1991 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1991 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds
Coastline
1,771 km
Comparative area
slightly larger than Maryland
Disputes
claims US-administered Navassa Island
Environment
lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; deforestation; soil erosion
Land boundary
275 km with the Dominican Republic
Land use
arable land 20%; permanent crops 13%; meadows and pastures 18%; forest and woodland 4%; other 45%; includes irrigated 3%
Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 24 nm; Continental shelf: to depth of exploitation; Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural resources
bauxite
Note
shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic
Terrain
mostly rough and mountainous
Total area
27,750 km2; land area: 27,560 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
43 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate
15 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Ethnic divisions
black 95%, mulatto and European 5%
Infant mortality rate
106 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Labor force
2,300,000; agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9%; 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 (1991)
Literacy
53% (male 59%, female 47%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Nationality
noun--Haitian(s); adjective--Haitian
Net migration rate
- 5 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Organized labor
NA
Population
6,286,511 (July 1991), growth rate 2.3% (1991)
Religion
Roman Catholic is the official religion; Roman Catholic 80% (of which an overwhelming majority also practice Voodoo), Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (1982)
Total fertility rate
6.3 children born/woman (1991)
Government
Administrative divisions
9 departments, (departements, singular--departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est
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; March 1987 Constitution fully observed by government installed on 7 February 1991
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador (vacant), Charge d'Affaires Raymond Alcide JOSEPH; 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 P. ADAMS, Jr.; Embassy at Harry Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince (mailing address is P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince), telephone [509] (1) 20-354 or 20-368, 20-200, 20-612
Elections
President--last held 16 December 1990 (next election to be held by December 1995); results--Rev. Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE 67.5%, Marc BAZIN 14.2%, Louis DEJOIE 4.9%; Senate--last held 16 December 1990, with runoff held 20 January 1991 (next to be held by December 1992); results--percent of vote NA; seats--(27) FNCD 13, ANDP 6, PAIN 2, MRN 2, PDCH 1, RDNP 1, PNT 1, independent 1; Chamber of Deputies--last held 16 December 1990, with runoff held 20 January 1991 (next to be held by December 1994); results--percent of vote NA; seats--(83) FNCD 27, ANDP 17, PDCH 7, PAIN 6, RDNP 6, MDN 5, PNT 3, MKN 2, MODELH 2, MRN 1, independent 5, other 2
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--President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE (since 7 February 1991); Head of Government--Prime Minister Rene PREVAL (since 13 February 1991)
Legal system
based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
bicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale) consisting of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Deputies
Long-form name
Republic of Haiti
Member of
ACCT, CARICOM (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LAES, LORCS, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, 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)
Political parties and leaders
National Front for Change and Democracy (FNCD) led by Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE, including Congress of Democratic Movements (CONACOM), Victor BENOIT; National Konbite Movement (MKN), Volvick Remy JOSEPH; National Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ANDP), a coalition consisting of Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti (MIDH), Marc BAZIN; National Progressive Revolutionary Party (PANPRA), Serge GILLES; and National Patriotic Movement of November 28 (MNP-28), Dejean BELIZAIRE; National Agricultural and Industrial Party (PAIN), Louis DEJOIE; Movement for National Reconstruction (MRN), Rene THEODORE; Haitian Christian Democratic Party (PDCH), Sylvio CLAUDE; Assembly of Progressive National Democrats (RDNP), Leslie MANIGAT; National Party of Labor (PNT), Thomas DESULME; Mobilization for National Development (MDN), Hubert DE RONCERAY; Democratic Movement for the Liberation of Haiti (MODELH), Francois LATORTUE; Haitian Social Christian Party (PSCH), Gregoire EUGENE; Movement for the Organization of the Country (MOP), Gesner COMEAU
Suffrage
universal at age 18
Type
republic
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for 33% of GDP and employs 66% of work force; mostly small-scale subsistence farms; commercial crops--coffee, mangoes, sugarcane and wood; staple crops--rice, corn, sorghum; shortage of wheat flour
Budget
revenues $300 million; expenditures $416 million, including capital expenditures of $145 million (1990 est.)
Currency
gourde (plural--gourdes); 1 gourde (G) = 100 centimes
Economic aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $700 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $682 million
Electricity
230,000 kW capacity; 264 million kWh produced, 43 kWh per capita (1990)
Exchange rates
gourdes (G) per US$1-- 5.0 (fixed rate)
Exports
$169 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.); commodities--light manufactures 69%, coffee 19%, other agriculture 8%, other 8%; partners--US 84%, Italy 4%, France 3%, other industrial 6%, less developed countries 3% (1987)
External debt
$838 million (December 1990)
Fiscal year
1 October-30 September
GDP
$2.7 billion, per capita $440; real growth rate - 3.0% (1990 est.)
Illicit drugs
transshipment point for cocaine
Imports
$348 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.); commodities--machines and manufactures 34%, food and beverages 22%, petroleum products 14%, chemicals 10%, fats and oils 9%; partners--US 64%, Netherlands Antilles 5%, Japan 5%, France 4%, Canada 3%, Germany 3% (1987)
Industrial production
growth rate 0.3% (FY88); accounts for 15% of GDP
Industries
sugar refining, textiles, flour milling, cement manufacturing, tourism, light assembly industries based on imported parts
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
20% (1990 est.)
Overview
About 85% of the population live in abject poverty. Agriculture is mainly small-scale subsistence farming and employs two-thirds 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 one of the most critical problems facing the economy, along with soil erosion and political instability.
Unemployment rate
25-50% (1990 est.)
Communications
Airports
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
Civil air
4 major transport aircraft
Highways
4,000 km total; 950 km paved, 900 km otherwise improved, 2,150 km unimproved
Inland waterways
negligible; less than 100 km navigable
Ports
Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haitien
Railroads
40 km 0.760-meter narrow gauge, single-track, privately owned industrial line
Telecommunications
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
Military and Security
Branches
Army (including Police), Navy, Air Corps
Defense expenditures
$34 million, 1.5% of GDP (1988 est.) _%_
Manpower availability
males 15-49, 1,287,179; 691,926 fit for military service; 61,265 reach military age (18) annually