Map of Haiti | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: One of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history.


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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area

Land boundaries: 275 km with the Dominican Republic

Coastline: 1,771 km

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
Extended economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds

Terrain: mostly rough and mountainous

Elevation

Natural resources: bauxite

Land use: 20% arable land; 13% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures; 4% forest and woodland; 45% other; includes 3% irrigated

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography
Note: shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic


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Population: 6,322,198 (July 1989), growth rate 1.4% (1989)

Nationality: noun - Haitian(s; adjective - Haitian

Ethnic groups: 95% black, 5% mulatto and European

Languages: French (official) spoken by only 10% of population; all speak Creole

Religions: 75-80% Roman Catholic (of which an overwhelming majority also practice Voodoo), 10% Protestant

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 31 births/1000 population (1989)

Death rate: 12 deaths/1000 population (1989)

Net migration rate: - 5 migrants/1000 population (1989)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; deforestation

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 92 deaths/1000 live births (1989)

Life expectancy at birth: 55 years male, 56 years female (1989)

Total fertility rate: 4.2 children born/woman (1989)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: 23%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Haiti

Government type: republic

Capital: Port-au-Prince

Administrative divisions: 9 departments, (departements, singular - departement; Artibonite, Centre, Grand'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est

Dependent areas

Independence: 1 January 1804 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 January (1804)

Constitution: 27 August 1983, suspended February 1986; draft constitution approved March 1987

Legal system: based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: universal over age 18

Executive branch: Chief of State and Head of Government - President Lt. Gen. Prosper AVRIL (since 18 September 1988)

Legislative branch: Army, Navy, Air Corps

Judicial branch

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB - Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IRC, ITU, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: Ambassador Pierre Francois BENOIT; Chancery at 2,311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20,008; telephone (202) 332-4,090 through 4,092; there are Haitian Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Juan (Puerto Rico; US - Ambassador Brunson MCKINLEY; Embassy at Harry Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince (mailing address is P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince), telephone Õ509å (1) 20,354 or 20,368, 20,200, 20,612

Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a centered white rectangle bearing the coat of arms which contains a palm tree flanked by flags and two cannons above a scroll bearing the motto L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE (Union Makes Strength)

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: About 85% of the population live in absolute poverty. Agriculture is mainly small-scale subsistence farming and employs 65% of the work force. The majority of the population do not have ready access to safe drinking water, adequate medical care, or sufficient food. Few social assistance programs exist, and the lack of employment opportunities remains the most critical problem facing the economy.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: cash crop - coffee; staple crops - corn, sorghum, rice, sugarcane

Industries: sugar refining, textiles, flour milling, cement manufacturing, bauxite mining, tourism, light assembly industries based on imported parts

Industrial production growth rate: - 2% (FY87)

Labor force:

Unemployment rate: 50-70% (1986 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $237 million; expenditures $402 million, including capital expenditures of $149 million (FY87)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 October-30 September

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $201 million (f.o.b., FY87)
Commodities: light manufactures 65%, coffee 17%, other agriculture 8%, other products 10%
Partners: US 77%, France 5%, Italy 4%, FRG 3%, other industrial 9%, less developed countries 2% (FY86)

Imports: $315 million (c.i.f., FY87)
Commodities: machines and manufactures 36%, food and beverages 21%, petroleum products 11%, fats and oils 12%, chemicals 12%
Partners: US 65%, Netherlands Antilles 6%, Japan 5%, France 4%, Canada 2%, Asia 2% (FY86)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $820 million (December 1988)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: gourdes (G) per US$1 - 5.0 (fixed rate)


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Electricity
Capacity: 230,000 kW capacity; 447 million kWh produced, 70 kWh per capita (1988)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: NA

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 15 total, 11 usable; 3 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: negligible; less than 100 km navigable

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: claims US-administered Navassa Island

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs