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Natural Resources In Cuba

Decent Essays

Cuba is a country located in the Northern Caribbean. It is south of the United States and the Bahamas. Cuba is very diverse and is considered to be multiethnic. The population is approximately 11.2 million people. A few of Cuba’s natural resources are beans, coffee, sugar, tobacco, fish and fruit. The history of Cuba is very interesting due to the one party system and the wars and actions under the leadership of Fidel Castro. The United States imposed an embargo on Cuba in October 1960. This was the beginning of one of the longest sanctions against a county. Currently the U. S. has relaxed some of the restrictions for travel and in 2016 the government allowed two Americans to build a factory in Cuba.

Political/ Legal
Cuba is a one …show more content…

Cuba has a national health-care program and free education. It also has subsidized housing and food programs. However, the state control of the economy has left it inefficient. This has prohibited any progress with creating jobs in the private sector. The government is the largest source of employment although 476,000 citizens are registered as self-employed. In an effort to become more efficient, the government has eased the rules on private employment. Cuba rejected relationships with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Cuba had a dual economy system. The Cuban Peso (CUP) is what the majority of people in Cuba were paid in. Most goods were valued in the Convertible Cuban Peso (CUC). Neither form of currencies are compatible with the foreign exchange markets. The GDP (purchasing power parity) is $128.5 billion, the GDP (official exchange rate) is $77.15 …show more content…

Although most citizens live off very small salaries, they are benefiting from free health care, free education and subsidized food and housing. Even with the assistance, the poverty level is still rising. Emigration has continued to be a problem for the country. There has been an increase of Cubans trying to enter the US since 2014. Since the government held its first Cuban Communist Party Congress in 2011, the country has allowed the citizens to buy appliances, buy cell phones and cars and stay in hotels. Cuba is right behind Mexico and Dominican Republic as destinations for tourist in the Caribbean. Tourism is a strong source of growth and job creation for Cuba. Visits to Cuba for tourism is still banned for travel from the U. S. The only approved travel is education and missionary work. However since some of the restrictions have been lifted, there has been a 36% increase in Americans visiting the country. In overall tourism, the country has seen a 14%

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