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Motto:
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[L'Union
Fait la Force]
In
Union there is Strength
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Background:
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The native Arawak 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. Haiti has been plagued by
political violence for most of its history. It is the poorest
country in the Western Hemisphere |
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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.Shares island of
Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti,
eastern two-thirds is 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:
275 km
border countries: Dominican Republic 275 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
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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: 20%
permanent crops: 13%
permanent pastures: 18%
forests and woodland: 5%
other: 44% (1993 est.)
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Irrigated land:
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750 sq km (1993 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:
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8,121,622
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into
account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can
result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and
death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in
the distribution of population by age and sex than would
otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.)
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 40.31% (male
1,421,945; female 1,385,580)
15-64 years: 55.52% (male 1,869,323; female 1,997,246)
65 years and over: 4.17% (male 140,556; female 149,899)
(2001 est.)
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Population growth rate: |
1.4%
(2001 est.) |
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Death rate: |
15
deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
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Net migration rate: |
-2.64
migrant(s)/1,000 population |
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Infant mortality rate: |
95.23
deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
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Life expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 49.38 years
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HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS |
210,000
(1999 est.) |
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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% (1982)
note: roughly one-half of the population also practices
Voodoo |
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Languages: |
French
(official), Creole (official) |
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Literacy: |
total
population: 45%
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Government |
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Country name: |
Republic
of Haiti
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Capital: |
Port-au-Prince |
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Government type: |
elected
government |
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Administrative divisions: |
9
departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite,
Centre, Grand'Anse, 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; suspended June 1988, with most articles reinstated
March 1989; in October 1991, Government claimed to be
observing the constitution; return to constitutional rule,
October 1994 |
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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: |
René Garcia Préval
is currently the President of Haïti. He was elected by popular
vote for a five-year term on February 7, 2006 (born January 17,
1943 in Port-au-Prince) He previously served as president
from February 7, 1996 to February 7, 2001 and Prime Minister
from February 1991 to September 2, 1993.
President Préval holds a degree in agronomy from the College of
Gembloux in Belgium.
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Legislative branch: |
bicameral
National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale consists of the
Senate (27 seats; members serve six-year terms; one-third
elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies (83
seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year
terms)
elections: Senate - last held for two-thirds of seats 21
May 2000, with runoffs on 9 July boycotted by the opposition;
about eight seats still disputed; election for remaining
one-third held on 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2002);
Chamber of Deputies - last held 21 May 2000, with runoffs on
30 July boycotted by the opposition; one vacant seat rerun 26
November 2000 (next election NA 2004)
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Judicial branch: |
Supreme
Court or Cour de Cassation |
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Political parties and leaders: |
Alliance for the Liberation and
Advancement of Haiti or ALAH [Reynold GEORGES]; Assembly of
Progressive National Democrats or RDNP [Leslie MANIGAT]; Ayiti
Kapab [Ernst VERDIEU]; Convention for Democratic Unity or KID
[Evans PAUL]; National Congress of Democratic Movements or
KONAKOM [Victor BENOIT]; Nationalist Progressive Revolutionary
Party or PANPRA [Serge GILLES]; Democratic Movement for the
Liberation of Haiti or MODELH [Francois LATORTUE]; Grand Center
Right Front coalition (composed of MDN, MRN, and PDCH) [Hubert
de RONCERAY, Jean BUTEAU, Osner FEVRY and Marie-Denise CLAUDE];
Haitian Christian Democratic Party or PDCH [Osner FEVRY and
Marie-Denise CLAUDE]; Haitian Democratic Party or PADEMH [Clark
PARENT]; Haitian Democratic and Reform Movement or MODEREH [Dany
TOUSSAINT and Pierre Soncon PRINCE]; Heads Together [Dr. Gerard
BLOT]; Lavalas Family or FL [leader NA]; Liberal Party of Haiti
or PLH [Michael MADSEN]; 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];
National Front for the Reconstruction of Haiti or FRON [Guy
PHILIPPE]; National Progressive Democratic Party or PNDPH [Turneb
DELPE]; New Christian Movement for a New Haiti or MOCHRENA [Luc
MESADIEU]; Open the Gate Party (Parti Louvri Bayre) or PLB
[leader NA]; Popular Party for the Renewal of Haiti, or
Generation 2000 [Claude ROMAIN and Daniel SUPPLICE]; Struggling
People's Organization or OPL [Edgard LEBLANC]; MNP28 [Dejean
BELIZAIRE]; KOMBA [Evans LESCOUFLAIR |
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International organization participation: |
ACCT,
ACP, Caricom (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW,
PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTrO |
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Diplomatic representation in the US: |
chief
of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Louis
Harold 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 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US: |
chief
of mission: Ambassador Brian Dean CURRAN
embassy: 5 Harry Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince
mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince
telephone: [509] 222-0354, 222-0269, 222-0200, 223-4776
FAX: [509] 23-1641 |
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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: |
About 80% of the population lives in abject poverty. Nearly 70%
of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, which consists
mainly of small-scale subsistence farming and employs about
two-thirds of the economically active work force. fraught with irregularities, international donors -
including the US and EU - suspended almost all aid to Haiti.
