Cuba Environment - 2024

Environment - current issues

soil degradation and desertification (brought on by poor farming techniques and natural disasters) are the main environmental problems; biodiversity loss; deforestation; air and water pollution

Environment - international agreements

party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation

Climate

tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October)

Land use

agricultural land: 60.3% (2018 est.)

arable land: 33.8% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 3.6% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 22.9% (2018 est.)

forest: 27.3% (2018 est.)

other: 12.4% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 77.5% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 0.19% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

0.06% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 13.32 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 28.28 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 9.3 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 2,692,692 tons (2007 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 255,536 tons (2015 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 9.5% (2015 est.)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 1.7 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 740 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 4.52 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

38.12 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)