Cuba

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Main Airports

Camagüey, Cayo Coco, Havana (HVA) (José Martí International)

tatistics

GDP: purchasing power parity:

$39.17 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

8% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity:

3,500 (2005 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

7% (2005 est.)

Labor force:

4.6 million
note: state sector 78%, non-state sector 22% (2005 est.)

Exports:

$2.388 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Exports - partners:

Netherlands 25.1%, Canada 20.6%, China 9.7%, Spain 6.7% (2005)

Imports:

$6.916 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - partners:

China 15%, Spain 14.1%, Canada 8.7%, US 8.5%, Germany 7.5%, Italy 5.8%, Mexico 4.8%, Japan 4.2% (2005)

Population:

11,382,820 (July 2006 est.)

Population growth rate:

0.31% (2006 est.)

Population Below Poverty Line:

NA

Major Industries:

Employing Workers: *

Registering Property: *

Enforcing Contracts: *

Closing a Business: *

*2006 World Bank rank out of 175 countries

Starting a Business

The table below shows the number of steps and the amount of time needed to start a business, on average

Indicator

Cuba

Region

Cuba Risk Assessment

Country Rating

Rating: D

A high-risk political and economic situation and an often very difficult business environment can have a very significant impact on corporate payment behaviour. Corporate default probability is very high.

Risk Assessment

By "temporarily" delegating the presidency to his younger brother Raul end July 2006, Fidel Castro triggered a succession process that could lead to a more pragmatic approach to economic policy.
Investment, along with household spending, will drive more moderate growth in 2008. Construction and infrastructure should expand, while agriculture should experience a recovery. Although continuation of the American sanctions will hamper the economy, the upcoming presidential election in the United States in November 2008 could open a window of opportunity for greater flexibility on that score.


Economic management could be the subject of gradual adjustments, particularly of prices and exchange rates, to improve the efficiency of the economic apparatus and raise living standards. The growth of tax receipts and contributions by state-owned companies will facilitate keeping a lid on the fiscal deficit. Although the international financial turmoil has relatively limited impact on external accounts, foreign trade remains structurally in deficit due to the high volumes of imported capital goods and food, mainly from China, and oil from Venezuela. Revenues derived from services, tourism, and transfers by exiles have, however, made it possible to limit a current account deficit, financed notably by foreign direct investment inflows. With Cuba only able to obtain short-term external financing and then only to a limited extent, its debt ratios (excluding Russian debt) should continue to decline.

STRENGTHS

• Cuba boasts great natural wealth including mining resources (mainly nickel and cobalt), agriculture (sugar, tobacco), and fishing (rock lobster).
• A developed tourist sector constitutes an important source of foreign currency.
• Compared to other regional countries the education level of the work force is satisfactory as are the social indicators.

• The country has been vulnerable to external shocks due to its dependence on raw materials with volatile prices, tourism and oil imports.
• Cuba has limited access to external financing due to amount of debt in arrears.
• The de-dollarisation initiated end 2004 with the creation of two currencies has increased the distortions within that centralised economy.
• How succession to President Fidel Castro and the embargo imposed by the United States play out constitute major factors of uncertainty.

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