Economic Systems Website Project

Dylan Pinkerton

CUBA

The Cuban Flag

“The 2 white stripes are supposed to symbolize the purity and strength of the fight for independence from Spain. The red color of the triangle symbolizes the blood lost by the individuals who fought for independence. Each side of the triangle stands for liberty, equality, and fraternity.”

(Google)

GDP (National): $127.8 Trillion

GDP (Per Capita): $12,300

Natural Resources: the rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality pose serious long-term problems.

Life Expectancy: 70.5 years

Government Type: Communist State

Population below poverty line: NA (Communist State)

How Trade is Handled (Imports and Exports)

“Sugar historically has been the country’s main export. In the early 21st century, Cuba also benefited from a joint venture with Venezuela, which shipped petroleum to Cuba for refining and reexport. In the process, refined fuels vied with sugar to be Cuba’s top export. Nickel and other minerals, pharmaceutical products, tobacco (notably cigars), and beverages along with food and food products (including fish and citrus fruits) are also important exports. Among the most important imports are mineral fuels and lubricants, foods, machinery and transport equipment, and chemicals. Cuba’s main trading partners include Venezuela, China, Spain, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, and the Netherlands.”

(https://www.britannica.com/place/Cuba/Trade)

Serious Economic Problems

Cuba’s government is trying to loosen its’ socialist economic stance in exchange for the demand for firm political control. The Cuban government is currently working to implicate reforms that allow more citizens the opportunity to be self employed such reforms include trading and selling used cars and owning some retail services.

5 Historical Facts

1. The island of Cuba was discovered October 28 of 1492 after the disembarking of La Pinta, La Niña and La Santa María, the first three european ships under the command of the admiral Cristóbal Colón during his first trip toward the New World.
2. Fidel Castro held control of Cuba from October 3rd, 1965 to April 19th, 2011 and he was later assassinated on November 25th, 2016.
3. Old Havana was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982. The city is also noted for its history, culture, architecture and monuments. As typical of Cuba, Havana experiences a tropical climate.
4. Spanish immigration to Cuba began in 1492, when the Spanish first landed on the island, and continues to the present day. The first sighting of a Spanish boat approaching the island was on 27 or 28 October 1492, probably at Bariay on the eastern point of the island.
5. By the end of the 19th century, during the brief Spanish-American War, fewer than 1,000 soldiers died in battle, but more than 5,000 died of disease in Cuba, and most of those deaths were due to yellow fever, according to records of the U.S. Army Yellow Fever Commission.

5 Interesting Facts

1. Cuba had 200-250 beaches and bays.
2. According to Habanos SA officials, Cuba sold $531 million worth of cigars worldwide in 2019.
3. Age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.8% male: 99.9% female: 99.8% (2015 est.)
4. As of 2017 Cuba’s population was at 11.48 million citizens.
5. The reason there is no information for the population below the poverty line is because of Cuba’s communist government.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6rGSHykWR8

Seychelles

The Seychelles’ Flag

The colour blue depicts the sky and the sea that surrounds the Seychelles. Yellow is for the sun which gives light and life, red symbolizes the people and their determination to work for the future in unity and love, while the white band represents social justice and harmony.

GDP (National): $2.75 billion

GDP (Per Capita): $29,300

Natural Resources: fish, coconuts (copra), cinnamon trees

Life Expectancy: 75.6 years

Government Type: Presidential Republic

Population below Poverty Line: 39.9%

How Trade is Handled (Imports and Exports)

The Seychelles is the 154th largest export economy in the world. In 2017, the Seychelles exported $703M and imported $1.35B, resulting in a negative trade balance of $642M. In 2017 the GDP of the Seychelles was $1.5B and its GDP per capita was $29.3k. The top exports of the Seychelles are Processed Fish($259M), Non-fillet Frozen Fish ($227M), Planes, Helicopters, and/or Spacecraft ($61.8M), Recreational Boats ($29.2M) and Refined Petroleum ($16.1M), using the 1992 revision of the HS (Harmonized System) classification. Its top imports are Non-fillet Frozen Fish($243M), Recreational Boats ($102M), Planes, Helicopters, and/or Spacecraft ($82M), Centrifuges($63.8M) and Rubber Belting ($33.4M). The top export destinations of the Seychelles are France ($124M), the United Kingdom ($78.7M), Mauritius ($78.2M), the United Arab Emirates ($59.1M) and Japan ($59M). The top import origins are Spain($192M), France ($147M), the United Arab Emirates($138M), Hong Kong ($83.7M) and South Africa($82.6M). The Seychelles is an island and borders Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and Tanzania by sea.

Serious Economic Problem

Seychelles’ main economic issue is that it relies mainly on tourism for economic growth and state ran enterprises run a majority of the economy.

5 Historical Facts

1. The Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama discovered the Seychelles Islands (then uninhabited) in 1502, and an English expedition visited the islands in 1609. The name Seychelles derives from the Vicomte des Seychelles, Louis XV's finance minister.
2. Although the people of the Seychelles have never officially gone to war as a nation, that doesn't mean that its people have not made contributions on the world stage when evil and hatred threatened to throw the world out of balance.
3. An island nation, Seychelles is located in the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar and about 1,600 km (994 mi) east of Kenya.
4. Common languages spoken in Seychelles are English, French and Seychellois Creole.
5. Seychelles’ most common religion is Roman Ctholic.

5 Interesting Facts

1. Some of the rarest species of birds can be found in Seychelles, including the bare-legged Scops Owl or Syer. This specific owl is so rare it was once thought to have become extinct, but was rediscovered in 1959. You can find it at the Morne Seychellois National Park on Mahé Island.
2. The native Coco de mer, also known as the sea coconut or double coconut, produces the heaviest (about 15kg) and largest seed in the world.
3. The capital of Seychelles, Victoria, is the smallest capital in the world. You can explore the entire city on foot in less than a day.
4. Bird Island is home to the heaviest living land tortoise in the wild, called Esmeralda. The unique tortoise weighs about 670 pounds.
5. The Miss World Beauty Pageant was held in Seychelles in 1997 and 1998, in which the media used the popular event to show off the amazing islands. Afterwards, tourists started discovering this magnificent country.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdibaJMnuVs