2000 Edition

Background

One of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. Over three decades of dictatorship followed by military rule ended in 1990 when Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE was elected president. Most of his term was usurped by a military takeover, but he was able to return to office in 1994 and oversee the installation of a close associate to the presidency in 1996.

Area

land

27,560 sq km

total

27,750 sq km

water

190 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Maryland

Climate

tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds

Coastline

1,771 km

Elevation extremes

highest point

Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m

lowest point

Caribbean Sea 0 m

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

Geographic coordinates

19 00 N, 72 25 W

Geography - note

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

Irrigated land

750 sq km (1993 est.)

Land boundaries

border countries

Dominican Republic 275 km

total

275 km

Land use

arable land

20%

forests and woodland

5%

other

44% (1993 est.)

permanent crops

13%

permanent pastures

18%

Location

Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic

Map references

Central America and the Caribbean

Maritime claims

contiguous zone

24 nm

continental shelf

to depth of exploitation

exclusive economic zone

200 nm

territorial sea

12 nm

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

Natural resources

bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower

Terrain

mostly rough and mountainous

Age structure

0-14 years: 41% (male 1,430,018; female 1,393,665) 15-64 years: 55% (male 1,814,964; female 1,945,165) 65 years and over: 4% (male 138,533; female 145,650) (2000 est.)

Birth rate

31.97 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate

15.13 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Ethnic groups

black 95%, mulatto plus white 5%

Infant mortality rate

97.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Languages

French (official), Creole (official)

Life expectancy at birth

female

51.06 years (2000 est.)

male

47.46 years

total population

49.21 years

Literacy

definition

age 15 and over can read and write

female

42.2% (1995 est.)

male

48%

total population

45%

Nationality

adjective

Haitian

noun

Haitian(s)

Net migration rate

-2.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Population

6,867,995

note

estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2000 est.)

Population growth rate

1.39% (2000 est.)

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

Sex ratio

at birth

1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female

total population

0.97 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate

4.5 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Administrative divisions

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

Capital

Port-au-Prince

Constitution

approved March 1987; suspended June 1988, with most articles reinstated March 1989; in October 1991, government claimed to be observing the constitution; return to constitutional rule, October 1994

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

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affairs Les ALEXANDER to be temporary chief of mission until new ambassador is confirmed

embassy

5 Harry Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince

mailing address

P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince

telephone

22-0354, 22-0368, 22-0200, 22-0612

Diplomatic representation in the US

chancery

2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

chief of mission

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Louis Harold JOSEPH

telephone

(202) 332-4090

Executive branch

cabinet

Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president

chief of state

President Rene Garcia PREVAL (since 7 February 1996)

election results

Rene Garcia PREVAL elected president; percent of vote - Rene Garcia PREVAL 88%, Leon JEUNE 2.5%, Victor BENOIT 2.3%

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

head of government

Prime Minister Jacques-Edouard ALEXIS (since NA March 1999); ALEXIS was appointed by President PREVAL, filling the post that had been vacant since the resignation of Rosny SMARTH in June 1997

FAX

(202) 745-7215

23-1641

consulate(s) general

Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)

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)

Government type

elected government

Independence

1 January 1804 (from France)

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, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Judicial branch

Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation

Legal system

based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

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)

election results

Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - OPL 7, FL-leaning 7, independents 3, vacant 10; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - OPL 32, antineoliberal bloc 24, minor parties and independents 22, vacant 5

elections

Senate - last held 25 June 1995, with reruns on 13 August and runoffs on 17 September, and an election for nine seats 6 April 1997 but results were disputed; next election for two-thirds of Senate postponed until May 2000; Chamber of Deputies - last held 25 June 1995, with reruns on 13 August and runoffs on 17 September (next Senate and Chamber of Deputies elections postponed until May 2000)

National holiday

Independence Day, 1 January (1804)

