Country Profile Haiti

 

  • Capital: Port-au-Prince
  • Population: 10.033.000
  • Currency: Gourdes (HTG)           
  • Language:  French (official), Creole (official)
  • Time zone: UTC-5
  • Government: Republic
  • Chief of State: President Rene PREVAL (since 14 May 2006)

  • GDP real growth rate :

    • 2.3% (2008 est.)
    • 3.2% (2007 est.) 
    • 2.3% (2006 est.)                              
  • Exports:  $491 million f.o.b. (2008 est.)

  • Main Export Partners(2007):

  • Imports: $2.095 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

  • Main Import partners(2007): 

    • US 41.2%
    • Netherlands Antilles 14.9%
    • China 4.7%
    • Brazil 4.4%
  • Dialing Country code: +509
  • National Airline: Haiti National Airline
  • Voltage: 110V

Detailed country profile

ECONOMY

GDP real growth rate:

  • 2.3% (2008 est.)
  • 3.2% (2007 est.) 
  • 2.3% (2006 est.)

GDP-Composition by sector(2004)

  • Agriculture: 28%
  • Industry: 20%
  • Services: 52%

Labor force by occupation(1995):

  • Agriculture: 66%
  • Industry: 9%
  • Services: 25%

Agriculture products:

  • Coffee
  • Mangoes
  • Sugarcane
  • Rice
  • Corn
  • Sorghum
  • Wood

Industries:

  • Sugar refining
  • Flour milling
  • Textiles
  • Cement
  • Light assembly based on imported parts

Exports: $491 million f.o.b. (2008 est.)

Export Commodities

  • Apparel
  • Manufactures
  • Oils
  • Cocoa
  • Mangoes
  • Coffee

Main Export Partners(2007):

Imports:$2.095 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

Import commodities:

  • Food
  • Manufactured goods
  • Machinery and transport equipment
  • Fuels
  • Raw materials

Import partners(2007):

  • US 41.2%
  • Netherlands Antilles 14.9%
  • China 4.7%
  • Brazil 4.4%

Ports and Terminal:Cap-Haitien

Unemployment rate:Widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs (2002 est.)

GOVERNMENT

Government Type:Republic

Executive Branch:

Chief of state: President Rene PREVAL (since 14 May 2006)
Head of government: Prime Minister Michele PIERRE-LOUIS (since 5 September 2008)
Cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (may not serve consecutive terms); election last held 7 February 2006 (next to be held in 2011); prime minister appointed by the president, ratified by the National Assembly

Legal system:Based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

GEOGRAPHY

Climate:Tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds

Terrain:Mostly rough and mountainous

Elevation Extremes:

  • Lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  • Highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m

Natural resources:

  • Bauxite
  • Copper
  • Calcium carbonate
  • Gold
  • Marble
  • Hydropower

Environment and international agreement:

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

Environment and 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

PEOPLE

Ethnic groups:

  • Black 95%
  • Mulatto and white 5%

Languages:

  • French (official)
  • Creole (official)

Religion:

  • 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

HISTORY

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, and 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 its 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.

 Source: The world factbook www.cia.gov

See also:

Haiti Trade Agreements

Embassies and Consulates in Haiti