Economy - overview:
The government continues to balance the need for economic loosening against a desire for firm political control. It has rolled back limited reforms undertaken in the 1990s to increase enterprise efficiency and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods, and services. The average Cuban's standard of living remains at a lower level than before the downturn of the 1990s, which was caused by the loss of Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies. Since late 2000, Venezuela has been providing oil on preferential terms, and it currently supplies about 100,000 barrels per day of petroleum products. Cuba has been paying for the oil, in part, with the services of Cuban personnel in Venezuela, including some 30,000 medical professionals.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$108.2 billion (2008 est.)
$103.7 billion (2007)
$96.7 billion (2006)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars

GDP (official exchange rate):
$55.18 billion (2008 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
4.3% (2008 est.)
7.3% (2007 est.)
12.1% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita:
$9,500 (2008 est.)
$9,100 (2007 est.)
$8,500 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 4.4%
industry: 22.8%
services: 72.8% (2008 est.)

Labor force:
4.962 million
note: state sector 78%, non-state sector 22% (2008 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 20%
industry: 19.4%
services: 60.6% (2005)

Unemployment rate:
1.8% (2008 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Investment (gross fixed):
11.6% of GDP (2008 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $41.06 billion
expenditures: $43.33 billion (2008 est.)

Public debt:
32.8% of GDP (2008 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
4.2% (2008 est.)

Central bank discount rate:
NA

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
NA

Stock of money:
NA

Stock of quasi money:
NA

Stock of domestic credit:
NA

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:
6% (2008 est.)

Electricity - production:
17.62 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - consumption:
14.67 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2007 est.)

Oil - production:
61,300 bbl/day (2008 est.)

Oil - consumption:
203,500 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports:
0 bbl/day (2006)

Oil - imports:
123,200 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves:
124 million bbl (1 January 2008 est.)

Natural gas - production:
1.218 billion cu m (2007)

Natural gas - consumption:
1.218 billion cu m (2007)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
70.79 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

Current account balance:
-$330 million (2008 est.)

Exports:
$3.497 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

Exports - commodities:
sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee

Exports - partners:
China 27.5%, Canada 26.9%, Netherlands 11.1%, Spain 4.7% (2007)

Imports:
$11.74 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

Imports - commodities:
petroleum, food, machinery and equipment, chemicals

Imports - partners:
Venezuela 29.6%, China 13.4%, Spain 10.4%, Canada 6%, US 5.1% (2007)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$4.347 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

Debt - external:
$18.25 billion (convertible currency); another $15-20 billion owed to Russia (31 December 2008 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$11.24 billion (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$4.138 billion (2006 est.)