The largest country in the Caribbean, Cuba’s economy has been struggling since it lost financial support from the former Soviet Union and Eastern European communist governments in the early 1990s. The situation has been aggravated by a trade embargo imposed by the United States.
Cuba covers an area of about 110,000 square kilometres. The terrain is mostly flat with rolling hills and rugged mountains in the southeast. The climate is tropical. The rainy season and the dry season each last about six months. The east coast of the country is susceptible to hurricanes during the hurricane season from August to October and droughts are common throughout the country.
Cuba is a communist state divided into 14 provinces. The capital city is Havana. The government has been headed by Fidel Castro since 1959, first as Prime Minister, and then as President. Elections were held in March 2003 with Castro receiving 100% of the votes. However, Fidel Castro's surprise announcement to resign after leading the island nation since 1959 allowed lawmakers to pick Raul Castro, 76, as president on February 24th 2008. . Fidel Castro, 81, temporarily ceded power to his younger brother in July 2006, after undergoing gastrointestinal surgery for mysterious illness.
