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

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Background: The native Taino - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when Christopher COLUMBUS first landed on it in 1492 - were virtually wiped out by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola. In 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island, which later became Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean but relied heavily on the forced labor of enslaved Africans and environmentally degrading practices. In the late 18th century, Toussaint L'OUVERTURE led a revolution of Haiti's nearly half a million slaves that ended France's rule on the island. After a prolonged struggle, and under the leadership of Jean-Jacques DESSALINES, Haiti became the first country in the world led by former slaves after declaring its independence in 1804, but it was forced to pay an indemnity of 100 million francs (equivalent to $22 billion USD in March 2023) to France for more than a century and was shunned by other countries for nearly 40 years. On 12 July 1862, the US officially recognized Haiti, but foreign economic influence and internal political instability induced the US to occupy Haiti from 1915-1934. Subsequently, Francois "Papa Doc" DUVALIER and then his son Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" DUVALIER led repressive and corrupt regimes that ruled Haiti in 1957-1971 and 1971-1986, respectively. President Jovenel MOISE was assassinated on 7 July 2021, leading the country further into an extra-constitutional governance structure and contributing to the country’s growing fragility. On 20 July 2021, the Government of Haiti installed Ariel HENRY - whom President MOISE had nominated shortly before his death - as prime minister. As of March 2023, Haiti had no sitting elected officials. The country has long been plagued by natural disasters. In January 2010, a major 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti with an epicenter about 25 km (15 mi) west of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Estimates are that over 300,000 people were killed and some 1.5 million left homeless. The earthquake was assessed as the worst in this region over the last 200 years. A 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti’s southern peninsula in August 2021, causing well over 2,000 deaths; an estimated 500,000 required emergency humanitarian aid. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, as well as one of the most unequal in wealth distribution.


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Location: Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic

Geographic coordinates: 19 00 N, 72 25 W

Map reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: 27,750 km²
Land: 27,560 km²
Water: 190 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries
Total: 376 km
Border countries: (1) Dominican Republic 376 km

Coastline: 1,771 km

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

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

Terrain: mostly rough and mountainous

Elevation
Highest point: Pic la Selle 2,674 m
Lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
Mean elevation: 470 m

Natural resources: bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower, arable land

Land use
Agricultural land: 66.4% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 38.5% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 10.2% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 17.7% (2018 est.)
Forest: 3.6% (2018 est.)
Other: 30% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 800 km² (2013)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 190 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 50 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 1.21 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 14.02 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Natural hazards: lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts

Geography
Note: shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic); it is the most mountainous nation in the Caribbean


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Population
Distribution: fairly even distribution; largest concentrations located near coastal areas: 11,470,261 (2023 est.)
Growth rate: 1.23% (2023 est.)
Below poverty line: 58.5% (2012 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Haitian(s)
Adjective: Haitian

Ethnic groups: Black 95%, mixed and White 5%

Languages: French (official), Creole (official)
Major-language samples:

Religions: Catholic 55%, Protestant 29%, Vodou 2.1%, other 4.6%, none 10% (2018 est.)
Note: 50-80% of Haitians incorporate some elements of Vodou culture or practice in addition to another religion, most often Roman Catholicism; Vodou was recognized as an official religion in 2003

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 29.68% (male 1,695,357/female 1,709,344)
15-64 years: 65.76% (male 3,733,899/female 3,808,453)
65 years and over: 4.56% (2023 est.) (male 228,800/female 294,408)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 58.3
Youth dependency ratio: 51.2
Elderly dependency ratio: 7.1
Potential support ratio: 14.1 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 24.7 years (2023 est.)
Male: 24.4 years
Female: 24.9 years

Population growth rate: 1.23% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 21.5 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 7.7 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution: fairly even distribution; largest concentrations located near coastal areas

Urbanization
Urban population: 59.7% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 2.47% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 2.987 million PORT-AU-PRINCE (capital) (2023)

Environment
Current issues: extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; overpopulation leads to inadequate supplies of potable water and a lack of sanitation; natural disasters
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
International agreements signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 9.69 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 2.98 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 6.12 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.01 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 22.4 years (2016/7 est.)
Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49

Maternal mortality ratio: 350 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 38.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 42.4 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 35.1 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 64.8 years (2023 est.)
Male: 63 years
Female: 66.7 years

Total fertility rate: 2.49 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 34.3% (2016/17)

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 91.9% of population
Improved rural: 56.1% of population
Improved total: 76.5% of population
Unimproved urban: 8.1% of population
Unimproved rural: 43.9% of population
Unimproved total: 23.5% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: 3.3% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density: 0.23 physicians/1,000 population (2018)

