Cuba is the largest island country in the Caribbean by area, covering about 109,884 square kilometres.
The Republic of Cuba occupies the long, crescent-shaped island of Cuba along with smaller surrounding islands and islets. Cuba lies between the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, making it strategically important at the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico.
Cuba is also the largest island in the Caribbean archipelago. Hispaniola, shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, is the second-largest Caribbean island, but it is not a single sovereign country.
Havana is Cuba’s capital and largest city. Cuba became independent from Spain in 1902 after the Spanish–American War and later underwent the Cuban Revolution, which brought Fidel Castro’s government to power in 1959.