Haiti

several television stations, including 1 government-owned; cable TV subscription service is available; government-owned radio network; more than 250 private and community radio stations operating with about 50 FM stations in Port-au-Prince alone (2007)

.ht

273 (2010) country comparison to the world: 185

1 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 99

general assessment: telecommunications infrastructure is among the least developed in Latin America and the Caribbean; domestic facilities barely adequate; international facilities slightly better domestic: mobile-cellular telephone services are expanding rapidly due, in part, to the introduction of low-cost GSM phones; mobile-cellular teledensity reached 40 per 100 persons in 2009 international: country code - 509; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

108,300 (2009) country comparison to the world: 142

3.648 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 108

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

17.25% (31 December 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 29 17.81% (31 December 2008 est.)

-$781 million (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 126 -$627 million (2009 est.)

$494 million (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 162 $1.362 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

59.2 (2001) country comparison to the world: 7

Haiti's economy suffered a severe setback when a 7.1 magnitude earthquake damaged its capital city, Port-au-Prince, in January 2010. Already the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with 80% of the population living under the poverty line and 54% in abject poverty, the damage to Port-au-Prince caused the country's GDP to contract an estimated 8% in 2010. Two-thirds of all Haitians depend on the agricultural sector, mainly small-scale subsistence farming, and remain vulnerable to damage from frequent natural disasters, exacerbated by the country's widespread deforestation. US economic engagement under the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) Act, passed in December 2006, has boosted apparel exports and investment by providing tariff-free access to the US. Congress voted in 2010 to extend the legislation until 2020 under the Haitian Economic Lift Act (HELP); the apparel sector accounts for three-quarters of Haitian exports and nearly one-tenth of GDP. Remittances are the primary source of foreign exchange, equaling nearly a quarter of GDP and more than twice the earnings from exports. Haiti suffers from a lack of investment because of insecurity and limited infrastructure, and a severe trade deficit. In 2005, Haiti paid its arrears to the World Bank, paving the way for reengagement with the Bank. Haiti received debt forgiveness for over $1 billion of its debt through the Highly-Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative in 2009. The remainder of its outstanding external debt was cancelled by donor countries in early 2010 but has since climbed back to about $500 million. The government relies on formal international economic assistance for fiscal sustainability.

273 million kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 168

0 kWh (2008 est.)

0 kWh (2008 est.)

665 million kWh (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 153

gourdes (HTG) per US dollar - 41.198 (2010), 41.195 (2009), 39.216 (2008), 37.138 (2007), 40.232 (2006)

$559 million (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 163 $551 million (2009 est.)

apparel, manufactures, oils, cocoa, mangoes, coffee

US 79.76%, Dominican Republic 7.24%, Canada 2.96% (2009)

$6.495 billion (2010 est.)

$11.18 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 145 $12.15 billion (2009 est.) $11.81 billion (2008 est.) note: data are in 2010 US dollars

agriculture: 23% industry: 20% services: 57% (2009 est.)

$1,200 (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 205 $1,200 (2009 est.) $1,200 (2008 est.) note: data are in 2010 US dollars

-8% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 213 2.9% (2009 est.) 0.8% (2008 est.)

lowest 10%: 0.7% highest 10%: 47.7% (2001)

$2.446 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 146 $2.032 billion (2009 est.)

food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials

US 33.11%, Dominican Republic 23.53%, Netherlands Antilles 10.75%, China 5.36% (2009)

-8% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 165

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

4.6% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 134 2% (2009 est.)

28.9% of GDP (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 21

3.643 million country comparison to the world: 95 note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (2007)

agriculture: 66% industry: 9% services: 25% (1995)

$NA

0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 145

0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 173

0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 165

0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 101

0 cu m (1 January 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 169

12,000 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 145

0 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 148

12,280 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 134

0 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 187

0 bbl (1 January 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 171

80% (2003 est.)

$1.021 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 109 $790 million (31 December 2009 est.)

$3.137 billion (31 December 2009) country comparison to the world: 131 $2.958 billion (31 December 2008)

$1.632 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 132 $1.698 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$787.2 million (31 December 2010 est) country comparison to the world: 144 $800 million (31 December 2009 est)

NA% est.) note: widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs

total: 27,750 sq km country comparison to the world: 147 land: 27,560 sq km water: 190 sq km

slightly smaller than Maryland

tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds

1,771 km

lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m

extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes

total: 0.99 cu km/yr (5%/1%/94%) per capita: 116 cu m/yr (2000)

19 00 N, 72 25 W

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

920 sq km (2003)

total: 360 km border countries: Dominican Republic 360 km

arable land: 28.11% permanent crops: 11.53% other: 60.36% (2005)

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

Central America and the Caribbean

territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: to depth of exploitation

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

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

mostly rough and mountainous

14 cu km (2000)

