1989 Edition

Agriculture

most important sector, accounting for 25% of GDP and over 50% of exports; sugar and rice are key crops; development potential exists for fishing and forestry; not self-sufficient in food, especially wheat, vegetable oils, and animal products

Aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $109 million; Western (nonUS) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $234 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $242 million

Budget

revenues $173 million; expenditures $414 million, including capital expenditures of $75 million (1988 est.)

Climate

tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds

antarctic

Coastline

1,771 km

101.9 km

Comparative area

slightly larger than Maryland

slightly less than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Contiguous zone

24 nm

12 nm

Continental shelf

to depth of exploitation

200 meters or to depth of exploration

Currency

Guyanese dollar (plural— dollars); 1 Guyanese dollar (G$) = 100 cents

Disputes

claims US-administered Navassa Island

Electricity

221,000 kW capacity; 583 million kWh produced, 760 kWh per capita (1989)

Environment

lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; deforestation

primarily used as research stations

Exchange rates

Guyanese dollars (G$) per US$1— 33.0000 (January 1990), 27.159 (1989), 10.000 (1988), 9.756 (1987), 4.272 (1986), 4.252 (1985) Fiscal yean calendar year

Exclusive fishing zone

200 nm Territorial sea: 3 nm

Exports

$215 million (f.o.b., 1988 est.) commodities — bauxite, sugar, rice, shrimp, gold, molasses, timber, rum; partners—UK. 37%, US 12%, Canada 10.6%, CARICOM 4.8% (1986)

Extended economic zone

200 nm

External debt

$1.8 billion, including arrears (December 1988)

GDP

$323 million, per capita $420; real growth rate -3.0% (1988 est.)

Imports

$216 million (c.i.f., 1988 est.); commodities — manufactures machinery, food, petroleum; partners — CARICOM 41%, US 18%, UK 9%, Canada 3% (1984)

Industrial production

growth rate —5.0% (1988 est.)

Industries

bauxite mining, sugar, rice milling, timber, fishing (shrimp), textiles, gold mining

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

35% (1988 est.)

Land boundaries

none

Land boundary

275 km with the Dominican Republic

Land use

20% arable land; 13% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures; 4% forest and woodland; 45% other; includes 3% irrigated

0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 100% other

Natural resources

bauxite

Note

shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic

located 4, 1 00 km southwest of Australia in the southern Indian Ocean

Terrain

mostly rough and mountainous

Heard Island — bleak and mountainous, with an extinct volcano; McDonald Islands — small and rocky

Territorial sea

1 2 nm

Total area

27,750 km2; land area: 27,560 km2

412 km2; land area: 412 km2

Unemployment rate

NA%

Birth rate

45 births/ 1 ,000 population (1990)

Death rate

16 deaths/ 1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic divisions

95% black, 5% mulatto and European

Infant mortality rate

107 deaths/ 1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force

2,300,000; 66% agriculture, 25% services, 9% industry; shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1982)

Language

French (official) spoken by only 10% of population; all speak Creole

Life expectancy at birth

52 years male, 55 years female (1990)

Literacy

23%

Nationality

noun — Haitian(s); adjective — Haitian

Net migration rate

— 6 migrants/ 1 ,000 population (1990)

Organized labor

NA

Population

6,142,141 (July 1990), growth rate 2.3% (1990)

uninhabited

Religion

75-80% Roman Catholic (of which an overwhelming majority also practice Voodoo), 10% Protestant

Total fertility rate

6.4 children born/ woman (1990)

Administrative divisions

9 departments, (departements, singular — departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand' Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Quest, Sud, SudEst

Capital

Port-au-Prince

Communists

United Party of Haitian Communists (PUCH), Rene Theodore (roughly 2,000 members)

Constitution

27 August 1983, suspended February 1986; draft constitution approved March 1987, suspended June 1988, most articles reinstated March 1989

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador (vacant), Charge d' Affaires Fritz VOUGY; Chancery at 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 332-4090 through 4092; there are Haitian Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Juan (Puerto Rico); US — Ambassador Alvin ADAMS; Embassy at Harry Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince (mailing address is P. O. Box 1761, Portau-Prince), telephone [509] (1) 20354 or 20368, 20200, 20612

Elections

President — last held 17 January 1988 (next to be held by midJune 1990); on 13 March 1990 Ertha Pascal-Trouillot became provisional president after the resignation of President Lieut. Gen Prosper Avril; Legislature — last held 17 January 1988, but dissolved on 20 June 1988; the government has promised an election by midJune 1990

Executive branch

president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Flag

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)

Independence

1 January 1804 (from France)

Judicial branch

Court of Appeal (Cour de Cassation)

