Mayabeque Province is one of two new provinces in Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

, which creation was approved by the Cuban National Assembly (August 1, 2010) by splitting former La Habana province

La Habana Province

Havana Province was one of the provinces of Cuba, prior to being divided into two new provinces of Artemisa and Mayabeque on January 1, 2011. It had 711,066 people in the 2002 census. The largest city was Artemisa .-Geography:...

.
Mayabeque comprises the 11 eastern municipalities of La Habana province with the capital in San José de las Lajas. Mayabeque province takes its name from the Mayabeque

Mayabeque

Mayabeque can refer to several places in Cuba:* Mayabeque Province, created in 2011, comprising the eastern half of the former Havana Province* Playa Mayabeque * Mayabeque River...

 river (the largest in this territory) as well as, from the Mayabeque beach, in the south shore, the place in which is believed the original Havana

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

 village (San Cristóbal de La Habana) was founded in 1514.

Thus, the new province becomes the smallest (excluding Havana

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

 city province) and least populated in the country. The new provinces were enforced in January 1, 2011.

Mayabeque's economy is based on Agriculture (potatoes, fruits, vegetables, sugar cane) and livestock farming, particularly milk production. It has also a relevant industry sector, mainly in San José de las Lajas and Santa Cruz del Norte

Santa Cruz del Norte

Santa Cruz del Norte is a municipality in the Mayabeque Province of Cuba. Before 2011 belonged to [La Habana Province]. It is located in the north shore, between the cities of Havana and Matanzas, at the mouth of the Santa Cruz River....

 (building materials, electrical cables, rubber industry, glass vessels and ceramics, food processing, paper processing, sugar mills, two large rum factories (Havana Club

Havana Club

Havana Club is a brand of rum, made in Santa Cruz del Norte, Cuba. The brand was established by José Arechabala in 1878. After the Cuban Revolution of 1959, the distillery and company was nationalized by the Cuban government; subsequently, the Arechabala family left for Spain, then emigrated to the...

 brand), biopharmaceuticals (in Bejucal

Bejucal

For the Maya archaeological site in Guatemala see Bejucal Bejucal is a municipality and city in the Mayabeque Province of Cuba. It borders to the north Boyeros; to the east with San José de las Lajas; to the south with Quivicán; and on the west with San Antonio de los Baños. It was founded in 1874...

), fishing products, power plants and oil and gas extraction). It has also important scientific institutions and university in the field of agricultural science.

Municipalities of Mayabeque Province

Municipality	km²	Population	hab./km²
Bejucal Bejucal For the Maya archaeological site in Guatemala see Bejucal Bejucal is a municipality and city in the Mayabeque Province of Cuba. It borders to the north Boyeros; to the east with San José de las Lajas; to the south with Quivicán; and on the west with San Antonio de los Baños. It was founded in 1874...	116.36	26,966	231.7
San José de las Lajas	592.67	74,186	125.2
Jaruco Jaruco Jaruco is a municipality and city in the Mayabeque Province of Cuba.The town was founded in 1762 under the name San Juan Bautista de Jaruco...	275.9	25,135	91.1
Santa Cruz del Norte Santa Cruz del Norte Santa Cruz del Norte is a municipality in the Mayabeque Province of Cuba. Before 2011 belonged to [La Habana Province]. It is located in the north shore, between the cities of Havana and Matanzas, at the mouth of the Santa Cruz River....	379.38	34,216	90.2
Madruga	459.58	29,805	64.9
Nueva Paz	522.8	25,471	48.7
San Nicolás San Nicolás de Bari, Cuba San Nicolás is a municipality and city in the Mayabeque Province of Cuba.It was founded in 1846.-Demographics:In 2004, the municipality of San Nicolás had a population of 21,563. With a total area of , it has a population density of ....	228.86	20,695	90.4
Güines Güines Güines is a municipality and city in the Mayabeque Province of Cuba. It is located southeast of Havana, next to the Mayabeque River.- History :The city was founded in 1737 by the Spanish...	433.09	67,919	156.8
Melena del Sur	233.56	20,646	88.4
Batabanó Batabanó, Cuba Batabanó is a municipality and city in the Mayabeque Province of Cuba.The municipality is crossed by a number of small rivers, among them Río Guanabo, Río San Felipe, Río Pacheco, Río San Juan and Río Santa Gertrudis. A marina is located in the port of Batabano...	263.43	26,944	102.3
Quivicán	227.1	29,463	129.7
Total	3,732.73	381,446	102.2

Source: Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas e Instituto de Planificación Física/2010

The most populated cities are Güines (42 000 hab.) and San José de las Lajas (37 000 hab.)