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

name: Port-au-Prince geographic coordinates: 18 32 N, 72 20 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in October

approved March 1987 note: suspended June 1988 with most articles reinstated March 1989; constitutional government ousted in a military coup in September 1991, although in October 1991 military government claimed to be observing the constitution; returned to constitutional rule in October 1994; constitution, while technically in force between 2004-2006, was not enforced; returned to constitutional rule in May 2006

conventional long form: Republic of Haiti conventional short form: Haiti local long form: Republique d'Haiti/Repiblik d' Ayiti local short form: Haiti/Ayiti

chief of mission: Ambassador Kenneth H. MERTEN embassy: Tabarre 41, Route de Tabarre, Port-au-Prince mailing address: use mailing address telephone: [509] 229-8000 FAX: [509] 229-8028

chief of mission: Ambassador Louis Harold JOSEPH chancery: 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4090 FAX: [1] (202) 745-7215 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulate(s): Orlando (Florida)

chief of state: President Rene PREVAL (since 14 May 2006) head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Max BELLERIVE (since 7 November 2009) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website) elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (may not serve consecutive terms); election last held on 28 November 2010; runoff scheduled for 16 January 2011 (next to be held in 2015); prime minister appointed by the president, ratified by the National Assembly election results: 2010 results not final, initial results are under OAS review; Mirlande MANIGAT 31.37%, Jude CELESTIN 22.48%, Michel MARTELLY 21.84%, all others less than 10% each

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); the colors are taken from the French Tricolor and represent the union of blacks and mulattoes

republic

1 January 1804 (from France)

ACP, AOSIS, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OIF, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, PetroCaribe, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation

based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

bicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale consists of the Senate (30 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies (99 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); note - in reestablishing the Senate in 2006, the candidate in each department receiving the most votes in the last election serves six years, the candidate with the second most votes serves four years, and the candidate with the third most votes serves two years elections: Senate - last held on 28 November 2010 with run-off elections scheduled for 16 January 2011 (next regular election, for one third of seats, to be held in 2012); Chamber of Deputies - last held on 28 November 2010 with run-off elections schedule for 16 January 2011 (next regular election to be held in 2014) election results: 2010 election results are not final; 2006 Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - L'ESPWA 11, FUSION 5, OPL 4, FL 3, LAAA 2, UNCRH 2, PONT 2, ALYANS 1; 2006 Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - L'ESPWA 23, FUSION 17, FRN 12, OPL 10, ALYANS 10, LAAA 5, MPH 3, MOCHRENA 3, other 10; results for six other seats contested on 3 December 2006 remain unknown

name: "La Dessalinienne" (The Dessalines Song) lyrics/music: Justin LHERISSON/Nicolas GEFFRARD note: adopted 1904; the anthem is named for Jean-Jacques DESSALINES, a leader in the Haitian Revolution and first ruler of an independent Haiti

Independence Day, 1 January (1804)

Artibonite in Action or LAAA [Youri LATORTUE]; Assembly of Progressive National Democrats or RDNP [Leslie MANIGAT]; Convention for Democratic Unity or KID [Evans PAUL]; Cooperative Action to Build Haiti or KONBA [Evans LESCOUFALIR]; Democratic Alliance or ALYANS [Evans PAUL] (coalition composed of KID and PPRH); Effort and Solidarity to Create an Alternative for the People or ESKAMP [Joseph JASME]; Fanmi Lavalas or FL [Rudy HERIVEAUX]; For Us All or PONT [Jean-Marie CHERESTAL]; Front for Hope or L'ESPWA [Rene PREVAL] (alliance of ESKAMP, PLB, and grass-roots organizations Grand-Anse Resistance Committee, the Central Plateau Peasants' Group, and Kombit Sudest); Haitian Christian Democratic Party or PDCH [Osner FEVRY and Marie-Denise CLAUDE]; Haitian Democratic and Reform Movement or MODEREH [Dany TOUSSAINT and Pierre Soncon PRINCE]; Heads Together or Tet-Ansanm [Dr. Gerard BLOT]; Independent Movement for National Reconciliation or MIRN [Luc FLEURINORD]; Justice for Peace and National Development or JPDN [Rigaud DUPLAN]; Liberal Party of Haiti or PLH [Gehy MICHEL]; Merging of Haitian Social Democratic Parties or FUSION or FPSDH [Serge GILLES] (coalition of Ayiti Capable, Haitian National Revolutionary Party, and National Congress of Democratic Movements); Mobilization for Haiti's Development or MPH [Samir MOURRA]; Mobilization for National Development or MDN [Hubert de RONCERAY]; Movement for National Reconstruction or MRN [Jean Henold BUTEAU]; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti or MIDH [Marc BAZIN]; National Christian Union for the Reconstruction of Haiti or UNCRH [Marie Claude GERMAIN]; National Front for the Reconstruction of Haiti or FRN [Guy PHILIPPE]; New Christian Movement for a New Haiti or MOCHRENA [Luc MESADIEU]; Open the Gate Party or PLB [Anes LUBIN]; Popular Party for the Renewal of Haiti or PPRH [Claude ROMAIN]; Struggling People's Organization or OPL [Edgard LEBLANC]; Union of Nationalist and Progressive Haitians or UNITE [Edouard FRANCISQUE]