Political parties and leaders

Alliance for the Liberation and Advancement of Haiti or ALAH ; Assembly of Progressive National Democrats or RDNP ; Confederation for Democratic Unity or KID ; Democratic Consultation Group coalition or ESPACE composed of the following

parties

Confederation for Democratic Unity KONAKOM, PANPRA, Generation 2004, and Haiti Can or Ayiti Kapab; Generation 2004 [Claude ROUMAIN]; Haiti Can or Ayiti Kapab ; Haitian Christian Democratic Party or PDCH ; Haitian Democratic Party or PADEMH ; Lavalas Family or FL ; Mobilization for National Development or MDN ; Movement for National Reconstruction or MRN ; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti or MIDH ; Movement for the Organization of the Country or MOP [Gesner COMEAU and Jean MOLIERE]; National Alliance for Democracy and Progress [leader NA]; National Congress of Democratic Movements or KONAKOM [Victor BENOIT]; National Front for Change and Democracy or FNCD [Evans PAUL and Turneb DELPE]; National Progressive Revolutionary Party or PANPRA ; Open the Gate Party or PLB ; Struggling People's Organization or OPL ; Union of Patriotic Democrats or UPD

Political pressure groups and leaders

Autonomous Haitian Workers or CATH; Confederation of Haitian Workers or CTH; Federation of Workers Trade Unions or FOS; National Popular Assembly or APN; Papaye Peasants Movement or MPP; Popular Organizations Gathering Power or PROP; Roman Catholic Church

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Agriculture - products

coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood

Budget

expenditures

$363 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY97/98 est.)

revenues

$323 million

Currency

1 gourde (G) = 100 centimes

Debt - external

$1 billion (1997 est.)

Economic aid - recipient

$730.6 million (1995)

Economy - overview

About 80% 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 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 2000 will be especially challenging in the face of mounting popular criticism of reforms.

Electricity - consumption

677 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - production

728 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel

55.63%

hydro

41.62%

nuclear

0%

other

2.75% (1998)

Exchange rates

gourdes (G) per US$1 - 18.262 (January 2000), 17.965 (1999), 16.505 (1998), 17.311 (1997), 15.093 (1996), 16.160 (1995)

Exports

$322 million (f.o.b., 1999)

Exports - commodities

manufactures, coffee, oils, mangoes

Exports - partners

US 86%, EU 11% (1998)

Fiscal year

1 October - 30 September

GDP

purchasing power parity - $9.2 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture

32%

industry

20%

services

48% (1998 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $1,340 (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

2.4% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Imports

$762 million (c.i.f., 1999)

Imports - commodities

food, machinery and transport equipment, fuels

Imports - partners

US 60%, EU 12% (1998)

Industrial production growth rate

0.6% (1997 est.)

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

9% (1999 est.)

Labor force

3.6 million (1995)

note

shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1998)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9%

Population below poverty line

80% (1998 est.)

Unemployment rate

70%; widespread underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs (1999)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

6 (1999)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 41, FM 26, shortwave 0 (1999)

Radios

415,000 (1997)

Telephone system

domestic facilities barely adequate; international facilities slightly better

domestic

coaxial cable and microwave radio relay trunk service

international

satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Telephones - main lines in use

60,000 (1995)

Telephones - mobile cellular

0 (1995)

Television broadcast stations

2 (plus a cable TV service) (1997)

Televisions

38,000 (1997)

Airports

13 (1999 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 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total

10 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 5 (1999 est.)

Highways

paved

1,011 km

total

4,160 km

unpaved

3,149 km (1996 est.)

Merchant marine

none (1999 est.)

Ports and harbors

Cap-Haitien, Gonaives, Jacmel, Jeremie, Les Cayes, Miragoane, Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix, Saint-Marc

Railways

narrow gauge

40 km 0.760-m gauge

total

40 km (single track; privately owned industrial line) - closed in early 1990s

Waterways

NEGL; less than 100 km navigable

Military - note

the Haitian Armed Forces have been demobilized and replaced by the Haitian National Police

Military branches

Haitian National Police (HNP)

note

the regular Haitian Army, Navy, and Air Force have been demobilized but still exist on paper until constitutionally abolished

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$NA ; note - mainly for police and security activities

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

NA%

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 1,579,897 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males age 15-49: 857,666 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - military age

18 years of age

Military manpower - reaching military age annually

males

83,863 (2000 est.)

Disputes - international

claims US-administered Navassa Island

Illicit drugs

major Caribbean transshipment point for cocaine en route to the US and Europe

HEARD ISLAND AND MCDONALD ISLANDS

HOLY SEE

HONDURAS