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$Unique_ID{COW01560}
$Pretitle{364}
$Title{Haiti
Statistical Profile of Haiti}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Central Intelligence Agency}
$Affiliation{United States Government}
$Subject{rate
million
km
population
fy87
haiti
haitian
}
$Date{1990}
$Log{National Anthem*60000010.aud
Map of Haiti*0156001.scf
Flag of Haiti*0156002.scf
}
Country: Haiti
Book: CIA World Factbook
Author: Central Intelligence Agency
Affiliation: United States Government
Date: 1990
[Hear National Anthem]
[See Map of Haiti]
[See Flag of Haiti]
Statistical Profile of Haiti
Geography
Total area: 27,750 km2; land area: 27,560 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundary: 275 km with the Dominican Republic
Coastline: 1,771 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
Extended 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: 20% arable land; 13% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures;
4% forest and woodland; 45% other; includes 3% irrigated
Environment: lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to
severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes;
deforestation
Note: shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic
People
Population: 6,322,198 (July 1989), growth rate 1.4% (1989)
Birth rate: 31 births/1,000 population (1989)
Death rate: 12 deaths/1,000 population (1989)
Net migration rate: - 5 migrants/1,000 population (1989)
Infant mortality rate: 92 deaths/1,000 live births (1989)
Life expectancy at birth: 55 years male, 56 years female (1989)
Total fertility rate: 4.2 children born/woman (1989)
Nationality: noun--Haitian(s); adjective--Haitian
Ethnic divisions: 95% black, 5% mulatto and European
Religion: 75-80% Roman Catholic (of which an overwhelming majority also
practice Voodoo), 10% Protestant
Language: French (official) spoken by only 10% of population; all speak
Creole
Literacy: 23%
Labor force: 2,300,000; 66% agriculture, 25% services, 9% industry;
shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1982)
Organized labor: NA
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
Legal system: based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 January (1804)
Branches: military-dominated government following the end of 29 years of
Duvalier family rule; executive and judiciary appointed by president
Leader:
Chief of State and Head of Government President Lt. Gen.
Prosper AVRIL (since 18 September 1988)
Suffrage: universal over age 18
Elections: last held January 1988; Lt. Gen. Prosper Avril installed
as President after a coup led by the Presidential Guard on 17 September 1988
Political parties and leaders: Haitian Christian Democratic Party (PDCH),
Sylvio Claude; Haitian Social Christian Party (PSCH), Gregoire Eugene;
Movement To Install Democracy in Haiti (MIDH), Marc Bazin; National Alliance
Front (FNC), Gerard Gourgue; National Agricultural and Industrial Party (PAIN),
Louis Dejoie
Communists: United Party of Haitian Communists (PUCH), Rene Theodore
(roughly 2,000 members)
Other political or pressure groups: Democratic Unity Confederation (KID),
Congress of Democratic Movements (CONACOM), Roman Catholic Church
Member of: CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA,
IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IRC, ITU, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Pierre Francois BENOIT;
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 Brunson MCKINLEY; Embassy at Harry Truman
Boulevard, Port-au-Prince (mailing address is P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince),
telephone [509] (1) 20354 or 20368, 20200, 20612
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)
Economy
Overview: About 85% of the population live in absolute poverty.
Agriculture is mainly small-scale subsistence farming and employs 65% of
the work force. The majority of the population do 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 the
most critical problem facing the economy.
GDP: $2.2 billion, per capita $360; real growth rate 0.5% (FY87 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): - 11.5% (1987)
Unemployment rate: 50-70% (1986 est.)
Budget: revenues $237 million; expenditures $402 million, including
capital expenditures of $149 million (FY87)
Exports: $201 million (f.o.b., FY87);
commodities--light manufactures 65%, coffee 17%, other agriculture 8%,
other products 10%;
partners--US 77%, France 5%, Italy 4%, FRG 3%, other industrial 9%,
less developed countries 2% (FY86)
Imports: $315 million (c.i.f., FY87);
commodities--machines and manufactures 36%, food and beverages 21%,
petroleum products 11%, fats and oils 12%, chemicals 12%;
partners--US 65%, Netherlands Antilles 6%, Japan 5%, France 4%, Canada 2%,
Asia 2% (FY86)
External debt: $820 million (December 1988)
Industrial production: growth rate - 2% (FY87)
Electricity: 230,000 kW capacity; 447 million kWh produced,
70 kWh per capita (1988)
Industries: sugar refining, textiles, flour milling, cement manufacturing,
bauxite mining, tourism, light assembly industries based on imported parts
Agriculture: cash crop--coffee; staple crops--corn, sorghum,
rice, sugarcane
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $598 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-86), $548 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
Communications
Railroads: 40 km 0.760-meter narrow gauge, single-track, privately owned
industrial line
Highways: 4,000 km total; 950 km paved, 900 km otherwise improved, 2,150
km unimproved
Inland waterways: negligible; less than 100 km navigable
Ports: Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haitien
Civil air: 4 major transport aircraft
Airports: 15 total, 11 usable; 3 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with
runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: domestic facilities barely adequate, international
facilities slightly better; 36,000 telephones; stations--33 AM, no FM, 4 TV,
2 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite station
Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Corps
Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,532,330; 825,087 fit for military
service; 68,605 reach military age (18) annually
Military budget: NA