km 1.435-m gauge (140 km electrified)note: an additional 7,742 km of track is used by sugar plantations;
about 65% of this track is standard gauge; the rest is narrow gauge
(2004)
Highways:
total: 60,858 km
paved: 29,820 km (including 638 km of expressway)
unpaved: 31,038 km (1999 est.)
Waterways:
240 km (2004)
Pipelines:
gas 49 km; oil 230 km (2004)
Ports and harbors:
Cienfuegos, Havana, Matanzas
Merchant marine:
total: 15 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 54,818 GRT/81,850 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 4, chemical tanker 1, passenger 2,
petroleum tanker 4, refrigerated cargo 2
foreign-owned: 1 (Spain 1)
registered in other countries: 20 (2005)
Airports:
170 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 79 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 20 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 37 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 91 914 to 1,523 m: 29 under 914 m: 62 (2004 est.)
Military Cuba
Military branches:
Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR): Revolutionary Army (ER),
Revolutionary Navy (MGR), Air and Air Defense Force (DAAFAR),
Territorial Militia Troops (MTT), Youth Labor Army (EJT)
Military service age and obligation:
17 years of age; both sexes are eligible for military service (2004)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 17–49: 2,967,865
females age 17–49: 2,913,559 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 17–49: 2,441,927
females age 17–49: 2,396,741 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males: 91,901
females: 87,500 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$572.3 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.8% (2003)
Military - note:
Moscow, for decades the key military supporter and supplier of
Cuba, cut off almost all military aid by 1993
Transnational Issues Cuba
Disputes - international:
US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased to US and only mutual
agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease
Illicit drugs:
territorial waters and air space serve as transshipment zone
primarily for marijuana bound for North America; established the
death penalty for certain drug-related crimes in 1999
This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005
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@Cyprus
Introduction Cyprus
Background:
A former British colony, Cyprus received independence in 1960
following years of resistance to British rule. Tensions between the
Greek Cypriot majority and Turkish Cypriot minority came to a head
in December 1963, when violence broke out in the capital of Nicosia.
Despite the deployment of UN peacekeepers in 1964, sporadic
intercommunal violence continued forcing most Turkish Cypriots into
enclaves throughout the island. In 1974, a Greek-sponsored attempt
to seize the government was met by military intervention from
Turkey, which soon controlled more than a third of the island. In
1983, the Turkish-held area declared itself the "Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus," but it is recognized only by Turkey. The latest
two-year round of UN-brokered direct talks - between the leaders of
the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities to reach an
agreement to reunite the divided island - ended when the Greek
Cypriots rejected the UN settlement plan in an April 2004
referendum. Although only the internationally recognized Greek
Cypriot-controlled Republic of Cyprus joined the EU on 1 May 2004,
every Cypriot carrying a Cyprus passport will have the status of a
European citizen. EU laws, however, will not apply to north Cyprus.
Nicosia continues to oppose EU efforts to establish direct trade and
economic links to north Cyprus as a way of encouraging the Turkish
Cypriot community to continue to support reunification.
Geography Cyprus
Location:
Middle East, island in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Turkey
Geographic coordinates:
35 00 N, 33 00 E
Map references:
Middle East
Area:
