1993 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1993 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 27,750 km2 land area: 27,560 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
Climate
tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds
Coastline
1,771 km
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
International disputes
claims US-administered Navassa Island
Irrigated land
750 km2 (1989 est.)
Land boundaries
total 275 km, Dominican Republic 275 km
Land use
arable land: 20% permanent crops: 13% meadows and pastures: 18% forest and woodland: 4% other: 45%
Location
in the northern Caribbean Sea, about 90 km southeast of Cuba
Map references
Central America and the Caribbean, Standard Time Zones of the World
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 (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic)
Terrain
mostly rough and mountainous
People and Society
Birth rate
40.77 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate
18.88 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Ethnic divisions
black 95%, mulatto and European 5%
Infant mortality rate
109.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Labor force
2.3 million by occupation: agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9% note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1982)
Languages
French (official) 10%, Creole
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 45.45 years male: 43.88 years female: 47.11 years (1993 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 53% male: 59% female: 47%
Nationality
noun: Haitian(s) adjective: Haitian
Net migration rate
-5.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Population
6,384,877 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate
1.68% (1993 est.)
Religions
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
6.05 children born/woman (1993 est.)
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
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 total) FNCD 27, ANDP 17, PDCH 7, PAIN 6, RDNP 6, MDN 5, PNT 3, MKN 2, MODELH 2, MRN 1, independents 5, other 2
Chief of State
President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE (since 7 February 1991), ousted in a coup in September 1991, but still recognized by international community as Chief of State
Constitution
27 August 1983, suspended February 1986; draft constitution approved March 1987, suspended June 1988, most articles reinstated March 1989; October 1991, government claims to be observing the Constitution
Digraph
HA
Diplomatic representation in US
chief of mission: Ambassador Jean CASIMIR chancery: 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 332-4090 through 4092 consulates general: Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
Executive branch
president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
FAX
[509] 23-9007
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)
Head of Government
de facto Prime Minister Marc BAZIN (since NA June 1992)
Independence
1 January 1804 (from France)
Judicial branch
Court of Appeal (Cour de Cassation)
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 Chamber of Deputies
Member of
ACCT, ACP, 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
Names
conventional long form: Republic of Haiti conventional short form: Haiti local long form: Republique d'Haiti local short form: Haiti
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), including National Congress of Democratic Movements (CONACOM), Victor BENOIT, and National Cooperative Action Movement (MKN), Volvick Remy JOSEPH; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti (MIDH), Marc BAZIN; National Progressive Revolutionary Party (PANPRA), Serge GILLES; 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), Joseph DOUZE; 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 and Jean MOLIERE
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 18 January 1993, widely condemned as illegitimate (next to be held December 1994); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (27 total) FNCD 12, ANDP 8, PAIN 2, MRN 1, RDNP 1, PNT 1, independent 2
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Type
republic
US diplomatic representation
chief of mission: Special Charge d'Affaires Charles REDMAN embassy: Harry Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince telephone: [509] 22-0354, 22-0368, 22-0200, or 22-0612
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for 28% of GDP and employs around 70% of work force; mostly small-scale subsistence farms; commercial crops - coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, 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
1 gourde (G) = 100 centimes
Economic aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (1970-89), $700 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $770 million
Electricity
217,000 kW capacity; 480 million kWh produced, 75 kWh per capita (1992)
Exchange rates
gourdes (G) per US$1 - 8.4 (December 1991), fixed rate of 5.000 through second quarter of 1991)
Exports
$146 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.) commodities: light manufactures 65%, coffee 19%, other agriculture 8%, other 8% partners: US 84%, Italy 4%, France 3%, other industrial countries 6%, less developed countries 3% (1987)
External debt
$838 million (December 1990)
Fiscal year
1 October - 30 September
Illicit drugs
transshipment point for cocaine
Imports
$252 million (f.o.b., 1991 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 -2.0% (1991 est.); 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% (FY91 est.)
National product
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $2.2 billion (1991 est.)
National product per capita
$340 (1991 est.)
National product real growth rate
-4% (FY91 est.)
Overview
About 75% of the population live in abject poverty. Agriculture is mainly small-scale subsistence farming and employs nearly three-fourths 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. Trade sanctions applied by the Organization of American States in response to the September 1991 coup against President ARISTIDE have further damaged the economy.
Unemployment rate
25-50% (1991)
Communications
Airports
total: 13 usable: 10 with permanent-surface runways: 3 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 3
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; broadcast stations - 33 AM, no FM, 4 TV, 2 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Military and Security
Branches
Army (including Police), Navy, Air Force
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $34 million, 1.5% of GDP (1988 est.)
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 1,289,310; fit for military service 695,997; reach military age (18) annually 60,588 (1993 est.)