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HAITI
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Motto:
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[L'Union
Fait la Force]
Unity is
our Strength
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History |
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 - 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
and after a prolonged struggle, 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 forced resignation and exile 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. |
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Geography |
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Location:
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Caribbean, western one-third of the
island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North
Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic. |
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Geographic coordinates:
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19 00 N, 72 25 W
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Area:
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total: 27,750 sq km
land: 27,560 sq km
water: 190 sq km
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Land boundaries:
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total:
360 km
border countries: Dominican Republic 360 km |
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Coastline:
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1,771 km
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Maritime claims:
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contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
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Climate:
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tropical; semiarid where mountains
in east cut off trade winds
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Terrain:
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mostly rough and mountainous
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Elevation extremes:
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highest point: Chaine de la
Selle 2,680 m
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m |
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Natural resources:
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bauxite, copper, calcium
carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower
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Land use:
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arable land:
28.11%
permanent crops: 11.53%
other: 60.36% (2005 est.)
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Irrigated land:
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920
sq km (2003 est.)
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Natural hazards:
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lies in the middle of the
hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to
October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts
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Environment - current issues:
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extensive deforestation (much of
the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and
used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable
water
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People |
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Population: |
9,035,536 |
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Age structure: |
0-14
years: 38.1% (male 1,735,917/female 1,704,383)
15-64 years: 58.5% (male 2,621,059/female 2,665,447)
65 years and over: 3.4% (male 120,040/female 188,690) (2009
est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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1.838% (2009 est.) |
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Birth rate: |
29.1
births/1,000 population (2009 est.) |
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Death rate: |
8.65
deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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-2.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.) |
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Urbanization: |
urban population: 47% of total population (2008) |
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Sex ratio: |
at
birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.64 male(s)/female total population: 0.98
male(s)/female (2009 est.) |
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Nationality: |
noun: Haitian(s)
adjective: Haitian |
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Ethnic groups: |
black 95%, mulatto and white 5% |
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Religions: |
Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%,
Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3%
note: roughly half of the population practices voodoo |
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Languages: |
French (official), Creole (official) |
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Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 52.9%
male: 54.8%
female: 51.2% (2003 est.) |
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Government |
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Country name: |
Republic
of Haiti
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Capital: |
Port-au-Prince
geographic coordinates: 18 32 N, 72
20 W |
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Government type: |
republic |
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Administrative divisions: |
10
departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite,
Centre, Grand'Anse,Nippes, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud,
Sud-Est |
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Independence: |
1
January 1804 (from France) |
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National holiday: |
Independence
Day, 1 January |
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Constitution: |
Approved
March 1987;note: suspended June 1988, with most articles reinstated
March 1989; constitutional government ousted in a military
coup in September 1991, although in October 1991 military
government claimed to be observing the constitution; returned to constitutional rule,
October 1994; constitution, while technically in force between
2004-2006, was not enforced; returned to constitutional rule in
May 2006 |
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Legal system: |
based
on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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Suffrage: |
18
years of age; universal |
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Executive branch: |
chief of state: President Rene
PREVAL (since 14 May 2006). President PREVAL was born 7 January
1943. He became Prime Minister in 1991 but was exiled
following a military coup in September of 1991. He became
President in 1996 , left office at the end of his term, but was
again declared winner in the 2006 election.
head of government: Prime Minister Michele PIERRE-LOUIS (since 5
September 2008)
cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation
with the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year
term (may not serve consecutive terms); election last held 7
February 2006 (next to be held in 2011); prime minister
appointed by the president, ratified by the National Assembly
percent of vote - Rene PREVAL 51% |
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Legislative branch: |
Bicameral
National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale consists of the
Senate (30 seats; members serve six-year terms; one-third
elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies (99 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year
terms)
elections: Senate - last held 21 April 2006, with run-off
elections on 3 December 2006; Chamber of Deputies - last held 21 April 2006,
with run-off elections on 3 December 2006 and 29 April 2007(next regular election
to be held in 2010)election
results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party
- L'ESPWA 11, FUSION 5, OPL 4, FL 3, LAAA 2, UNCRH 2, PONT 2,
ALYANS 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - L'ESPWA 23, FUSION 17, FRN 12, OPL 10, ALYANS
10, LAAA 5, MPH 3, MOCHRENA 3, other 10; results for six other
seats contested on 3 December 2006 remain unknown |