This destabilized the Haitian currency, the gourde, and,
combined with a 40% fuel price hike in September, caused
widespread price increases. Prices appear to have leveled off
in January 2001 |
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GDP: |
purchasing
power parity - $12.7 billion (2000 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate: |
1.2%
(2000 est.) |
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GDP - per capita: |
purchasing
power parity - $1,800 (2000 est |
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GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture:
32%
industry: 20%
services: 48% (1999 est.) |
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Population below poverty line: |
80%
(1998 est.) |
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Labor force: |
3.6
million (1995)
note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor
abundant (1998 |
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Labor force - by occupation: |
agriculture
66%, services 25%, industry 9% |
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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:
$317 million
expenditures: $362 million, including capital
expenditures of $84 million (FY99/00 est.) |
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Industries: |
sugar
refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, tourism, light
assembly industries based on imported parts |
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Electricity - production: |
672
million kWh (1999) |
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Electricity - consumption: |
625
million kWh (1999) |
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Agriculture - products: |
coffee,
mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood |
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Exports: |
$186
million (f.o.b., 1999) |
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Exports - commodities: |
manufactures,
coffee, oils, mangoes |
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Exports - partners: |
US
89%, EU 8% (1999 |
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Imports: |
$1.2
billion (c.i.f., 1999) |
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Imports - commodities: |
food,
machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials |
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Imports - partners: |
US
60%, EU 13% (1999 |
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Debt - external: |
1
billion (1998 est.) |
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Currency: |
gourde
(HTG) |
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Exchange rates: |
gourdes
per US dollar - 23.761 (January 2001), 22.524 (2000), 17.965
(1999), 16.505 (1998), 17.311 (1997), 15.093 (1996) |
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Fiscal year: |
1
October - 30 September |
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Communications |
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Telephones - main lines in use: |
60,000
(1997) |
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Telephone system: |
general
assessment: domestic facilities barely adequate;
international facilities slightly better
domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay trunk
service
international: 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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Radios: |
415,000
(1997) |
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Television broadcast stations: |
2
(plus a cable TV service) (1997) |
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Televisions: |
38,000
(1997) |
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Internet Service Providers
(ISPs) & Users: |
3
(2000)
6,000 (2000) |
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Transportation |
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Railways: |
total:
40 km (single track; privately owned industrial line) - closed
in early 1990s
narrow gauge: 40 km 0.760-m gauge |
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Highways: |
total:
4,160 km
paved: 1,011 km
unpaved: 3,149 km (1996) |
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Ports and harbors: |
Cap-Haitien,
Gonaives, Jacmel, Jeremie, Les Cayes, Miragoane,
Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix, Saint-Marc |
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Merchant marine: |
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Airports: |
13
(2000 est.) |
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Airports - with paved runways: |
total:
3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways: |
total:
10
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 8 (2000 est.) |
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Military |
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Military - note:
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Haitian
National Police (HNP)
note: the regular Haitian Army, Navy, and Air Force have
been demobilized but still exist on paper until
constitutionally abolished |
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Transnational
Issues |
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Disputes - international: |
claims
US-administered Navassa Island |
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Illicit drugs: |
major
Caribbean transshipment point for cocaine en route to the US
and Europe; vulnerable to money laundering |
