Cuba. Ballpoint Pens, Rollerball Pens,Cartridges, Fountain Pens.

Pen Ink City Bayamo Pen Ink City Camagüey Pen Ink City Cardenas Pen Ink City Ciego de Avila Pen Ink City Cienfuegos Pen Ink City Guantánamo Pen Ink City Havana Pen Ink City Holguín Pen Ink City Manzanillo Pen Ink City Matanzas Pen Ink City Palma Soriano Pen Ink City Pinar del Río Pen Ink City Sancti Spiritus Pen Ink City Santa Clara Pen Ink City Santiago de Cuba Pen Ink City Victoria de Las Tunas England Description Cuba The native Amerindian population of Cuba began to decline after the European discovery of the island by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1492 and following its development as a Spanish colony during the next several centuries. Large numbers of African slaves were imported to work the coffee and sugar plantations, and Havana became the launching point for the annual treasure fleets bound for Spain from Mexico and Peru. Spanish rule eventually provoked an independence movement and occasional rebellions that were harshly suppressed. US intervention during the Spanish-American War in 1898 assisted the Cubans in overthrowing Spanish rule. The Treaty of Paris established Cuban independence from the US in 1902 after which the island experienced a string of governments mostly dominated by the military and corrupt politicians. Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule held the subsequent regime together for nearly five decades. He stepped down as president in February 2008 in favor of his younger brother Raul CASTRO. Cuba's Communist revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The country faced a severe economic downturn in 1990 following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually. Cuba portrays its difficulties as the result of the US embargo in place since 1961. Illicit migration to the US - using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, air flights, or via the southwest border - is a continuing problem. The US Coast Guard intercepted 2,656 individuals attempting to cross the Straits of Florida in fiscal year 2007. Location Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, 150 km south of Key West, Florida   Geographic Coordinates 21 30 N, 80 00 W Area - comparative slightly smaller than Pennsylvania Coast line 3,735 km Climate tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October) Terrain Cuba mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast Natural Resources Cuba cobalt, nickel, iron ore, chromium, copper, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land Irrigated land 8,700 sq km (2003) Total Renewable Water Resources 38.1 cu km (2000) Natural Hazards the east coast is subject to hurricanes from August to November (in general, the country averages about one hurricane every other year); droughts are common Environment Currentissues air and water pollution; biodiversity loss; deforestation Geography Note largest country in Caribbean and westernmost island of the Greater Antilles Population Cuba 11,477,459 (July 2010 est.) Population growth rate 0.217% (2010 est.) Birth Rate 11.02 births/1,000 population (2010 est.) Death Rate 7.29 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.) Netmigration Rate -1.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.) Total Fertility Rate 1.61 children born/woman (2010 est.) Hiv/Aids Adult Prevalence Rate less than 0.1% (2007 est.) Hiv/Aids People living with hiv/aids 6,200 (2007 est.) Hiv/Aids Deaths white 65.1%, mulatto and mestizo 24.8%, black 10.1% (2002 census) Religions nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented Languages Spanish Education Expenditures 9.1% of GDP (2006) Government Type illicit emigration is a continuing problem; Cubans attempt to depart the island and enter the US using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, direct flights, or falsified visas; Cubans also use non-maritime routes to enter the US including direct flights to Miami and over-land via the southwest border Administrative Divisions Communist state Independence 14 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 special municipality* (municipio especial); Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Cienfuegos, Ciudad de La Habana, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, Isla de la Juventud*, La Habana, Las Tunas, Matanzas, Pinar del Rio, Sancti Spiritus, Santiago de Cuba, Villa Clara National Holiday 20 May 1902 (from Spain 10 December 1898; administered by the US from 1898 to 1902); not acknowledged by the Cuban Government as a day of independence Constitution Triumph of the Revolution, 1 January (1959) Legal System 24 February 1976; amended July 1992 and June 2002 Suffrage based on Spanish civil law and influenced by American legal concepts with large elements of Communist legal