for 54 years.
Because of the two currencies, Cuba operates a dual economy which makes things expensive for tourists by third-world standard.
On March 12, 1857, it snowed in Cuba. It is the only time in history that the island has seen snow.
The United States pays Cuba $4,085 each month for rent of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. Cuba has never cashed the checks. It is rumored Fidel Castro kept them in his top desk drawer.
John F. Kennedy bought 1,200 Cuban cigars just hours before he ordered the US trade embargo that is still in place today.
Cuba would not allow citizens to own a cell phone until 2008 when the ban was lifted by President Raul Castro’s government.
Out of the 38,000 miles of roadways in Cuba, half are unpaved.
Voting in Cuba is legally mandatory.
Since the communists took power in 1959, the United States had been hostile towards Cuba. However, after the stepping down of Fidel Castro, the relationship between the two countries has improved. On August 14, 2015, the U.S. Embassy reopened in Havana.
Pico Turquino is the highest point (1,974 m (6,476 ft)) in Cuba.
Since 1965, the country has been governed by the Communist Party of Cuba.
Cuba is a long and narrow island.
Cuba is one of the first countries to ban the sale of incandescent lighting.
The Cauto River is the longest river in Cuba. It flows for 230 miles.
Cuba is the most populous nation in the Caribbean. Other Caribbean countries include the Bahamas, Jamaica, Grenada, Belize, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, and Mexico to name a few.
The first Spanish settlement on Cuba was Baracoa which was founded by Diego Velazquez de Cuellar in 1511.
Cuba has a 99.8% literacy rate, which is one of the highest in the world.
Cuba is the largest country in the Caribbean in terms of population.
There are only 90 miles of ocean between Cuba and the tip of Florida in the United States.
The smallest bird in the world can be found in Cuba. It is the Bee Hummingbird, which only grows to be 2 inches in length.
There is a statue of John Lennon from The Beatles in the country of Cuba. It was erected in 2000 by Fidel Castro, after Castro declared John Lennon to be a music revolutionary.
Cuban food is a mixture of Spanish and Caribbean dishes that incorporates a lot of spices. Many traditional meals include black beans, shredded beef, rice, and plantains.
Every child in Cuba between the ages of 6 and 15 are required to attend school. Every school child wears a uniform, and the color of their uniform depicts their grade level.
Cuba was the Spanish empire’s most-important source of raw sugar in the 18th century.
On October 16, 1953, the dictator (Fidel Castro) of Cuba was sentenced to prison for a term of 15 years.
Fidel Castro smoked Cohiba cigars. The CIA even allegedly tried to assassinate Castro once by sending him a box of poisoned cigars.
On February 19, 2008, Fidel Castro resigns as the president and on February 24, 2008, his brother Raul Castro is chosen by the country’s National Assembly as the nation’s new president. Fidel Castro died in November 2016.
State-run enterprises dominate the economy of Cuba. Most of the labor force is owned by the state as the majority of the industries are owned and operated by the government. Healthcare, food and education are subsidized by the government for the Cubans.
The first-ever public Wi-Fi hotspots were opened in Cuba in 2015. However, some usage fee for accessing the internet was also levied from the users.
It is almost impossible to eat beef in Cuba. Beef is sold at high prices and is generally available in limited number of restaurants.
Cuba is the 17th largest island in the World by land area and holds a population of 11.3 million people.
Cuba has a literacy rate of 99.8%.
Che Guevara, a revolutionary accomplice to Fidel Castro, can trace his Celtic background back to Patrick Lynch who was born in Galway, Ireland in 1715. He immigrated to Buenos Aires via Bilbao in 1749.
In the 1880s there were over 100,000 Chinese people living in Cuba, mainly as cheap labor on the sugar plantations around the Havana region.
In 1886, after 350 years, Cuba becomes the second to last country in the Americas to abolish slavery.
Christmas was not an official holiday in Cuba until 1997. Pope John Paul II visited the country in 1998, and in order to prepare for his visit, Cuba declared Christmas a national holiday.