Hospital bed density: 0.7 beds/1,000 population (2013)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban:
Unimproved urban:

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: very high (2023)
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 22.7% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 2.85 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 0.55 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 0.03 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 2.26 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 7.7% (2020 est.)
Male: 12.2% (2020 est.)
Female: 3.1% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 9.5% (2016/17)

Education expenditures: 1.4% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 61.7%
Male: 65.3%
Female: 58.3% (2016)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 35.7% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 28.1%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 45.6%


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Haiti
Conventional short form: Haiti
Local long form: Republique d'Haiti (French)/ Repiblik d Ayiti (Haitian Creole)
Local short form: Haiti (French)/ Ayiti (Haitian Creole)
Etymology: the native Taino name means "Land of High Mountains" and was originally applied to the entire island of Hispaniola

Government type: semi-presidential republic

Capital
Name: Port-au-Prince
Geographic coordinates: 18 32 N, 72 20 W
Time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November
Etymology: according to tradition, in 1706, a Captain de Saint-Andre named the bay and its surrounding area after his ship Le Prince; the name of the town that grew there means, "the Port of The Prince"

Administrative divisions: 10 departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand'Anse, Nippes, 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
History: many previous; latest adopted 10 March 1987, with substantial revisions in June 2012; note - the constitution is commonly referred to as the “amended 1987 constitution”
Amendments: proposed by the executive branch or by either the Senate or the Chamber of Deputies; consideration of proposed amendments requires support by at least two-thirds majority of both houses; passage requires at least two-thirds majority of the membership present and at least two-thirds majority of the votes cast; approved amendments enter into force after installation of the next president of the republic; constitutional articles on the democratic and republican form of government cannot be amended; amended many times, last in 2012

Legal system: civil law system strongly influenced by Napoleonic Code

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a native-born citizen of Haiti
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President (vacant); note - Prime Minister Ariel HENRY assumed executive responsibilities, including naming Cabinet members, following the assassination of President MOISE on 7 July 2021; new elections have not yet been scheduled
Head of government: Prime Minister Ariel HENRY (since 20 July 2021)
Cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president; parliament must ratify the Cabinet and Prime Minister's governing policy
Elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a single non-consecutive term); last election had been originally scheduled for 9 October 2016 but was postponed until 20 November 2016 due to Hurricane Matthew
Election results:

Legislative branch
Description:
Elections:
Election results:

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court or Cour de cassation (currently 11 of 12 judges as prescribed by the constitution, 8 of whom were appointed in March 2023); note - Haiti is a member of the Caribbean Court of Justice; Constitutional Court, called for in the 1987 constitution but not yet established; High Court of Justice, for trying high government officials - currently not functional
Judge selection and term of office: judges appointed by the president from candidate lists submitted by the Senate of the National Assembly; note - Article 174 of Haiti's constitution states that judges of the Supreme Court are appointed for 10 years, whereas Article 177 states that judges of the Supreme Court are appointed for life
Subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; Courts of First Instance; magistrate's courts; land, labor, and children's courts
Note: the Superior Council of the Judiciary or Conseil Superieur du Pouvoir Judiciaire is a 9-member body charged with the administration and oversight of the judicial branch of government

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ACP, AOSIS, Caricom, CD, CDB, CELAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OIF, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, Petrocaribe, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires Louis Harold JOSEPH (since 15 May 2023)
In the us chancery: 2,311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 332-4,090
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 745-7,215
In the us email address and website:
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); : 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); the colors are taken from the French Tricolor and represent the union of blacks and mulattoes

National symbols: Hispaniolan trogon (bird), hibiscus flower; national colors: blue, red

National anthem
Name: "La Dessalinienne" (The Dessalines Song)
Lyrics/music: Justin LHERISSON/Nicolas GEFFRARD
Note: adopted 1904; named for Jean-Jacques DESSALINES, a leader in the Haitian Revolution and first ruler of an independent Haiti

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 1 (cultural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:

Haiti - Economy 2023

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Economy overview: small Caribbean island economy and OECS-member state; extreme poverty and inflation; enormous income inequality; ongoing civil unrest due to recent presidential assassination; US preferential market access; very open to foreign direct investment

Real gdp purchasing power parity:

$32.856 billion (2021 est.)
$33.458 billion (2020 est.)
$34.615 billion (2019 est.)

Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:

-1.8% (2021 est.)
-3.34% (2020 est.)
-1.68% (2019 est.)

Real gdp per capita:

$2,900 (2021 est.)
$3,000 (2020 est.)
$3,100 (2019 est.)

Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 99.1% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 10% (2016 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 32.6% (2016 est.)
Investment in inventories: -1.4% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 20% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -60.3% (2017 est.)
Note: figure for household consumption also includes government consumption

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 22.1% (2017 est.)
Industry: 20.3% (2017 est.)
Services: 57.6% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: sugar cane, cassava, mangoes/guavas, plantains, bananas, yams, avocados, maize, rice, vegetables

Industries: textiles, sugar refining, flour milling, cement, light assembly using imported parts

Industrial production growth rate: -2.48% (2021 est.)

Labor force: 5.01 million (2021 est.)
Note: shortage of skilled labor; unskilled labor abundant

Labor force

Unemployment rate:

15.73% (2021 est.)
15.45% (2020 est.)
13.91% (2019 est.)

Note: widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 35.7% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 28.1%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 45.6%

Population below poverty line: 58.5% (2012 est.)

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 41.1 (2012 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10%: 0.7%
Highest 10%: 47.7% (2001)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $1.179 billion (2020 est.)
Expenditures: $1.527 billion (2020 est.)
Surplus  or deficit: -1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 18.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Public debt:

31.1% of GDP (2017 est.)
33.9% of GDP (2016 est.)

Revenue
From forest resources: 0.68% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September

Inflation rate consumer prices:

16.84% (2021 est.)
22.8% (2020 est.)
18.7% (2019 est.)

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:

$141.371 million (2021 est.)
$216.157 million (2020 est.)
-$168.76 million (2019 est.)

Exports:

$1.241 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$1.014 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$1.733 billion (2019 est.)

Partners: United States 83%, Canada 4%, Mexico 3%, India 1%, Hong Kong 1% (2021)
Commodities: clothing and apparel, essential oils, eels, mangoes, scrap iron (2021)

Imports:

$5.222 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$4.206 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$5.161 billion (2019 est.)

Partners: United States 26%, Dominican Republic 23%, China 19%, Turkey 3%, Indonesia 3% (2021)
Commodities: refined petroleum, rice, clothing and apparel, poultry, palm oil (2021)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

$2.759 billion (31 December 2021 est.)
$2.59 billion (31 December 2020 est.)
$2.355 billion (31 December 2019 est.)

Debt external:

$2.762 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$2.17 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:

gourdes (HTG) per US dollar - 89.227 (2021 est.)
93.51 (2020 est.)
88.815 (2019 est.)
68.032 (2018 est.)
64.77 (2017 est.)

Haiti - Energy 2023

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Electricity
Access population without electricity: 7 million (2020)
Access electrification-total population: 47.1% (2021)
Access electrification-urban areas: 81.8% (2021)
Access electrification-rural areas: 3% (2020)
Installed generating capacity: 3.453 million kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 339 million kWh (2019 est.)
Exports: 0 kWh (2019 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2019 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 643 million kWh (2019 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 85.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 0.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 13.9% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
Production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 21,100 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports: 20,030 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Consumption: 3.341 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Imports: 3.341 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 3.139 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 3.137 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 2,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 3.97 million Btu/person (2019 est.)

Haiti - Communication 2023

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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 6,000 (2021 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 64 (2021 est.) less than 1
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 7.3 million (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 64 (2021 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media: per 2019 data released by Haitian telecommunications regulator CONATEL (Conseil National des Télécommunications), there are 398 legal sound broadcasting stations on the territory, including about 60 community radio stations, and 7 radio stations on the AM band; the FM band in Haiti is oversaturated by 158 percent; most radio stations broadcast 17 to 19 hours a day; there are 105 television stations operating in Haiti, including 36 TV stations in Port- au- Prince, 41 others in the provinces, and more than 40 radio-television stations; a large number of broadcasting stations operate irregularly and some stations operate with technical parameters that do not comply with established standards, thus causing harmful interference to existing telecommunications systems; VOA Creole Service broadcasts daily on 30 affiliate stations

Internet
Country code: .ht
Users total: 4.29 million (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 39% (2021 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 31,000 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 0.3 (2020 est.)

Haiti - Military 2023

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Military expenditures

Military and security forces:

the Haitian Armed Forces (FAdH), disbanded in 1995, began to be reconstituted in 2017; it established an Army command in 2018

Ministry of Justice and Public Security: Haitian National Police (Police Nationale d'Haïti or PNH) (2023)

Note: the PNH is responsible for maintaining public security; it includes police, corrections, fire, emergency response, airport security, port security, and coast guard functions; its units include a presidential guard and a paramilitary rapid-response Motorized Intervention Unit or BIM

Haiti - Transportation 2023

Haiti-Dominican Republic: the Dominican Republic has increased security along the Haitian border to prevent unauthorized migration and smuggling, including constructing a fence and deploying military troops; some disputes over border limits, particularly along the Massacre River

Haiti-US: Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island