theory; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction Legislative Branch 16 years of age; universal Political Partie Sand Leaders unicameral National Assembly of People's Power or Asemblea Nacional del Poder Popular (number of seats in the National Assembly is based on population; 614 seats; members elected directly from slates approved by special candidacy commissions to serve five-year terms) Political Pressure Group Sand Leaders Cuban Communist Party or PCC [Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary] International Organization Participation Human Rights Watch; National Association of Small Farmers Flag Description ACP, AOSIS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS (excluded from formal participation since 1962), OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, PetroCaribe, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO Economy Overview none; note - Cuba has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Jorge BOLANOS Suarez; address: Cuban Interests Section, Swiss Embassy, 2630 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; telephone: [1] (202) 797-8518; FAX: [1] (202) 797-8521 GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) none; note - the US has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Chief of Mission Jonathan D. FARRAR; address: USINT, Swiss Embassy, Calzada between L and M Streets, Vedado, Havana; telephone: [53] (7) 833-3551 through 3559 (operator assistance required); FAX: [53] (7) 833-1653; protecting power in Cuba is Switzerland GDP (Official Exchange Rate) five equal horizontal bands of blue (top, center, and bottom) alternating with white; a red equilateral triangle based on the hoist side bears a white, five-pointed star in the center GDP Real Growth Rate The government continues to balance the need for economic loosening against a desire for firm political control. It has rolled back limited reforms undertaken in the 1990s to increase enterprise efficiency and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods, and services. The average Cuban's standard of living remains at a lower level than before the downturn of the 1990s, which was caused by the loss of Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies. Since late 2000, Venezuela has been providing oil on preferential terms, and it currently supplies about 100,000 barrels per day of petroleum products. Cuba has been paying for the oil, in part, with the services of Cuban personnel in Venezuela including some 30,000 medical professionals. GDP Per Capita (PPP) $111.1 billion (2009 est.) Labor Force $56.52 billion (2009 est.) Unemployment Rate 1.4% (2009 est.) Population Below Poverty Line $9,700 (2009 est.) Distribution Of Family Income 4.968 million Unvestment Gross Fixed 1.6% (2009 est.) Inflation Rrate NA% Central Bank Discount Rate 9.8% of GDP (2009 est.) Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate 34.8% of GDP (2009 est.) Stock Of Money 4.3% (2009 est.) Stock Of Quasi Money NA% Stock Of Domestic Credit NA% Market Value Of Publicly Traded Shares $NA Agriculture - Products $NA Industries $NA Industrial Production Growth Rate sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans; livestock Electricity Production sugar, petroleum, tobacco, construction, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery, pharmaceuticals Electricity Consumption -2.8% (2009 est.) Electricity Exports 16.89 billion kWh (2007 est.) Electricity Imports 13.93 billion kWh (2007 est.) Oil Production 0 kWh (2008 est.) Oil Consumption 0 kWh (2008 est.) Oil Exports 52,630 bbl/day (2008 est.) Oil Imports 176,000 bbl/day (2008 est.) Oil Proved Reserves 0 bbl/day (2007 est.) Natural Gas Production 104,800 bbl/day (2007 est.) Natural Gas Consumption 124 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.) Natural Gas Exports 400 million cu m (2008 est.) Natural Gas Imports 400 million cu m (2008 est.) Natural Gas Proved Reserves 0 cu m (2008 est.) Current Account Balance 0 cu m (2008 est.) Exports 70.79 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.) Exports Commodities -$1.18 billion (2009 est.) Exports Partners $3.253 billion (2009 est.) Imports sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee Imports Commodities Canada 27.8%, China 26.7%, Spain 6.2%, Netherlands 5.6% (2008) Imports Partners $10.86 billion (2009 est.) Reserves Of Foreign Exchange and Gold petroleum, food, machinery and equipment, chemicals Debt - External Venezuela 29.8%, China 11.8%, Spain 10%, Canada 6.4%, US 6.3%, Brazil 4.6% (2008) Radio Broadcast Stations $19.44 billion (31 December 2009 est.) Television Broadcast Stations $NA (31 December 2009 est.) Internet Country Code $4.138 billion (2006 est.) Airports 331,700 (2008) Military Service Age and Obligation 1.45 million

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