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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 references: Central America and
the Caribbean
Area:
total: 27,750 sq km
land: 27,560 sq km
water: 190 sq km
Area—comparative: slightly smaller
than Maryland
Land boundaries:
total: 275 km
border countries: Dominican Republic 275 km
Coastline: 1,771 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
exclusive 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 extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m
Natural resources: none
Land use:
arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 13%
permanent pastures: 18%
forests and woodland: 5%
other: 44% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 750 sq km (1993 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
Environment—current issues:
extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is
being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion;
inadequate supplies of potable water
Environment—international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation
signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test
Ban
Geography—note: shares island of
Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti,
eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic)
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Population: 6,780,501 (July 1998
est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 43% (male 1,465,735; female 1,422,260)
15-64 years: 53% (male 1,733,636; female 1,881,367)
65 years and over: 4% (male 138,678; female 138,825) (July
1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.51% (1998
est.)
Birth rate: 32.84 births/1,000
population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 14.17 deaths/1,000
population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: -3.61 migrant(s)/1,000
population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 98.98
deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 51.4 years
male: 49.33 years
female: 53.58 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.67 children
born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Haitian(s)
adjective: Haitian
Ethnic groups: black 95%, mulatto
plus white 5%
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
Languages: French (official) 20%,
Creole
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 45%
male: 48%
female: 42.2% (1995 est.)
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Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Haiti
conventional short form: Haiti
local long form: Republique d'Haiti
local short form: Haiti
Data code: HA
Government type: republic
National capital: Port-au-Prince
Administrative divisions: 9
departments, (departements, singular—departement); Artibonite,
Centre, Grand'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud,
Sud-Est
Independence: 1 January 1804 (from
France)
National holiday: Independence Day, 1
January (1804)
Constitution: approved March 1987,
suspended June 1988, most articles reinstated March 1989; in
October 1991, government claimed to be observing the constitution;
return to constitutional rule, October 1994
Legal system: based on Roman civil
law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Rene Garcia PREVAL (since 7
February 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Rosny SMARTH resigned
June 1997; currently no prime minister; ratification of a new
prime minister held up in political gridlock stemming from
controversy over the 6 April 1997 elections
cabinet: Cabinet; chosen by the prime minister in
consultation with the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a
five-year term; election last held 17 December 1995 (next to be
held by December 2000); prime minister appointed by the president,
ratified by the Congress
election results: Rene Garcia PREVAL elected president;
percent of vote—Rene Garcia PREVAL 88%, Leon JEUNE 2.5%, Victor
BENOIT 2.3%
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 25 June 1995 with reruns on
13 August and runoffs on 17 September (election held for nine
seats 6 April 1997; results disputed and runoffs postponed
indefinitely); Chamber of Deputies—last held 25 June 1995 with
reruns on 13 August and runoffs on 17 September (next Senate and
Chamber elections to be held November 1998)
election results: Senate—percent of vote by party—NA;
seats by party—Lavalas Political Organization 7, Lavalas
family-leaning 7, independent 2, non-active members 2, vacant 9;
Chamber of Deputies—percent of vote by party—NA; seats by
party—Lavalas Political Organization (OPL) 32, antineoliberal
bloc 24, minor parties and independents 22, vacant 5
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour
de Cassation)
Political parties and leaders:
Lavalas Family (FL), Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE; National Lavalas
Political Organization (OPL), Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES; National
Front for Change and Democracy (FNCD), Evans PAUL and Turneb DELPE;
National Congress of Democratic Movements (KONACOM), Victor
BENOIT; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti (MIDH),
Marc BAZIN; National Progressive Revolutionary Party (PANPRA),
Serge GILLES; Movement for National Reconstruction (MRN), Rene
THEODORE; Haitian Christian Democratic Party (PDCH), Fritz PIERRE;
Assembly of Progressive National Democrats (RDNP), Leslie MANIGAT;
Mobilization for National Development (MDN), Hubert DE RONCERAY;
Movement for the Organization of the Country (MOP), Gesner COMEAU
and Jean MOLIERE; Open the Gate Party (PLB), Renaud BERNARDIN;