Autonomous Organizations of Haitian Workers or CATH [Fignole ST-CYR]; Confederation of Haitian Workers or CTH; Federation of Workers Trade Unions or FOS; General Organization of Independent Haitian Workers [Patrick NUMAS]; Grand-Anse Resistance Committee, or KOREGA; National Popular Assembly or APN; Papaye Peasants Movement or MPP [Chavannes JEAN-BAPTISTE]; Popular Organizations Gathering Power or PROP; Protestant Federation of Haiti; Roman Catholic Church

18 years of age; universal

The native Taino Amerindians - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by COLUMBUS in 1492 - were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola. In 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island, which later became Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean but only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'OUVERTURE. After a prolonged struggle, Haiti became the first black republic to declare independence in 1804. The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. After an armed rebellion led to the forced resignation and exile of President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE in February 2004, an interim government took office to organize new elections under the auspices of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Continued violence and technical delays prompted repeated postponements, but Haiti finally did inaugurate a democratically elected president and parliament in May of 2006. A massive magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010 with an epicenter about 15 km southwest of the capital, Port-au-Prince. An estimated 2 million people live within the zone of heavy to moderate structural damage. The earthquake is assessed as the worst in this region over the last 200 years and massive international assistance will be required to help the country recover.

males age 16-49: 2,283,915 females age 16-49: 2,250,220 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49: 1,573,371 females age 16-49: 1,591,942 (2010 est.)

male: 110,514 female: 108,208 (2010 est.)

no regular military forces - small Coast Guard; the regular Haitian Armed Forces (FAdH) - Army, Navy, and Air Force - have been demobilized but still exist on paper until or unless they are constitutionally abolished (2009)

0.4% of GDP (2006) country comparison to the world: 167

0-14 years: 38.1% (male 1,735,917/female 1,704,383) 15-64 years: 58.5% (male 2,621,059/female 2,665,447) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 120,040/female 188,690) (2010 est.)

24.4 births/1,000 population (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 68

8.21 deaths/1,000 population country comparison to the world: 98 note: the preliminary 2011 numbers differ significantly from those of 2010, which were strongly influenced by the demographic effect of the January 2010 earthquake; the latest figures more closely correspond to those of 2009 (2011 est.)

1.4% of GDP (1991) country comparison to the world: 177

black 95%, mulatto and white 5%

2.2% (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 28

7,200 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 38

120,000 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 43

total: 54.02 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 43 male: 58.16 deaths/1,000 live births female: 49.83 deaths/1,000 live births note: the preliminary 2011 numbers differ significantly from those of 2010, which were strongly influenced by the demographic effect of the January 2010 earthquake; the latest figures more closely correspond to those of 2009 (2011 est.)

French (official), Creole (official)

total population: 62.17 years country comparison to the world: 179 male: 60.84 years female: 63.53 years note: the preliminary 2011 numbers differ significantly from those of 2010, which were strongly influenced by the demographic effect of the January 2010 earthquake; the latest figures more closely correspond to those of 2009 (2011 est.)

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 52.9% male: 54.8% female: 51.2% (2003 est.)

degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria water contact disease: leptospirosis (2009)

total: 21.1 years male: 20.9 years female: 21.4 years (2010 est.)

noun: Haitian(s) adjective: Haitian

-8.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 210

9,719,932 country comparison to the world: 87 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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (2011 est.)

0.787% country comparison to the world: 139 note: the preliminary 2011 numbers differ significantly from those of 2010, which were strongly influenced by the demographic effect of the January 2010 earthquake; the latest figures more closely correspond to those of 2009 (2011 est.)

Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% note: roughly half of the population practices voodoo

at birth: 1.011 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2010 est.)

3.07 children born/woman (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 64

urban population: 47% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 4.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

since 2004, about 8,000 peacekeepers from the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) maintain civil order in Haiti; despite efforts to control illegal migration, Haitians cross into the Dominican Republic and sail to neighboring countries; Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island

Caribbean transshipment point for cocaine en route to the US and Europe; substantial bulk cash smuggling activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Haiti for illicit financial transactions; pervasive corruption; significant consumer of cannabis

14 (2010) country comparison to the world: 148

total: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2010)

total: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 8 (2010)

Cap-Haitien, Gonaives, Jacmel, Port-au-Prince

total: 4,160 km country comparison to the world: 155 paved: 1,011 km unpaved: 3,149 km (2000)