Cuba - Military

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Cuba is located Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, 150 km south of Key West, Florida. The climate is tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October). The terrain is mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast.

Military branches

This entry lists the service branches subordinate to defense ministries or the equivalent (typically ground, naval, air, and marine forces).
Military branches : Revolutionary Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias, FAR)

Military service age and obligation

This entry gives the required ages for voluntary or conscript military service and the length of service obligation.
Military service age and obligation : 17-28 years of age for compulsory military service; 2-year service obligation; both sexes subject to military service (2006)

Manpower available for military service

This entry gives the number of males and females falling in the military age range for a country (defined as being ages 16-49) and assumes that every individual is fit to serve.
Manpower available for military service - males age 16-49 : 3,094,388
Manpower available for military service - females age 16-49 : 3,024,876 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

This entry gives the number of males and females falling in the military age range for a country (defined as being ages 16-49) and who are not otherwise disqualified for health reasons; accounts for the health situation in the country and provides a more realistic estimate of the actual number fit to serve.
Manpower fit for military service - males age 16-49 : 2,543,044
Manpower fit for military service - females age 16-49 : 2,481,823 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually

This entry gives the number of males and females entering the military manpower pool (i.e., reaching age 16) in any given year and is a measure of the availability of military-age young adults.
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually - male : 79,945
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually - female : 76,014 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures

This entry gives spending on defense programs for the most recent year available as a percent of gross domestic product (GDP); the GDP is calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP).
Military expenditures : 3.8% of GDP (2006 est.)

Military - note

This entry includes miscellaneous military information of significance not included elsewhere.
Military - note : the collapse of the Soviet Union deprived the Cuban Army of its major economic and logistic support, and had a significant impact on equipment numbers and serviceability; the army remains well trained and professional in nature; while the lack of replacement parts for its existing equipment and the current severe shortage of fuel have increasingly affected operational capabilities, Cuba remains able to offer considerable resistance to any regional power (2008)

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