Emmanuel International

Home

EI Global

Haiti

Country Info

Haiti

Haiti - Country Information

Project Countries Success Stories Lives Transformed Tell Your Friends

Back to Haiti Projects

Background: The native Taino Amerindians - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by COLUMBUS in 1492 - were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola, and 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 only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'OUVERTURE. After a prolonged struggle, Haiti became the first black republic to declare its independence in 1804. The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. After an armed rebellion led to the departure of President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE in February 2004, an interim government took office to organize new elections under the auspices of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Continued violence and technical delays prompted repeated postponements, but Haiti finally did inaugurate a democratically elected president and parliament in May of 2006.

Geography

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

Area: total: 27,750 sq km, land: 27,560 sq km, water: 190 sq km

Land boundaries: total: 360 km border countries: Dominican Republic 360 km

Coastline: 1,771 km

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

Terrain: mostly rough and mountainous

Natural resources: bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower.

>Back to Top

People

Population: 8,706,497 (2007 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 42.1% (male 1,846,175; female 1,817,082), 15-64 years: 54.4% (male 2,313,542; female 2,426,326)), 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 134,580; female 168,792) (2007 est.)

Median age: total: 18.4 years, male: 17.9 years, female: 18.8 years (2007 est.)

Population Growth Rate: 2.453% (2007 est.)

Birth rate: 35.87 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate: 10.4 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 63.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 57.03 years, male: 55.35 years, female: 58.75 years (2007 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 5.6% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 280,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 24,000 (2003 est.)

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

Religions: Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% note: roughly half of the population also practices Voodoo

Languages: French (official), Creole (official)

Literacy (definition: age 15 and over can read and write): total population: 52.9%, male: 54.8%, female: 51.2% (2003 est.)

>Back to Top

Government

Official Name: Republic of Haiti (Repiblik d' Ayiti)

Government type: republic

Capital: Port-au-Prince

Independence (from France): January 1, 1804

>Back to Top

Economy

Overview: Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with 80% of the population living under the poverty line and 54% in abject poverty. Two-thirds of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, mainly small-scale subsistence farming, and remain vulnerable to damage from frequent natural disasters, exacerbated by the country's widespread deforestation. A macroeconomic program developed in 2005 with the help of the International Monetary Fund helped the economy grow 1.8% in 2006, the highest growth rate since 1999. Haiti suffers from higher inflation than similar low-income countries, a lack of investment, and a severe trade deficit. In 2005, Haiti paid its arrears to the World Bank, paving the way for re-engagement with the Bank. The government relies on formal international economic assistance for fiscal sustainability. In 2006, Haiti held a successful donors conference in which the total aid pledged exceeded Haiti's request. Remittances are the primary source of foreign exchange, equaling nearly a quarter of GDP.

Annual GDP: $14.79 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita: $1,800 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 28%, industry: 20%, services: 52% (2004 est.)

Labor force: 3.6 million (1995)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9%

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

Agriculture - products: coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood

Exports - commodities: manufactures, coffee, oils, cocoa

>Back to Top

Communications

Telephone Lines in use: 145,300 (2005)

Cellular Phones: 500,200 (2005)

Television Broadcast Stations: 2, plus a Cable TV Service (1997)

Internet Users: 650,000 (2006)

>Back to Top

Transportation

Railways: total: 40 km

Highways: total: 4,160 km, paved: 1,011 km, unpaved: 3,149 km (1999)

Airports - with paved runways: 4 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways: 8 (2006)

>Back to Top

Transnational Issues

Disputes - International: since 2004, about 8,000 peacekeepers from the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) maintain civil order in Haiti; despite efforts to control illegal migration, Haitians cross into the Dominican Republic and sail to neighboring countries; Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island.

Information from the CIA World Factbook 2007
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html

>Back to Top

Link to the EI Network