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Judicial branch: |
Supreme
Court or Cour de Cassation |
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Political parties and leaders: |
Artibonite in Action or LAAA
[Youri
LATORTUE];Assembly of
Progressive National Democrats or RDNP [Leslie MANIGAT]; Convention for Democratic Unity or KID
[Evans PAUL]; Cooperative Action to Build Haiti or KONBA [Evans
LESCOURALIR] Democratic Alliance or ALYANS [Evans PAUL]
(coalition composed of KID and PPRH); Effort and Solidarity to
Create an Alternative for the People or ESKAMP [Joseph JASME];
For Us All or PONT [Jean Marie CHERESTAL]; Front for Hope or
L'ESPWA [Rene PREVAL] (alliance of ESKAMP, PLB, and grass-roots
organizations Grand-Anse Resistance Committee, the Central
Plateau Peasants' Group and Kombit Sudest); Haitian Christian
Democratic Party of PDCH [Osner FEVRY and Marie-Denise CLAUDE];
Haitian Democratic and Reform Movement or MODEREH [Dany
TOUSSAINT and Pierre Soncon PRINCE]; Heads Together or
Tet-Ansanm [Dr. Gerard BLOT]; Independent Movement for National
Reconciliation or MIRN [ Luc FLEURINORD]; Justice for Peace and
National Development or JPDN [Rigaud DUPLAN];Fanmi Lavalas or FL
[Rudy HERIVEAUX]; Liberal Party of Haiti or PLH [Gehy MICHEL];
Merging of Haitian Social Democratic Parties or FUSION or FPSDH
[Serge GILLES] (coalition of Ayiti Capable, Haitian National
Revolutionary Party, and National Congress of Democratic
Movements); Mobilization for Haiti's Development of MPH [Samir
MOURRA]; Mobilization for National Development or MDN [Hubert de
RONCERAY]; Movement for National Reconstruction or MRN [Jean
Henold BUTEAU]; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in
Haiti or MIDH [Marc BAZIN]; Nartional Christian Union for the
Reconstruction of Haiti or UNCRH [Marie Claude GERMAIN];
National Front for the Reconstruction of Haiti or FRN [Guy
PHILIPPE]; New Christian Movement for a New Haiti or MOCHRENA
[Luc MESADIEU]; Open the Gate Party of PLB [Anes LUBIN]; Popular
Party for the Renewal of Haiti or PPRH [Claude ROMAIN];
Struggling People's Organization or OPL [Edgard LEBLANC]; Union
of Nationalist and Progressive Haitians or UNITE [Edouard
FRANCISQUE] |
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International organization participation: |
ACCT,
ACP, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICct (signatory) ,ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, NAM, OAS, OIF, OPANAL, OPCW,
PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WTO |
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Diplomatic representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Raymond JOSEPH
chancery: 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20008
telephone: [1] (202) 332-4090
FAX: [1] (202) 745-7215
consulate (s) general: Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York,
and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
consulate (s): Orlando (Florida) |
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Diplomatic representation from the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Janet A. SANDERSON
embassy: Tabarre 41, Route de Tabarre, Port-au-Prince
mailing address:
telephone: [509] 229-8000
FAX: [509]
229-8028 |
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Date of Caricom Membership: |
July 2002 |
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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) |
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Economy |
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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 of small-scale subsistence farming and remain vulnerable
to damage from frequent natural disasters, exacerbated by the
country's widespread deforestation. While the economy has
recovered in recent years, registering positive growth since
2005, four tropical storms in 2008 severely damaged the
transportation infrastructure and agricultural sector. US
economic engagement under the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity
through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) Act, passed in December
2006, has boosted apparel exports and investment by providing
tariff-free access to the US. HOPE II, passed in October 2008,
has further improved the export environment for the apparel
sector by extending preferences to 2018; the apparel sector
accounts for two-thirds of Haitian exports and nearly one-tenth
of GDP. Remittances are the primary source of foreign exchange,
equaling nearly a quarter of GDP and more than twice the
earnings from exports. Haiti suffers from high inflation,
a lack of investment because of insecurity and limited
infrastructure, and a severe trade deficit. In 2005, Haiti paid
its arrears to the World Bank, paving the way for reengagement
with the Bank. Haiti is expected to receive debt forgiveness for
about $525 million of its debt through the Highly-Indebted Poor
Country (HIPC) initiative by mid-2009. The government relies on
formal international economic assistance for fiscal
sustainability. |
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GDP
purchasing power parity (PPP): |
$11.5 billion (2008 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate: |
1.3%
(2000 est.) |
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GDP - per capita
(PPP): |
$1,300 (2008 est |
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GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture:
28%
industry: 20%
services: 52% (2004 est.) |
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Population below poverty line: |
80%
(2003 est.) |
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Labor force: |
3.643
million (2007)
note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor
abundant (2007) |
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Labor force - by occupation: |
agriculture
66%
services 25
industry 9% (1995) |
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Unemployment rate: |
widespread
unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the
labor force do not have formal jobs |
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Budget: |
revenues:
$967.5 million
expenditures: $1.162 billion (2008 est) |
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Industries: |
sugar
refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, light
assembly industries based on imported parts |
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Agriculture - products: |
coffee,
mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood |
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Exports: |
$490
million (2008 est) |
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Exports - commodities: |
manufactures,
coffee, oils, mangoes, apparel |
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Export Partners: |
US 68.8%, Dominican Republic
10.2%, Canada 3% (2008) |
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Imports: |
$2.107
billion (2008 est) |
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Imports - commodities: |
food,
manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials |
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Import Partners: |
US 44.1%, Netherlands Antilles
13.7%, China 5.5% (2008) |
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Reserves of foreign exchange
and gold: |
708 million (31 December 2008) |
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Debt - external: |
1.506
billion (31 Dec 2008 est.) |
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Exchange rates: |
gourdes (HTG)
per US dollar - 39.216 (2008 est) |
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Fiscal year: |
1
October - 30 September |
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Business Hours: |
commercial 8:00AM - 6:00PM Monday
to Friday
Government: 8:00am -
5:00pm Monday to Friday |
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Communications |
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Telephones - main lines in use: |
108,300
(2007) |
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Telephones - Mobile Cellular: |
3.2 million (2008) |
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Telephone system: |
telecommunications infrastructure
is among the least developed in Latin America and the Caribbean;
domestic facilities barely adequate; international facilities
slightly better; mobile-cellular telephone service are expanding
rapidly due, in part, to the introduction of low-cost GSM phones
in 2006.
domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay trunk
service.
international: country code - 509; satellite earth
station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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Radio broadcast stations: |
AM
41, FM 26, shortwave 0 (1999) |
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Television broadcast stations: |
2
(plus a cable TV service) (1997) |
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Internet Country Code: |
.ht |
Internet Hosts
Users: |
7 (2008)
1 million (2007) |
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Transportation |
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Roadways |
total:
4,160 km
paved: 1,011 km
unpaved: 3,149 km (2000) |
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Ports : |
Cap-Haitien |
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Airports: |
14
(2009) Main airport:Port-au-Prince International |
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Airports - with paved runways: |
total: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2008) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways: |
total:
10
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 9 (2008) |
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Military |
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no regular
military forces - small Coast Guard; he regular Armed Forces (FAdH)
- Army, Navy, and Air Force have
been demobilized but still exist on paper until
constitutionally abolished (2009) |
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Main Source of Information: the Central Intelligence Agency
World Factbook |
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Items of Interest |
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National Anthem: |
La
Dessalinienne
Pour le Pays
Pour les Ancetres
Marchons unies (bis)
Dans no rangs
Point de traitres,
Du notre sol
Soyons seulsmetres,
Marcons unies (bis)
Pour le Pays
Pour les Ancetres
Marchons Marchons
Marchons unies
Pour le Pays
Pour les Ancetres
Pour les Aieux,
Pour la Patrie,
Behons joyeux (bis)
Quand le champ fructific,
L'aime se fortifie,
Bechons joyeux
Pour les Aieux
Pour la Patrie.
Pour le Pays
Et Pour nos Peres,
Formons de Fils (bis)
Libres, firts et prosperes,
Toujours nous serons freres
Formons des Fils
Pour le Pays
Et pour nos Peres
Pour les Aieux,
Pour la Patrie,
O Dieun des Preux! (Bis)
Sous ta garde infinie.
Prends nos droits notre vie.
O Dieux des Preux,
Pour les Aieux,
Pour la Patrie
Pour le Drapeau,
Pour la Patrie
Mourir est beau (bis),
Notre passe nous crie:
Ayez l'ame aguerrie.
Mourir est beau,
Pour le Drapeau,
Pour la Patrie.English
Translation
For our country,
For our forefathers,
United let us march.
United let us march.
Let there be no traitors in our ranks!
Let us be masters of our soil.
United let us march
United let us march.
For our country,
For our forefathers.
March, march, United let us march.
For our country,
For our forefathers.
For our forebears,
For our country
Let us toil joyfully.
May the fields be fertile
And our souls take courage.
Let us toil joyfully
For our forebears,
For our country.
For our country
And for our forefathers,
Let us train our sons.
Free, strong, and prosperous,
We shall always be as brothers.
Let us train our sons
For our country
And for our forefathers.
For our forebears,
For our country,
Oh God of the valiant!
Take our rights and our life
Under your infinite protection,
Oh God of the valiant!
For our forebears,
For our country.
For the flag,
For our country
To die is a fine thing!
Our past cries out to us:
Have a disciplined soul!
To die is a fine thing,
For the flag,
For our country. |
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Highest National Award |
L'Ordre National Honneur et Merite, au grade de Grand-Croix;
Plaque d'Or |
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Favourite Local Cuisine: |
Griots - Fried spiced Pork with peas
and rice (riz et pois), and plantain. |
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