Cuba is an essentially agricultural country, with a low level of industrialization. According to allcountrylist, the dependence of its economy on a single product, sugar, is its main characteristic; the massive use of this monoculture, together with the poverty of natural resources and the scarcity of capital and skilled labor, represented a significant brake on national development. Historically dependent on foreign countries (Spain first which made it a colonial outpost, the United States then which incorporated it into their sphere of influence by monopolizing the trade in resources, Russia subsequently, as a privileged partner of import-export according to channels far from the market mechanisms), Cuba has taken the first steps towards an economic transformation in conjunction with the revolution of Fidel Castro (1959) which set as its objectives the diversification of agriculture, the incentive for industrialization, the elimination of social inequalities and poverty. Castro’s reforms, born and supported by an essentially peasant society, primarily concerned land ownership and the reorganization of the agricultural sector. From a colonial-type economy, based on large estates and monoculture, after 1959 there was a shift to a form of cooperative organization (also through the creation of state farms, elimination of social inequalities and poverty. Castro’s reforms, born and supported by an essentially peasant society, primarily concerned land ownership and the reorganization of the agricultural sector.

From a colonial-type economy, based on large estates and monoculture, after 1959 there was a shift to a form of cooperative organization (also through the creation of state farms, elimination of social inequalities and poverty. Castro’s reforms, born and supported by an essentially peasant society, primarily concerned land ownership and the reorganization of the agricultural sector. From a colonial-type economy, based on large estates and monoculture, after 1959 there was a shift to a form of cooperative organization (also through the creation of state farms, granjas del pueblo), accompanied by an attempt to nationalize the various economic activities, hitherto under the American sphere of influence. In fact, US companies controlled transport, banks, the energy sector, a large part of the mining sector as well as obviously the only existing industries represented by sugar refineries, tobacco factories and small oil refineries. These activities were also accompanied by the promotion of intensive livestock farming, especially cattle and pigs, in order to alleviate the heavy dependence on foodstuffs from abroad. The centralization of enterprises was carried out on a Soviet-type economic model, which soon led to the disappearance of cooperatives born with the revolution, in favor of state-owned enterprises. The United States reacted harshly by imposing a heavy economic embargo that pushed Cuba more and more towards the sphere of influence of the countries linked to the Soviet Union, with which privileged pacts and trade agreements were stipulated that also concerned support for development policies. The solidity of these pacts was further sanctioned by the accession of Cuba, in 1972, to the COMECON (Council of Mutual Economic Assistance), whose members absorbed most of the Cuban production. The new dependence did not favor the development of endogenous experiences, at least from an industrial point of view, even if the inflow of capital made it possible to support the growth of social services (especially in the field of education and health).

Although the signs of the crisis were already in a nutshell during the eighties, the complete transformation of the world political order in the aftermath of the crisis of the Soviet empire (1989) definitively aggravated the weak equilibrium of the island. The dissolution of the USSR in fact deprived Cuba, first of all, of the by now traditional outlet for sugar production as well as of the supply of oil on favorable terms; L’ weakening fuel imports caused a chain drop in industrial production, also compromising exports. In the early 1990s, Cuba went through what was called the especial period, characterized by a net fall in GDP and a generalized worsening in all economic sectors, including that of social infrastructure. Not only that, but the disappearance of the European ally and the dissolution of COMINTERN left the country further exposed to pressure from the United States. With the promulgation of the Halms-Burton law, which effectively prohibited entrepreneurs of any origin from carrying out economic activities in Cuba or with Cuban companies, reserving the possibility of prosecuting offenders, the USA aggravated the conditions of the trade block even if these measures they did not get the support of the European partners. During the last decade of the twentieth century, however, there has been a timid opening on the island towards foreign investors, the development of private companies, especially in the tourism sector, the promotion of agricultural diversification (at least to satisfy internal needs) and some economic policy interventions such as the equalization of the national currency with the American one. The combined effect of privatization and foreign direct investment has led to better economic results: between 1995 and 2000, in fact, GDP growth underwent a significant improvement, averaging around 6%. Despite these attempts at modernization, the management of the economy still remains centralized and the incentives derived from economic restructuring have not been sufficient to avoid the worsening of the unemployment problem.

Not only that, but the creation of free zones in the country, if on the one hand it has facilitated foreign investments, on the other it has led to a growing differentiation in regional growth rates, fueling income inequalities deriving from the different involvement of workers in traditional or modern economic sectors, to the different degree of integration with economic circuits outside the island and the possibility of receiving a salary in dollars. In the early years of the new millennium, the country’s GDP returned to positive growth, reaching 9.5% in 2006 (in 2007 the GDP was 52,298 mln US $ and the GDP the different degree of integration with the economic circuits outside the island and the possibility of receiving a salary in dollars. In the first years of the new millennium, the country’s GDP returned to positive growth, reaching 9.5% in 2006 (in 2007 the GDP was 52,298 mln US $ and the GDP the different degree of integration with the economic circuits outside the island and the possibility of receiving a salary in dollars. In the early years of the new millennium, the country’s GDP returned to positive growth, reaching 9.5% in 2006 (in 2007 the GDP was 52,298 mln US $ and the GDP per capita of US $ 4,641): in order to keep the trend constant, the country has set itself as primary objectives, in the immediate future, the stability of the currency, together with the reduction of dependence on the dollar, as well as the equalization of real and official exchange rates. On the other hand, the absence of a concrete reform of the financial system and of the mechanisms of trade continue to constitute factors preventing the consolidation of foreign investments, effectively hindering the progress of the island. In 2018-19, the economy suffers from the low price of sugar, the inefficiency of the agricultural sector and the cessation of remittances from doctors working in Brazil. The regime is trying to reconcile maintaining tight political control over the country with updating the economic system. Steps have been taken to reduce the number of employees in the inefficient state apparatus, encourage small-scale entrepreneurship and encourage the inflow of foreign capital, previously subject to severe restrictions. The development of local production activities is also linked to the need to reduce the considerable dependence on imports. In 2017, GDP stood at US $ 96,851 million and GDP per capita at US $ 8,541.