Total area:
27,750 km2
Land area:
27,560 km2
Comparative area:
slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries:
275 km; Dominican Republic 275 km
Coastline:
1,771 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone:
24 nm
Continental shelf:
to depth of exploitation
Exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
Territorial sea:
12 nm
Disputes:
claims US-administered Navassa Island
Climate:
tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds
Terrain:
mostly rough and mountainous
Natural resources:
bauxite
Land use:
arable land 20%; permanent crops 13%; meadows and pastures 18%; forest and
woodland 4%; other 45%; includes irrigated 3%
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
Note:
shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic
:Haiti People
Population:
6,431,977 (July 1992), growth rate 2.3% (1992)
Birth rate:
42 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
15 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
-5 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
104 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
53 years male, 55 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
6.2 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Haitian(s); adjective - Haitian
Ethnic divisions:
black 95%, mulatto and European 5%
Religions:
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)
Languages:
French (official) spoken by only 10% of population; all speak Creole
Literacy:
53% (male 59%, female 47%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
2,300,000; agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9%; shortage of skilled
labor, unskilled labor abundant (1982)
Organized labor:
NA
:Haiti Government
Long-form name:
Republic of Haiti
Type:
republic
Capital:
Port-au-Prince
Administrative divisions:
9 departments, (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre,
Grand'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est
Independence:
1 January 1804 (from France)
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
Legal system:
based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
Independence Day, 1 January (1804)
Executive branch:
president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch:
bicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale) consisting of an upper
house or Senate and a lower house or Chamber of Deputies
Judicial branch:
Court of Appeal (Cour de Cassation)
Leaders:
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; President Joseph NERETTE installed by military on 7 October 1991
Head of Government:
de facto Prime Minister Marc BAZIN (since June 1992)
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 - that broke up
following elections - 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), 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
Suffrage:
universal at age 18
Elections:
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
:Haiti Government
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%
Elections:
Senate:
last held 16 December 1990, with runoff held 20 January 1991 (next to be
held December 1992); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (27 total) FNCD
13, ANDP 6, PAIN 2, MRN 2, PDCH 1, RDNP 1, PNT 1, independent 1
Communists:
United Party of Haitian Communists (PUCH), Rene THEODORE (roughly 2,000
members)
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)
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
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador Jean CASIMIR; 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] 22-0354 or 22-0368, 22-0200, 22-0612
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)
:Haiti Economy
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.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $2.7 billion, per capita $440; real growth rate -
3.0% (1990 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
20% (1990 est.)
Unemployment rate:
25-50% (1990 est.)
Budget:
revenues $300 million; expenditures $416 million, including capital
expenditures of $145 million (1990 est.)
Exports:
$169 million (f.o.b., 1990 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)
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)
External debt:
$838 million (December 1990)
Industrial production:
growth rate 0.3% (FY88); accounts for 15% of GDP
Electricity:
217,000 kW capacity; 468 million kWh produced, 74 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
sugar refining, textiles, flour milling, cement manufacturing, tourism,
light assembly industries based on imported parts
Agriculture:
accounts for 28% of GDP and employs 74% of work force; mostly small-scale
subsistence farms; commercial crops - coffee, mangoes, sugarcane and wood;
staple crops - rice, corn, sorghum; shortage of wheat flour
Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for cocaine
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (1970-89), $700 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $770 million
Currency:
gourde (plural - gourdes); 1 gourde (G) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates:
gourdes (G) per US$1 - 5.0 (fixed rate)
Fiscal year:
1 October - 30 September
:Haiti Communications