GEOGRAPHY AND STATISTICS.]
CUBA
Forests.—The forests are extensive and comprise many valuable species, among which are mahogany, ebony, cedar, walnut, lignum-vitse, oak, and many species of palm. The prevailing tree is the Cuban pine, which forms excellent lumber. It is estimated that half the area of the island is forested. Little use is at present made of the forest wealth, and its economic development awaits the construction of adequate means of transportation. Government.—For administrative purposes Cuba is divided into six provinces, which, named from the west eastwards, are Pinar del Rio, Havana, Matanzas, Santa Clara, Puerto Principe, and Santiago. These are divided into municipal districts, or terminos, of which there were 132 at the time of the census of 1899. These, in turn, are subdivided into barrios, or wards, of which there were between 1100 and 1200. There are no chartered cities, and the population of cities here given has been obtained from that of the barrios, which are closely built. On May 20, 1902, the military occupation by the United States, which had been the form of government since the war with Spain, formally ceased, and a Cuban Republic was inaugurated under American protection; the local administration was already then in Cuban hands. Population.—The population in 1899, according to the census, was 1,572,797. In 1887 it was 1,631,687, and in 1877, 1,509,291. In the twelve years preceding the latest census there was an actual diminution of population of 58,890, a result of the civil war which opened in 1895. This measures, however, only a part of the loss consequent upon the war, since the population doubtless increased up to 1895. Allowing for this increase, the loss was probably about 200,000. The average number of inhabitants to a square mile was 36. The following table gives the population and its density by provinces :— Population. perInhabitants Square Mile. 153 424,804 Havana 55 202,214 Matanzas . 35 173,064 Pinar del Rio 8 88,234 Puerto Principe 37 356,536 Santa Clara 26 327,715 Santiago . The proportion of urban population was very high, when it is considered that nearly all the industries and products relate to agriculture. Including all places of 8000 inhabitants or more, the urban population numbered 507,831, or 32'3 per cent, of all the inhabitants, a proportion very close to that of the United States. The proportion of urban inhabitants of the several provinces differed greatly:— Per cent. Urban. 65-4 Havana 28-8 Matanzas . 5-1 Pinar del Rio 28-4 Puerto Principe 22-5 Santa Clara 17-5 Santiago . The principal cities, with their population in 1899, are as follows:—Havana, the capital of Cuba and of Havana province, population 235,981; Santiago, on the south coast, the capital of Santiago province, population 43,090; Matanzas, on the north coast, the capital of Matanzas province, population 36,374; Cienfuegos, in Santa Clara province, on the south coast, population 30,038; Puerto Principe, situated in the interior, the capital of the province of the same name, population 25,102 ; Cardenas, on the north coast in Matanzas province, population 21,940; Manzanillo, on the south coast, in Santiago
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province, population 14,464; Guanabacoa, in Havana province, population, 13,965; Santa Clara, in the interior, the capital of Santa Clara province, population 13,763; Sagua la Grande, on the north coast, in Santa Clara province, population 12,728; Sancti Spiritus, in Santa Clara province, population 12,696; Regia, a suburb of Havana, population 11,363; and Trinidad, on the north coast in Santa Clara province, population 11,120. As to sex, the population was divided in the proportions of 51*8 per cent, males and 48'2 per cent, females, the disproportion being due to immigration. As to race, the whites constituted nearly 68 per cent., or more than two-thirds, and the coloured, including negroes, persons of mixed blood, and Chinese, 32 per cent. The following table gives the proportions of the races in the several provinces :— Per cent. Per cent. White. Coloured. Havana .... 74 26 Matanzas .... 60 40 Pinar del Rio ... 73 27 Puerto Principe ... 80 20 Santa Clara ... 70 30 Santiago .... 55 45 The proportion of coloured has been diminishing since 1841, when it was 58'5 per cent. The proportion of persons of alien birth was 9 per cent, of the population, and three-fourths of these were from Spain, China and Africa contributing largely to the remainder. As in other countries, the foreign-born were proportionately more numerous in the cities than in the country, nearly one-third of this element being found in the city of Havana. During the last six months of 1900 there were 15,810 immigrants, of whom 12,676 came from Spain, 979 from the United States, and 923 from Mexico. The conjugal condition of the people was in certain respects peculiar. Of the total population in 1899 only 15'7 per cent, were lawfully married. Besides these, 8'4 per cent, of the population were living together by mutual consent, in more or less permanent unions. The proportion of married, even with the addition of those in these consensual unions, was much smaller than in Europe. Consensual unions were much more common among the coloured than among the whites. Of the population over ten years of age, 57 per cent, were unable to read, the proportions of illiterates in the two races being, whites 49'2 per cent., and coloured 72 per cent. The public school system, which under Spanish regime existed mainly on paper, has been put into effective operation under American administration. In 1899 the census reported that only 15‘7 per cent, of the children of school age attended school, the proportion of whites being somewhat greater than that of coloured. The number of schools was 1510, the number of public and private schools being about equal. The number of teachers was 2665. In 1901 there were 3567 public schools, 3608 teachers, and 172,273 enrolled scholars. Of the population over ten years of age, 51 ‘2 per cent, were engaged in gainful occupations. The wage-earners were distributed as follows among the great groups of occupations :— Per cent, of all Wage-Earners. 48-1 Agriculture, fishing, and mining 22-8 Domestic and personal service 14-9 Manufactures.... 12-8 Trade and transportation 1-4 Professions . . . • Practically the only religious sect represented in Cuba is the Roman Catholic, of which nearly all the people are, nominally at least, adherents.