There are 20 newspapers published in Cuba on a daily basis. This is down from the 58 that were published daily during the 1950s.

Strange facts about Cuba

Until 2011, an import ban in the country meant that the only cars found on the roads were classic cars from pre-1959. Since 2011, the ban has gradually been lifted to allow more modern vehicles on the roads.
Ernest Hemingway wrote one of his most famous works “For Whom the Bell Tells” when he was living in Cuba.
Cuba is made up of over 4,000 islands and cays. The main island is the biggest in the West Indies.
In 2011, just 25% of people in Cuba had access to the internet. However, this number represents those who could visit state-controlled sites. Only 5% of the population had access to the open internet.
Until 2008, Cubans were not allowed to purchase their own computers.
Cuba is the first Communist country in the Western Hemisphere.
Cuba is the 16th most populous island in the world.
The president of Cuba serves a term that is five years. There is no limit to the terms served.
Cuba has the highest doctor-to-patient ratio in the world. Due to this fact, many Cuban doctors are sent to countries where medical aid is required.
Bacardi rum was originally manufactured in Cuba. However, production moved to Puerto Rico after Fidel Castro overtook Cuba.
The world’s smallest frog (the Mount Iberia frog) and smallest hummingbird (the bee hummingbird) are found in Cuba.
It is the 17th largest island in the world.
Until 1997, Cuba did not cite Christmas as its official holiday.
Pope John Paul II visited Cuba in January 1998.
The communist party is the only legal party in the country.
“The Old Man and the Sea,” and “For Whom the Bell Tolls” were written by the famous writer Ernest Hemingway while he lived in Cuba.
Almost 100,000 barrels of oil are received by Cuba from Venezuela every day.
Americans visiting the island can bring home a total of $100 worth of cigars and rum.
The literacy rate in Cuba is 99.8%, which is one of the highest in the world.
There are now just two countries in the world where Coca-Cola cannot be bought or sold – at least not officially. They are Cuba and North Korea, which are both under long-term US trade embargoes (Cuba since 1962 and North Korea since 1950).
Out of the 38,000 miles of roadways in Cuba, half are unpaved.
Cuban cigars are known as the finest cigars in the world. They are handcrafted with homegrown tobacco. Sugar made from sugar cane is their major crop.
Of all the islands in the Caribbean, Cuba is the largest. There are as many as 4000 other islands in the region, which are much smaller than Cuba. The island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) is the second largest while Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean.
In Cuba and in the Caribbean, the island of Cuba is the second-most populous after Hispaniola.
At a distance of 48 miles to the east, Haiti is the nearest neighboring country of Cuba. Jamaica is 87 miles to the south.
The sugarcane crop played a key role in the economy of Cuba since the 18th century. Rice, citrus fruits, potatoes, bananas, and others are also important crops for the country’s economy.
The game of dominoes is the national game of Cuba.
Voting in Cuba is legally mandatory.
The uniform color of school children depicts their grade level. Every child between the ages of 6 and 15 is required to attend the school.
Recipes in Cuba are passed down from generation to generation. They typically do not write down their recipes.
The number of daily newspapers published in Cuba dropped from 58 in the 1950s to 20 in more recent times.
It is a tradition in Cuba to burn dolls at New Year’s Eve to symbolize the forgetting of bad times and look forward to a fresh start with the New Year.
Cuba, which was discovered by explorer Christopher Columbus in 1492, was controlled by Spain until 1898.During April-September 1980, approximately 124,000 Cubans migrated to the U.S., as they were freely allowed to do so by Fidel Castro.
Since Cuba was a Spanish territory between 1492 and 1898, during the Spanish- American War, the United States assisted Cuba in gaining independence from Spain. Between 1898 and 1902, Cuba was under the temporary control of the United States. Cuba gained independence from the U.S. in 1902.
On April 18, 2018, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez became the president of Cuba with the stepping down of the former president Raul Castro.