Leaders

Chief of State and Head of Government— Provisional President Ertha PASCAL-TROUILLOT (since 13 March 1990) Political parties and leaders: Haitian Christian Democratic Party (PDCH), Sylvio Claude; Haitian Social Christian Party (PSCH), Gregoire Eugene; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti (MIDH), Marc Bazin; National Alliance Front (FNC), Gerard Gourgue; National Agricultural and Industrial Party (PAIN), Louis Dejoie; Congress of Democratic Movements (CONACOM), Victor Bono; National Progressive Revolutionary Party (PANPRA), Serge Gilles; National Patriotic Movement of November 28 (MNP28), Dejean Belizaire; Movement for the Organization of the Country (MOP), Gesner Comeau; Mobilization for National Development (MDN), Hubert De Ronceray

Legal system

based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

bicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale) consisted of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives, but was dissolved on 20 June 1988 after the coup of 19 June 1988 (there was a subsequent coup on 18 September 1988); after naming a civilian as provisional president on 13 March 1990, it was announced that a Council of State was being formed

Long-form name

Republic of Haiti

Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands

Member of

CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB — Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IRC, ITU, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO

National holiday

Independence Day, 1 January (1804)

Other political or pressure groups

Democratic Unity Confederation (KID), Roman Catholic Church, Confederation of Haitian Workers (CTH), Federation of Workers Trade Unions (FOS), Autonomous Haitian Workers (CATH), National Popular Assembly (APN)

Suffrage

none

Type

republic

territory of Australia administered by the Antarctic Division of the Department of Science in Canberra (Australia)

Agriculture

accounts for 32% of GDP and employs 65% of work force; mostly smallscale subsistence farms; commercial crops — coffee and sugarcane; staple crops — rice, corn, sorghum, mangoes; shortage of wheat flour

Aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $638 million; Western (nonUS) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $627 million

Budget

revenues $252 million; expenditures $357 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (1988)

Currency

gourde (plural — gourdes); 1 gourde (G) = 100 centimes

Electricity

230,000 kW capacity; 482 million kWh produced, 75 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates

gourdes (G) per US$1 — 5.0 (fixed rate) Fiscal yean 1 October30 September

Exports

$200 million (f.o.b., FY88); commodities— light manufactures 65%, coffee 17%, other agriculture 8%, other products 10%; partners— US 77%, France 5%, Italy 4%, FRG 3%, other industrial 9%, less developed countries 2% (FY86)

External debt

$820 million (December 1988)

GDP

$2.4 billion, per capita $380; real growth rate 0.3% (1988 est.)

Imports

$344 million (c.i.f., FY88); commodities— machines and manufactures 36%, food and beverages 21%, petroleum products 1 1 %, fats and oils 1 2%, chemicals 12%; partners— US 65%, Netherlands Antilles 6%, Japan 5%, France 4%, Canada 2%, Asia 2% (FY86)

Industrial production

growth rate —2% (FY87)

Industries

sugar refining, textiles, flour milling, cement manufacturing, bauxite mining, tourism, light assembly industries based on imported parts

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

5.8% (1988)

Overview

About 85% of the population live in absolute poverty. Agriculture is mainly small-scale subsistence farming and employs 65% of the work force. The majority of the population does not have ready access to safe drinking water, adequate medical care, or sufficient food. Few social assistance programs exist, and the lack of employment opportunities remains the most critical problem facing the economy.

no economic activity

Unemployment rate

50% (1988 est.)

Airports

66 total, 63 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 2,439 m; 1 2 with runways 1, 220-2,439 m

15 total, 10 usable; 3 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Branches

Guyana Defense Force (including Maritime Corps and Air Corps), Guyana Police Force, Guyana People's Militia, Guyana National Service

Army, Navy, Air Corps

Civil air

5 major transport aircraft

Defense expenditures

4.3% of GDP, or $13.8 million (1988 est.) North Atlantic Ocean He de la Tortuga Caribbean Sea See regionil map III

NA Heard Island and McDonald Islands (territory of Australia) 20km McDonald Islands Flat Island 'McDonald Island .Shag Island Indian Ocean StcreflonilnupXM Heard Island

Highways

7,665 km total; 550 km paved, 5,000 km gravel, 1,525 km earth, 590 km unimproved

4,000 km total; 950 km paved, 900 km otherwise improved, 2,150 km unimproved

Inland waterways

6,000 km total of navigable waterways; Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo Rivers are navigable by oceangoing vessels for 150 km, 100 km, and 80 km, respectively

negligible; less than 100 km navigable Haiti (continued)

Military manpower

males 15-49, 201,104; 152,958 fit for military service

males 1 5-49, 1,264,238; 679,209 fit for military service; 59,655 reach military age (18) annually

Note

defense is the responsibility of Australia

Ports

Georgetown

Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haitien Civil air 4 major transport aircraft

none; offshore anchorage only Defense Forces

Railroads

187 km total, all single track 0.914-meter gauge

40 km 0.760-meter narrow gauge, single-track, privately owned industrial line

Telecommunications

fair system with radio relay network; over 27,000 telephones; tropospheric scatter link to Trinidad; stations— 4 AM, 3 FM, no TV, 1 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station Defense Forces

domestic facilities barely adequate, international facilities slightly better; 36,000 telephones; stations— 33 AM, no FM, 4 TV, 2 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean earth station Defense Forces