Cuba Communications 2023, CIA World Factbook

total subscriptions: 1,539,269 (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 14 (2021 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

total subscriptions: 7,103,296 (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 63 (2021 est.)

Telecommunication systems

general assessment: internet availability has increased substantially over the past few years, but only about 64 percent of Cubans have Internet access, and even fewer Cubans--about 60 percent of the population--have access to cell phone service; in 2021 the Cuban Government passed a decree that strengthened its authority to censor Internet and telephonic communications; state control of the telecom sector hinders development; Cuba has the lowest mobile phone and Internet subscription rates in the region; fixed-line density is also very low; thaw of US-Cuba relations encouraged access to services, such as Wi-Fi hot spots; access to sites is controlled and censored; DSL and Internet are available in Havana, though costs are too high for most Cubans; international investment and agreement to improve Internet access through cost-free and direct connection between networks (2021)

domestic: fixed-line density remains low at a little over 14 per 100 inhabitants; mobile-cellular service has expanded to about 63 per 100 persons (2021)

international: country code - 53; the ALBA-1, GTMO-1, and GTMO-PR fiber-optic submarine cables link Cuba, Jamaica, and Venezuela; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) (2019)

Broadcast media

government owns and controls all broadcast media: eight national TV channels (Cubavision, Cubavision Plus, Tele Rebelde, Multivision, Educational Channel 1 and 2, Canal Clave, Canal Habana), two international channels (Cubavision Internacional and Canal Caribe), multiple regional TV stations, 7 national radio networks, and multiple regional stations; the Cuban Government beams over the Radio-TV Marti signal; although private ownership of electronic media is prohibited, several online independent news sites exist; those that are not openly critical of the government are often tolerated; the others are blocked by the government; there are no independent TV channels, but several outlets have created strong audiovisual content (El Toque, for example); a community of young Youtubers is also growing, mostly with channels about sports, technology and fashion; Christian denominations are creating original video content to distribute via social media (2023)

Internet country code

.cu

Internet users

total: 7.81 million (2021 est.)

percent of population: 71% (2021 est.)

note: private citizens are prohibited from buying computers or accessing the Internet without special authorization; foreigners may access the Internet in large hotels but are subject to firewalls; some Cubans buy illegal passwords on the black market or take advantage of public outlets to access limited email and the government-controlled "intranet"; issues relating to COVID-19 impact research into internet adoption, so actual internet user figures may be different than published numbers suggest

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

total: 231,654 (2020 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 2 (2020 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Cuba on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Cuba 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Cuba 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.