Geographic Analysis of Four Countries

Cuba, Central African Republic, Iran, Myanmar
Extractive Performance
Symbolism
Regulation and Transparency
Distributive Performance
Political Recruitment
Cuba
Caribbean nation, was a Spanish colony for centuries until the Treaty of Paris in 1898. United States military occupied for more than 3 years thereafter
Capital – Havana
Climate - Tropical with trade winds; wet season May to October and dry season November to April
Area 110,860 sq km
World rank in area:107
Pop. 11,147,407
world rank 80
Government: Communist State
UN, UNESCO, WHO,WTO
Heavily dependent on the services industry, currently about 75% of the economy. 21.5% of GDP is in the industrial sector and 3.9% in agriculture. GDP in purchasing power parity is $132.9 billion and climbing, ranked 80 in the world.
Flag : The triangle symbolizes the three components of liberty, equality, fraternity.
The three blue bands are divisions on the island (central, east, west).
The white bands symbolize the purity of independence.
The white star in the red triangle is La Estrella Solitaria (the Lone Star), a direct reference to Texas (CIA World Factbook).
Tree: royal palm
Song: "La Bayamesa"
Not Free, Civil Liberties score 6/7, Political Rights 7/7.
CPI Score 47/100
CPI Rank 62/180
An outlier in terms of not having FDI, and not being a member of the World Bank, Cuba has had restrictive regulatory environments that have only begun to show signs of unraveling (Feinberg, 2012). United States sanctions highly detrimental. Growing private sector. Weak transparency for government monopolies.
Per capita GDP is stagnant at $11,900 (2016 est.), ranked 131 in the world.
Dependency ratio 43.3
Life expectancy 78.8, ranked 57 in the world
Health expenditures ranked 12th in the world at 11.1% of GDP.
Literacy--Male 99.9%, Female 99.8%
110.7 births/1,000 population (rank 184 in the world)
8.7 deaths/1,000 population (rank 74 in the world)
Human rights problems included arbitrary detentions, no freedom of expression or media, censorship. No religious freedom or academic freedom. No freedom of assembly.
Political Rights 1/40
One party system, but citizens vote for national assembly.
Corruption and inefficiencies in government.
15 provinces
Office holders are all PCC party members.
No ethnic/geographic/religious divisionsn but Castro family dominates upper eschelon of politics
Central African Republic
Landlocked in central Africa north of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Area: 622,984 sq km
(rank 46 in world)
Borders Cameroon, Chad, DRC, Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and Sudan.
Former French colony.
Independence in 1960.
Series of corrupt military governments.
Capital – Bangui
Government: Presidential Republic
Climate – Tropical with dry winter and wet summer.
Pop. 5,625,118
world rank 115
Memberships: IMF, UN, WHO, WTO
GDP purchasing power parity: $3.395 billion (ranked 185 in world)
Per capita GDP $700
Lucrative mining industries (gold and diamonds)
Exports: $118.5 million total, mainly coffee, timber, cotton, diamonds.
Flag: Combines French colors (red, white, blue) with pan-African flag colors (green, red, yellow). Red is blood spilled for independence, blue is freedom, white is peace and dignity, green is hope and faith, yellow is tolerance. The star is future aspirations (CIA World Factbook)
National symbol is elephant.
Song: "Le Renaissance"
Not Free, Civil Liberties
Score 7/7
Freedom 7/7
Political Rights 7/7
CPI Score 23/100
Lawlessness throughout, especially in rural areas.

Government controls diamond trade..

Instability, frequent coups.

14 prefectures.
$323-$700 per capita GDP.

Life expectancy 52.8 years (rank 217 in world)

Literacy—Total population 36.8%
Male 50.7%,
Female 24.4%

34.3 births/1,000 population
13.2 deaths/1,000 population



Serious human rights problems. Poverty. Poor infrastructure, high rate of infectious disease. Armed conflict and inadequate healthcare. Displacement, people fleeing to neighboring countries.

Political Rights 4/40

A coup in 2013 has changed things, although officially there is a direct election and French model of law.

Electoral process rating 3/12
Political pluralism rating 2/16
Government functioning 0/12

Government control not by ethnic/religious affiliation or even geographic but access to diamond trade.



Iran
Central Asia, formerly Persia.
Borders Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, Caspian Sea, Iraq, Pakistan. Afghanistan, Armenia, Turkey, Turkmenistan.

Capital – Tehran
Climate – Arid, semiarid, and subtropical along coastal areas.

Area 1,648,195 sq km, world rank 19
Pop. 82,021,564 
world rank 17

Government: Theocratic Republic

IMF, UN, UNESCOS, WHO, WTO,




GDP purchasing power parity: $1.631 trillion

GDP per capita: $20,000

Heavy reliance on oil and gas exports.

State-owned enterprises stymie growth.

Service industries almost half of the labor force.

Flag: Green, white, and red bands.
Red is for martyrdom, Green symbolizes Islam, and White honesty and peace (CIA World Factbook).
The symbol in the middle is a tulip-shaped calligraphic representation of the word for Allah.

Lion is a national symbol.
Not Free, Civil Liberties score 6/7
Political Rights 6/7

CPI Score 30/100

Government owned or controlled industries, and statist policies.

Private industry not permitted to flourish, bank loans are non-performing (CIA World Factbook).

Widespread corruption.


GDP $20,000 per capita (rank 88 in the world)

Life Expectancy 74 years (rank 129 in world).

Literacy—Total 86.8%.
Male 91.2%, Female 82.5%

17.9 births/1,000 population
5.3 deaths/1,000 population
Humans rights problems include no freedom of expression; the government even bans satellite dishes. Journalists are persecuted. Torture and inhumane treatment are common. There is no freedom of assembly. Women’s rights are severely restricted, and age of marriage for girls is 13.

Political Rights 7/40

Electoral process is neither free nor fair. There is a Supreme Leader (no fixed term, commander in chief of army, heads judiciary and media, and is appointed).

Also a body of clerics is elected, but not through fair processes.

President is also elected by popular vote.

There are different political parties, but all must ascribe to state ideology. Opposition leaders are frequently taken prisoner or held under house arrest.

Geography has no bearing on elected officials, but gender does, and no religion other than Islam.

Myanmar
Southeast Asia.
On Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal.
Borders Thailand, Bangladesh, China, India, Laos.

Also called Burma.

Capital – Rangoon and Nay Pyi Taw (administrative)

Climate – Tropical Monsoon.
Area 676,578 sq km
World rank 41
Pop. 55,123,814
World rank 24

Government: Parliamentary Republic, based on English common law.

IMF, UN, UNESCO, WHO, WTO




GDP purchasing power parity: $330.9 billion
GDP per capita: $6,300

By sector GDP 40% services, 25% agriculture, 35% industry

Agriculture and wood are primary exports, but also natural gas.

Recent economic reforms have introduced foreign direct investment but growth is slow.



Flag: Three horizontal stripes, yellow, green, and red.
National symbol is a mythical lion called Chinthe.
Song: "Kaba Ma Kyei"
Partly Free, Civil Liberties
Score 5/7
Overall Freedom 5/7
Political Rights 5/7
CPI Score 30/100

Government has eased regulatory environment considerably over the past several years, and has also attempted to stop corruption. However, transparency remains an issue and government regulations do continue to pose trade and development barriers.
GDP $6,300 per capita

Life expectancy for total population: 68.2 years

Literacy total: 75.6%
Male 80%, Female 71.8%
18.1 births/1,000 population
7.4 deaths/1,000 population

Human rights problems include the persecution of the Rohingya people, denial of their citizenship, leading to their fleeing into Bandladesh. Government has consistently used ethnic divisions in a divide-and-rule fashion. There are well over 100 different ethnic groups with 68% the Burman (Bamar) people. There is no freedom of assembly, and poor women’s rights.

Political Rights 5/7

The political rights situation has improved, although the military still operates without much oversight or checks on its powers.

Restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly.

National League for Democracy (NLD) controls Parliament, whihc is dominated by the Bamar people. Women only have 13% of seats in Parliament, and only one woman is in the cabinet.





References

Central African Republic
CIA World Factbook (n.d.). Central African Republic. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/ct.html
Freedom House (n.d.). Central African Republic. https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2017/central-african-republic

Transparency International (n.d.). Central African Republic. https://www.transparency.org/country/CAF


Cuba
CIA World Factbook (n.d.). Cuba. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/cu.html
Feinberg, R.E. (2012). The new Cuban economy. Brookings Institute. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/cuba-economy-feinberg-9.pdf
Freedom House, Freedom in the World (2017). Cuba. https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2017/cuba
Transparency International (2017). Cuba. https://www.transparency.org/country/CUB

Iran
CIA World Factbook (n.d.). Iran. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ir.html
Freedom House (n.d.). Iran. https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2017/iran
Human Rights Watch.Iran. https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/iran
Transparency International (n.d.). Iran. https://www.transparency.org/country/IRN


Myanmar
CIA World Factbook (n.d.). Burma. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bm.html
Freedom House (n.d.). Myanmar. https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2017/myanmar
Human Rights Watch (n.d.). Burma. https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/burma
Transparency International (n.d.). Myanmar. https://www.transparency.org/country/MMR