Cuba Geography and Population

Cuba Geography and Population

According to findjobdescriptions, Cuba is an island state of Central America; it includes the island of the same name (105,007 km 2), the Isla de la Juventud (2411 km 2) and about 1600 islands and islets, including the archipelago of Camagüey and that of the Canarreos. The island of Cuba, the largest of the Greater Antilles, is located between the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, about 200 km E of the Yucatán Peninsula (Mexico) and 150 km S of Florida (USA).

Physical characteristics

The island, with a very elongated (1200 km) and narrow (at the longitude of Havana, less than 50 km) shape, is mostly low and flat or slightly undulating; just a fifth of its surface is mountainous. The most important mountainous area is formed by the Sierra Maestra, a chain that rises parallel to the SE coasts for 250 km (Pico Turquino, 1974 m); another notable relief is the Sierra de Los Órganos (760 m) in the western part. The coasts have a series of deep and sometimes branched bays, excellent natural harbors (Havana, Cienfuego, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo etc.) fronted by series of low islands.

The climate is tropical, with average annual temperatures of around 25 ° C and a seasonal temperature range of around 5-6 ° Cuba The rains (1100-1500 mm per year, but even more in the higher areas) fall for the most part from May to November. During the year NE trade winds blow on the island. In winter there are frequent nortes, violent and cold winds. Often the island is also hit by cyclones, especially in August-September, which hit the south-western part. Of the great forests that covered the island at the time of the discovery, only a fifth remain, mainly spread along the sides of the Sierra Maestra, having been largely cut down to encourage cattle breeding, and the rise of extensive cane plantations. from sugar, coffee and tobacco.

Population

Extinct since the 16th century. the original population, the current one, is made up of 51% of Mulattos of Spanish origin, 37% of Whites and 11% of Neri (numerous species in the eastern part); there is also a very small minority of Chinese. Population growth was slow until the second half of the 18th century, then abruptly changed pace with the development of the sugar cane crop; in the last years of the 20th century. the population has grown moderately, an increase also limited by the migratory flow, mostly clandestine, directed towards the United States, and in particular towards nearby Florida, which has caused moments of serious tension between the two countries. In the most recent period, the natural movement has stabilized at an annual positive balance of around 0.3%. The composition by age is still youthful, although the containment of births and the sharp reduction in mortality are beginning to produce ‘maturation’ effects. The distribution of the population was guided by government policy, which encouraged agricultural colonization and favored a contained and harmonious development of the urban framework, so that territorial displacements took place in absolute prevalence within the rural world. Therefore, the increase of the urban population (75% of the total) was very limited and about one fifth was concentrated in the agglomeration of Havana (almost 2,168,255 residents According to a 2007 estimate). which encouraged agricultural colonization and favored a contained and harmonious development of the urban framework, so that territorial displacements took place in absolute prevalence within the rural world. Therefore, the increase of the urban population (75% of the total) was very limited and about one fifth was concentrated in the agglomeration of Havana (almost 2,168,255 residents According to a 2007 estimate). which encouraged agricultural colonization and favored a contained and harmonious development of the urban framework, so that territorial displacements took place in absolute prevalence within the rural world. Therefore, the increase of the urban population (75% of the total) was very limited and about one fifth was concentrated in the agglomeration of Havana (almost 2,168,255 residents According to a 2007 estimate).

The population largely follows the Catholic religion.

Cuba Geography and Population

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