Union of Patriotic Democrats (UPD), Rockefeller GUERRE; Generation
2004, Claude ROUMAIN; Alliance for the Liberation and Advancement
of Haiti (ALAH), Reynold GEORGES; Haitian Democratic Party (PADEMH),
Clark PARENT; National Alliance for Democracy and Progress; Haiti
Can (Ayiti Kapab), Ernst VERDIEU
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Roman Catholic Church; Confederation of Haitian Workers (CTH);
Federation of Workers Trade Unions (FOS); Autonomous Haitian
Workers (CATH); National Popular Assembly (APN); Papaye Peasants
Movement (MPP); Popular Organizations Gathering Power (PROP)
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, PCA, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); mission led by
charge d' affairs
chancery: 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20008
telephone: [1] (202) 332-4090 through 4092
FAX: [1] (202) 745-7215
consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and
San Juan (Puerto Rico)
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Timothy Michael CARNEY
embassy: 5 Harry Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince
mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince
telephone: [509] 22-0354, 22-0368, 22-0200, 22-0612
FAX: [509] 23-1641
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—overview: About 75% 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. The country has experienced
little or no job creation since President PREVAL took office in
February 1996, although the informal economy is growing. Failure
to reach agreements with international sponsors have denied Haiti
badly needed budget and development assistance. Meeting aid
conditions in 1998 will be especially challenging in the face of
mounting popular criticism of reforms.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$7.1
billion (1997 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 1.1% (1997
est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power
parity—$1,070 (1997 est.)
GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 44%
industry: 13%
services: 43% (1995)
Inflation rate—consumer price index:
17% (1997 est.)
Labor force:
total: 3.6 million (1995)
by occupation: agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9%
note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant
(1982)
Unemployment rate: 60% (1996 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $284 million
expenditures: $308 million, including capital expenditures
of $NA (FY96/97 est.)
Industries: sugar refining, flour
milling, textiles, cement, tourism, light assembly industries
based on imported parts
Industrial production growth rate:
2.5% (1995 est.)
Electricity—capacity: 153,000 kW
(1995)
Electricity—production: 315 million
kWh (1995)
Electricity—consumption per capita:
48 kWh (1995)
Agriculture—products: coffee,
mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood
Exports:
total value: $90 million (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: light manufactures 53%, coffee 17%, other
agriculture 17%
partners: US 76.3%, EU 19.8% (1996)
Imports:
total value: $665 million (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: machines and manufactures 34%, food and
beverages 22%, petroleum products 14%, chemicals 10%, fats and
oils 9%
partners: US 65.0%, EU 13.9% (1995)
Debt—external: $781 million (1995
est.)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $NA
Currency: 1 gourde (G) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: gourdes (G) per US$1
(end of period)—17.311 (December 1997), 17.311 (1997), 15.093
(1996), 16.160 (1995), 12.947 (1994), 12.805 (1993)
Fiscal year: 1 October—30 September
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Telephones: 50,000 (1990 est.)
Telephone system: domestic facilities
barely adequate, international facilities slightly better
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth station—1 Intelsat
(Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 33, FM
0, shortwave 2
Radios: 320,000 (1992 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 4
(1987 est.)
Televisions: 32,000 (1992 est.)
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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
Highways:
total: 4,160 km
paved: 1,011 km
unpaved: 3,149 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: NEGL; less than 100 km
navigable
Ports and harbors: Cap-Haitien,
Gonaives, Jacmel, Jeremie, Les Cayes, Miragoane, Port-au-Prince,
Port-de-Paix, Saint-Marc
Merchant marine: none
Airports: 14 (1997 est.)
Airports—with paved runways:
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1997 est.)
Airports—with unpaved runways:
total: 11
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 6 (1997 est.)
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Military branches: Haitian National
Police (HNP)
note: the regular Haitian Army, Navy, and Air Force have
been demobilized but still exist on paper until/unless
constitutionally abolished
Military manpower—military age: 18
years of age
Military manpower—availability:
males age 15-49: 1,490,464 (1998 est.)
Military manpower—fit for military
service:
males: 807,330 (1998 est.)
Military manpower—reaching military age
annually:
males: 75,448 (1998 est.)
Military expenditures—dollar figure:
$NA; note—mainly for police and security activities
Military expenditures—percent of GDP:
NA%
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Disputes—international: claims
US-administered Navassa Island
Illicit drugs: transshipment point
for cocaine and marijuana en route to the US and Europe
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Information on Haiti