im reading up on cuba

some things that struck me as interesting

Population
• 2017 census
	Decrease 11,221,060[5

During the 1970s, Fidel Castro dispatched tens of thousands of troops in support of Soviet-supported wars in Africa. He supported the MPLA in Angola and Mengistu Haile Mariam in Ethiopia.[112] 

The standard of living in the 1970s was "extremely spartan" and discontent was rife.[113] Fidel Castro admitted the failures of economic policies in a 1970 speech.[113] In 1975 the OAS lifted its sanctions against Cuba, with the approval of 16 member states, including the U.S. The U.S., however, maintained its own sanctions.[110] 

The country faced a severe economic downturn following the withdrawal of Soviet subsidies worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually, resulting in effects such as food and fuel shortages.[114][115] The government did not accept American donations of food, medicines, and cash until 1993.[114] On 5 August 1994, state security dispersed protesters in a spontaneous protest in Havana

Cuba had the second-highest number of imprisoned journalists of any nation in 2008 (for a country of 11 million thats a shitton isnt it)

Cuban dissidents face arrest and imprisonment. In the 1990s, Human Rights Watch reported that Cuba's extensive prison system, one of the largest in Latin America, consists of 40 maximum-security prisons, 30 minimum-security prisons, and over 200 work camps.[152] According to Human Rights Watch, Cuba's prison population is confined in "substandard and unhealthy conditions, where prisoners face physical and sexual abuse".[152] 

The average monthly wage as of July 2013 is 466 Cuban pesos—about US$19

Before Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution, Cuba was one of the most advanced and successful countries in Latin America.[194] Cuba's capital, Havana, was a "glittering and dynamic city".[194] The country's economy in the early part of the century, fuelled by the sale of sugar to the United States, had grown wealthy. Cuba ranked 5th in the hemisphere in per capita income, 3rd in life expectancy, 2nd in per capita ownership of automobiles and telephones, and 1st in the number of television sets per inhabitant. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba