Afro-Cubans

Afro-Cubans (Spanish: Afrocubano) or Black Cubans are Cubans of full or partial sub-Saharan African ancestry. The term Afro-Cuban can also refer to historical or cultural elements in Cuba associated with this community, and the combining of native African and other cultural elements found in Cuban society, such as race, religion, music, language, the arts and class culture.

According to the 2002 national census that surveyed 11.2 million Cubans, 1 million or 11% of Cubans identified as Afro-Cuban or Black. Some 3 million identified as "mulatto" or "mestizo", meaning of mixed race, primarily a combination of African and European. Thus more than 40% of the population on the island affirm some African ancestry.

There has been much scholarly discussion about the demographic composition of the island. A study by the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami estimated the proportion of people as having some black ancestry is more likely about 62%. They note that complex attitudes toward racial identification, and the de facto racial hierarchy that has existed on the island, have influenced the lower figures of self-identification as black.

In Cuba, there are many terms to classify Afro-Cubans of varying portions of African descent, related to the historic Spanish casta system. In addition, in current society, classification may simply be made based on visible attributes; thus, a person who looks white is likely classified as white, especially if educated and middle class.

By contrast, in the contemporary United States, a 2010 Harvard study showed that the practice of hypodescent classification persists. That is, biracial persons are typically classified by others as belonging to the race or ethnicity with lower social status, even if their ancestry is majority European. They found that persons with up to 69% European ancestry and the remainder African or African-American were still being classified as 'black'. ^{[failed verification]}

A DNA study in 2014 estimated the genetic admixture of the population of Cuba to be 72% European, 20% African and 8% Native American.

Although Afro-Cubans can be found throughout Cuba, they comprise a higher proportion of the population in Oriente Province in Eastern Cuba than in other parts of the island. As the biggest city, Havana has the largest population of Afro-Cubans of any city in Cuba.

In the 21st century, many native African immigrants have been going to Cuba, especially from Angola. Also, immigrants from Jamaica and Haiti have been settling in Cuba. Most of them settle in the eastern part of the island, due to its proximity to their home countries, and further contributing to the already high percentage of ethnic blacks on that side of the island.