1994 Edition

Administrative divisions

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

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

Airports

total: 14 usable: 11 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

Area

total area: 27,750 sq km land area: 27,560 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland

Birth rate

39.72 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Branches

Army (including Police), Navy, Air Force

Budget

revenues: $300 million expenditures: $416 million, including capital expenditures of $145 million (1990 est.)

Capital

Port-au-Prince

Chamber of Deputies

elections 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

Climate

tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds

Coastline

1,771 km

Constitution

constitution approved March 1987, suspended June 1988, most articles reinstated March 1989; October 1991, government claims to be observing the Constitution

Currency

1 gourde (G) = 100 centimes

Death rate

18.78 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $34 million, 1.5% of GDP (1988 est.)

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

Economic aid

recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (1970-89), $700 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $770 million

Electricity

capacity: 217,000 kW production: 480 million kWh consumption per capita: 75 kWh (1992)

Environment

current issues: deforestation; soil erosion natural hazards: lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes international agreements: party to - Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban

Ethnic divisions

black 95%, mulatto and European 5%

Exchange rates

gourdes (G) per US$1 - 12.00 (1 July 1993), 8.4 (December 1991), fixed rate of 5.000 through second quarter of 1991

Executive branch

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; election last held 16 December 1990 (next to be held by December 1995); results - Rev. Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE 67.5%, Marc BAZIN 14.2%, Louis DEJOIE 4.9% head of government: acting Prime Minister Robert MALVAL (since August 1993) cabinet: Cabinet; chosen by prime minister in consultation with the president

Exports

$135 million (f.o.b., 1992 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)

FAX

(202) 745-7215 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)

[509] 23-1641

Fiscal year

1 October - 30 September

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)

Highways

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

Illicit drugs

transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana en route to the US and Europe

Imports

$423 million (f.o.b., 1992 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)

Independence

1 January 1804 (from France)

Industrial production

growth rate -2% (1991 est.); accounts for 15% of GDP

Industries

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

Infant mortality rate

108.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

20% (FY92 est.)

Inland waterways

negligible; less than 100 km navigable

International disputes

claims US-administered Navassa Island

Irrigated land

750 sq km (1989 est.)

Judicial branch

Court of Appeal (Cour de Cassation)

Labor force

2.3 million by occupation: agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9% note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1982)

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%

Languages

French (official) 10%, Creole

Legal system

based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

bicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 45.11 years male: 43.45 years female: 46.85 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 53% male: 59% female: 47%

Location

Caribbean, in the northern Caribbean Sea, about 90 km southeast of Cuba

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 1,313,265; fit for military service 709,712; reach military age (18) annually 62,488 (1994 est.)

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

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)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $5.2 billion (1993 est.)

National product per capita

$800 (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate

-13% (FY92 est.)

Nationality

noun: Haitian(s) adjective: Haitian

Natural resources

bauxite

Net migration rate

-4.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Note

shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic)

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); Revolutionary Front for Haitian Advancement and Progress (FRAPH)

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. Output continued to drop in 1993 although not as sharply as in 1992.

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

Population

6,491,450 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

1.63% (1994 est.)

Ports

Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haitien; six minor ports

Railroads

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

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)

Senate

elections 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

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

Terrain

mostly rough and mountainous

Total fertility rate

5.94 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Type

republic

Unemployment rate

25%-50% (1991)

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador William Lacy SWING 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