Cuba has survived more than 40 years of US sanctions intended to topple the government of Fidel Castro. It also defied predictions that it would not survive the collapse of its one-time supporter, the Soviet Union.
Since the fall of the US-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959 Cuba has been a one-party state led by Mr Castro and - since February 2008 - by his annointed successor, younger brother Raul.
Fidel exercised control over virtually all aspects of Cuban life through the Communist Party and its affiliated mass organisations, the government bureaucracy and the state security apparatus.
Exploiting the US-Soviet Cold War, Fidel Castro was for decades able to rely on strong Soviet backing, including annual subsidies worth $4-5 billion, and succeed in building reputable health and education systems. But, at least partly because of the US trade sanctions, he failed to diversify the economy.
The disappearance of Soviet aid following the collapse of the USSR forced the government to introduce tight rationing of energy, food and consumer goods.
AT-A-GLANCE
The economy has soldiered on with the help of Canadian, European and Latin American investments, especially in tourism.
Controls were relaxed in the 1990s, with companies allowed to import and export without seeking permission and a number of free trade zones opening up.
But some of these economic reforms were later rolled back, with Fidel Castro denouncing what he called the "new rich".
Cuba has forged closer ties with China and with oil-producing Venezuela. The former has invested in the nickel industry; the latter supplies cheap fuel.
But the money sent home by Cubans living abroad - many of them in the US city of Miami - is still crucial to the economy. Hardships have led to an increase in prostitution, corruption, black marketeering and desperate efforts to escape in search of a better life.
Cuba has fallen foul of international bodies, including the UN's top human rights forum, over rights abuses. The UN's envoy has urged Havana to release imprisoned dissidents and to allow freedom of expression.
The US leases the Guantanamo Naval Base on the eastern tip of the island.
President: Raul Castro
Raul Castro, the world's longest-serving defence minister, took over as president in February 2008, succeeding his ailing brother Fidel, who had been in power for five decades.
Raul Castro became acting president 18 months earlier when his brother was incapacitated by ill health, and was formally named as president by the National Assembly days after Fidel announced his retirement.
Fidel Castro, a devotee of Marxist-Leninist theory, brought revolution to Cuba and created the western hemisphere's first communist state. His bearded figure, long speeches, army fatigues and defiance of the United States earned him iconic status across the globe.
Raul, 76 at the time of this appointment, has been his brother's trusted right-hand man and was once known as an iron-fisted ideologue who executed Fidel Castro's orders - and enemies - ruthlessly.
Under his leadership, Cuba's Revolutionary Armed Forces became one of the most formidable fighting forces in the Third World with combat experience in Africa, where they defeated South Africa's army in Angola in 1987.
Known as a good administrator, Raul Castro substantially cut the size of the army after the collapse of Soviet Communism threw Cuba into severe economic crisis. He introduced Western business practices to help make the armed forces self-sufficient. The military has a large stake in the most dynamic sectors of the Cuban economy, including tourism.
Raul Castro has also eased some restrictions on personal freedoms by lifting bans on mobile phones and home computers.
But his choice of first vice-president came as a shock to those hoping that a new generation might begin shaping the country's future. He picked Machado Ventura - a hardline politburo member and one of the original leaders of the revolution - as his number two.
The Cuban media are tightly controlled by the government and journalists must operate within the confines of laws against anti-government propaganda and the insulting of officials which carry penalties of up to three years in prison.
The state maintains a tight hold on the media 2007: Cubans warned about satellite TV
Private ownership of electronic media is prohibited by the constitution, and foreign news agencies must hire local journalists only through government offices.
Paris-based media rights body Reporters Without Borders has said the press freedom situation is "disastrous". It adds that with less than 2% of the country's population online, Cuba is "one of the most backward internet countries".
Cuban officials accuse the US of blocking access to high-speed links.
Since Fidel Castro relinquished power to his brother Raul, international watchdogs have intensified their condemnation of the lack of media freedom and jailed journalists' conditions of detention.
The US tries hard to reach Cuban listeners and viewers. Washington-backed Radio-TV Marti says it provides "balanced, uncensored" news for the Cuban people.
The service beams programmes to Cuba from high-power transmitters, some based in the Florida Keys.
In late 2006 TV Marti began buying airtime on a station in Miami, Florida, which Cubans using illegal satellite equipment can pick up.
However the effectiveness - or otherwise - of such operations has been debated in US government circles.
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BBC Archive: Cuba and the Cold War
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