Cuba - Havana

Havana is the capital city, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city is one of the 14 Cuban provinces. The province has 2.1 million inhabitants, and the urban area over 2.5 million, making Havana the largest city in both Cuba and the Caribbean region. The sluggish Almendares River traverses the city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay.

King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City in 1592 and a royal decree in 1634 recognized its importance by officially designated as the "Key to the New World and Rampart of the West Indies". The sinking of the U.S. battleship Maine in Havana's harbor in 1898 was the immediate cause of the Spanish-American War.

The city is the center of the Cuban government, and various ministries and headquarters of businesses are based there. Much of Cuba's industrial and service economy is based in Havana.