In 2017, an estimated 4.7 million tourists rolled into Cuba. President Barack Obama authorized individual people to people travel, which resulted in an influx of U.S travelers to the island nation. However, after the announcement of new regulations in June 2017 by the Trump administration, there was a noticeable drop-off in U.S. travelers to Cuba. He restricted the ability of Americans to travel to Cuba as tourists. Tourism is one of the main sources of revenue for the island.
Gay marriages in Cuba are set to become legal after the National assembly signs off on a document which describes marriage as “consensual union of two people, regardless of gender.”
Cuba has nine properties inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Seven of these are cultural while two are natural.
In 1886, Slavery was abolished in Cuba.
Did you know that Cubans take home net $20 per month despite the fact that the gross national income per capita of Cuba is $5,539?
According to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI), Cuba is the 138th largest export economy in the world and the 75th most complex economy. China, Spain, Germany, and Indonesia are some of the top export destinations of Cuba; while Brazil, Algeria, China, Spain, and Mexico are some of the top import origins for Cuba.
Between 1959 and 2011, sale of property in Cuba was banned. However, Cuba is set to recognize private property under a new constitution which is yet to take effect.
Did you know that the Castro brothers, first Fidel and them Raul, ruled the country between 1959 and 2018?
The U.S. embassy in Havana which recently reopened sits empty to this day because of the recent incidents with the U.S. diplomats who reported an unexplained medical condition that left some with hearing loss or mild brain damage. Interestingly, no cause for the ailments has been found in more than a year of investigation by the FBI and other U.S. and Cuban authorities. Reports suggest that at least 2 dozen employees were withdrawn from the embassy last year. Some sources have referred to these occurrences as “sonic attacks.” Similar incidences of these attacks were reported by the U.S. diplomats in China as well.
From 1991-1994, with a few years to follow, Cuba underwent a ‘Special Period’ in which the citizens of the country were put on a ration system and everyday conveniences disappeared overnight.
The Daiquiri was invented in the now very popular, La Floridita bar in Old Havana, Cuba. Ernest Hemingway is said to have helped in dreaming up the now popular concoction.
The world’s smallest frog and smallest hummingbird are found in Cuba.
90% of Cubans have homes under their ownership.
Cuba was controlled by Spain until 1898 since its discovery by the Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus in 1492.
In 1902, Cuba gained complete independence from the U.S., which held its temporary control from 1898 to 1902.
Cuba’s government is a Marxixt-Leninist single party state that has been headed by a member of the Castro family for many decades.
The country’s total nominal GDP is $68.7 billion which gives it the 63rd largest economy in the world. Their total nominal per capita GDP is $6,106, which is the 88th greatest in the world.
Most of Cuba’s labor force is controlled and employed by the state.
Their main exports include fish, medical products, coffee and citrus fruits. Their main imports include oil, food, chemicals and machinery.
Cuba used to depend greatly on the Soviet Union to stabilize its economy. When the Soviet Union collapsed, Cuba went through a time termed the Special Period in which their economy rapidly declined. To help recover, they legalized the use of the US dollar in business and began allowing self-employment.
Cuba operates under a universal health care system, and their doctors and medical community has contributed greatly to world health.
Dance is very important in Cuba. The Bolero, Mambo and Cha Cha was invented in the country.
On New Year’s Eve, Cubans burn dolls in order to symbolize forgetting bad times and looking forward to new and good times during the New Year.
Cubans don’t typically write their recipes down. Instead, they always pass them on orally from generation to generation.
Cubans refer to the island of Cuba as El Cocodrilo, which translates into the word crocodile. This is because from an aerial view, the island resembles a crocodile.
More than one million Cubans have moved to the United States since Fidel Castro's establishment of Cuba as a communist state.
In 2008, Fidel Castro resigned as the President of Cuba after having held the position for 49 years.
Cuba has the highest doctor-to-patient ratio in the entire world, and many Cuban doctors are sent abroad to help other countries that do not have enough medical professionals.
Prior to the restoration of diplomatic relations, residents of the United States had to obtain government permission before visiting Cuba.

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