It borders with the municipalities of Báguanos, Mayarí, Mella and Urbano Noris (San Germán).

In addition to Cueto itself, the municipal territory includes the villages of Alto Cedro, Barajagua, Birán,[2][3] Marcané, and other minor localities.

[2] Birán, best known as the birthplace of Fidel, Raúl and Ramón Castro, was part of the neighboring municipality of Mayarí until the 1976 reform.

The town of Cueto, as of the 2017 census, had a registered population of 15,111 living in just over 11,000 homes.

The name of the town, along with its municipal villages of Alto Cedro and Marcané, figures in the following lyrics of the song Chan Chan, composed in 1984 and released in 1996 by Compay Segundo, and also performed by the Buena Vista Social Club: Llego a Cueto voy para Mayarí I get to Cueto, then head for Mayarí The same line is repeated in a chorus of the 2011 song "Buena" by a Polish band Blue Cafe.