Havana

Havana City Ciudad de La Habana
Capital municipality and province
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname:  City of Columns[1]
Havana City Location in Cuba Show map of Cuba Havana City Havana City (Caribbean) Show map of Caribbean Havana City Havana City (Gulf of Mexico) Show map of Gulf of Mexico
Coordinates: 23°08′12″N 82°21′32″W / 23.13667°N 82.35889°W / 23.13667; -82.35889
Country	Cuba
Region	Occidente
Established	Nov 16, 1519 (current place)
Founded by	Diego Velazquez de Cuéllar
Municipalities	15
Government
• Body	Gobierno Provincial de La Habana
• President of People's Power Provincial Assembly	Yanet Hernandez (PCC)
Area
• Capital municipality and province	727.37 km2 (280.84 sq mi)
Elevation	59 m (195 ft)
Population  (census 2012)
• Capital municipality and province	1,929,432 hab
• Estimate  (2024)	2,160,623 hab
• Rank	4th in North America 1st in Cuba
• Density	2,892/km2 (7,490/sq mi)
• Metro	2,793,752 hab
Demonym	Habaneros-habaneras
GDP (PPP, constant 2015 values)
• Year	2023
• Total	$41.1 billion[2]
• Per capita	$19,100
Time zone	UTC−5 (UTC−05:00)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (UTC−04:00)
Postal code	10xxx–19xxx
Area code	(+53) 07
ISO 3166 code	CU-03
Patron saint	San Cristóbal
HDI (2019)	0.834[3] – very high
Website	www.lahabana.gob.cu
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Old Havana and its Fortification System
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iv, v
Designated	1982 (6th session)
Reference no.	204
Region	Latin America and the Caribbean

Havana (Spanish: La Habana) is the capital city of Cuba. It is the largest city of Cuba and of the Caribbean. Its population was 2.1 million in the census of 2012. It is at 23°8′N 82°23′W and is about 169 kilometres (105 mi) south-southwest of Key West, Florida in the United States. Cuba's main airport ia located in the city.

Havana is a very old city. It was founded in 1515 by Spanish explorers. Due to its important location it became a springboard for the Spanish conquest of the Americas. Also, it became a stopping point for Spanish ships returning to Spain filled with treasure. King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City in 1592. Walls as well as forts were built to protect the old city. The sinking of the U.S. battleship Maine in Havana's harbor in 1898 was the immediate cause of the Spanish–American War.

1. ↑ "How Obama's US-Cuba deal could shape Havana's future". Lonely Planet. Archived from the original on January 10, 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
2. ↑ "TelluBase—Cuba Fact Sheet" (PDF). Tellusant. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
3. ↑ "Subnational Human Development Index". Global Data Lab. Retrieved June 16, 2020.