The Caribbean
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Cuba

Population: 11,265,216 inhabitants
Land surface: 110,860 km2
Currency: Cuban Peso
GDP per capita: US$ 3000
Language: Spanish
Religion: Catholics, 39.6%; Atheist 6.4%; Evangelical 3.3%; Afro Cuban cults
Official name: República de Cuba.
Capital: La Habana 2,189,000 inhabitants (2003).
Other cities (inhabitants – 2000): Santiago de Cuba 534,600; Camagüey 342,900; Holguín 305,000; Guantánamo 264,100; Pinar del Río 172,300.
Government: presidential

   Geography. The country of Cuba consists of the island of Cuba, the Island of Youth (formerly Island of Pines) and of 1,600 adjacent cays. Cuba, the largest of the Antilles, has a tropical rainy climate. The country has extensive and fertile plains, with the exception of the southeast, where the heights of the Sierra Maestra. Sugarcane occupies more than 60% of the cultivated land, particularly in the plains of the north. Nickel is the main exportable mineral resource. The Caribbean beaches are exploited for tourism.

Haití

Population: 9,751,432 inhabitants
Land surface: 27,750 km2
Currency: Gourde
GDP per capita: US$ 1,663
Language: French and Creole
Official name: République d'Haïti (French); Repiblik Dayti (Creole).
Capital: Port Prince (Port-au-Prince) 1,699,000 inhabitants (1999).
Other cities (inhabitants – 2000): Carrefour 356,400; Delmas 301,200; Cap Haitien 119,400
Government: presidential
Religion: Voodoo, syncretism of Christianity and African beliefs; Catholics (80%), Protestants (16%).

   Geography. The country occupies the western portion of Española Island, the second largest of the Greater Antilles. There are two major mountain ranges arranged along the east-west direction, delineating the two peninsulas of the north and south. Central Haiti’s topography is composed of basins and elevations. The plains that open towards the sea on the west side are protected from the humid winds by a belt of mountains that spreads across the north and the east. Coffee is the main export.

Dominican Republic

Population: 9,904,327 inhabitants
Land surface: 48,730 km2
Currency: Dominican Peso
GDP per capita: US$ 8,217
Language: Spanish
Official name: República Dominicana.
Capital: Santo Domingo 1,865,000 inhabitants (2003).
Other cities (inhabitants – 2000): Santiago de Los Caballeros 446,800; La Vega 416,300; San Pedro de Macorís 257,700.
Government: presidential
Religion: There is no official religion. Catholics (91.3%); others (8.7%).

   Geography. It occupies the eastern part of the Española Island, and is the second largest of the Antilles. The Cordillera Central crosses the territory from the northwest to the southeast. The fertile Cibao region is located between the central and northern mountain ranges. Sea breezes and ocean currents moderate the tropical rainy climate. Between 1962 and 1980 the country lost a significant fraction of its forested areas.

   1. Indicate which country the statement refers to: Cuba, Haiti or Dominican Republic.

The capital is Port au Prince

 

It exports nickel

  

It is next to Haiti

 

Its beaches are a touristic resource

  

It is the largest country

  

It has the highest GDP per capita

  

The capital is Santo Domingo

 

It exports coffee

  

The capital is Havana

  

It has two peninsulas

  

It has lost many forests

  

    2. Otros países de El Caribe:

Country Population Extension, km2 Capital Currency Idioma
Bahamas 335.286 13.880 Nassau Bahamian Dollar English
Netherlands Antilles 194.381 800 Willemstad Dutch guilder Dutch
Barbados 294.826 430 Bridgetown Barbadian Dollar English
Guadalupe 447.927 1.705 Basse-Torre Barbadian Dollar French
Martinique 399.747 1.102 Fort-de-France Euro French
Trinidad and Tobago 1.338.225 5.130 Port of Spain Trinidad and Tobago Dollar English
Cayman Islands 47.010 260 George Town Cayman Islands Dollar English
Jamaica 2.728.196 10.990 Kingston Jamaican Dollar English
Puerto Rico 4.012.389 8.950 San Juan US Dollar English

   3. Indicate the capitals of the following countries:

Cuba

  

Dominican Republic

  

Haiti

  



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®Arturo Ramo García.-Record of intellectual property of Teruel (Spain) No 141, of 29-IX-1999
Plaza Playa de Aro, 3, 1º DO 44002-TERUEL







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