Cuba Economy
Economy - overviewThe government continues to balance the need for economic loosening against a desire for firm political control. It has undertaken limited reforms to increase enterprise efficiency and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods, and services. A major feature of the economy is the dichotomy between relatively efficient export enclaves and inefficient domestic sectors. The average Cuban's standard of living remains at a lower level than before the depression of the 1990s, which was caused by the loss of Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies. The government reluctantly allows a large dollar market sector, fueled by tourism and remittances from Cubans abroad.
GDP
purchasing power parity - $32.13 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
2.6% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita
purchasing power parity - $2,900 (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 5.5%
industry: 26.9%
services: 67.6% (2003 est.)
Investment
10.1% of GDP (2003)
Population below poverty line
NA
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA
Inflation rate
4.1% (2003 est.)
Labor force
4.58 million
note: state sector 78%, non-state sector 22% (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture 24%, industry 25%, services 51% (1999)
Unemployment rate
2.6% (2003 est.)
Budget
revenues: $17.21 billion
expenditures: $18.28 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products
sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans; livestock
Industries
sugar, petroleum, tobacco, construction, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery, pharmaceuticals
Industrial production growth rate
2.4% (2003 est.)
Electricity - production
14.38 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - consumption
13.38 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports
0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production
50,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption
163,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports
NA (2001)
Oil - imports
NA (2001)
Oil - proved reserves
532 million bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas - production
600 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption
600 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves
42.62 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance
$-273 million (2003)
Exports
$1.467 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities
sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee
Exports - partners
Netherlands 21.8%, Canada 16.2%, Russia 10.7%, Spain 8.7%, China 7.3% (2003)
Imports
$4.531 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Imports - commodities
petroleum, food, machinery and equipment, chemicals
Imports - partners
Spain 16.6%, Venezuela 12.5%, Italy 8.6%, US 8.5%, China 7.7%, Canada 5.4%, Mexico 5.3%, France 4.9% (2003)
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold
$582 million (2003)
Debt - external
$12.52 billion (convertible currency); another $15 billion -$20 billion owed to Russia (2003 est.)
Currency
Cuban peso (CUP)
Currency code
CUP
Exchange rates
Cuban pesos per US dollar - 1.0000 (nonconvertible, official rate, for international transactions, pegged to the US dollar); convertible peso sold for domestic use at a rate of 27 pesos per US dollar by the Government of Cuba (2002)
