Country Fast Facts: Haiti

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 departure 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: CIA World Fact Book

Population:
9,035,536
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 2009 est.)

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Age structure:
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) (2009 est.)

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Median age:
total: 20.2 years
male: 19.8 years
female: 20.7 years (2009 est.)

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Population growth rate:
1.838% (2009 est.)

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Birth rate:
29.1 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)

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Death rate:
8.65 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)

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Net migration rate:
-2.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)

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Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.64 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

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Infant mortality rate:
total: 59.69 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 37
male: 66.18 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 53.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 60.78 years
country comparison to the world: 181
male: 59.13 years
female: 62.48 years (2009 est.)

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Total fertility rate:
3.81 children born/woman (2009 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
2.2% (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
120,000 (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
7,200 (2007 est.)

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Nationality:
noun: Haitian(s)
adjective: Haitian

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Ethnic groups:
black 95%, mulatto and white 5%

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Religions:
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

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Languages:
French (official), Creole (official)

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

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with 80% of the population living under the poverty line and 54% in abject poverty. 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. While the economy has recovered in recent years, registering positive growth since 2005, four tropical storms in 2008 severely damaged the transportation infrastructure and agricultural sector. 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. HOPE II, passed in October 2008, has further improved the export environment for the apparel sector by extending preferences to 2018; the apparel sector accounts for two-thirds 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 high inflation, 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 is expected to receive debt forgiveness for about $525 million of its debt through the Highly-Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative by mid-2009. The government relies on formal international economic assistance for fiscal sustainability.

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GDP (purchasing power parity):
$11.53 billion (2008 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate):
$6.943 billion (2008 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate:
1.3% (2008 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,300 (2008 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 28%
industry: 20%
services: 52% (2004 est.)

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Labor force:
3.643 million
note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (2007)

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Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 66%
industry: 9%
services: 25% (1995)

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Unemployment rate: N/A%
widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs

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Population below poverty line:
80% (2003 est.)

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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
15.5% (2008 est.)

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Investment (gross fixed):
27.4% of GDP (2004 est.)

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Budget:
revenues: $967.5 million
expenditures: $1.162 billion (2008 est.)

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Agriculture - products:
coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood

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

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Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

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Electricity - production:
536.2 million kWh (2004)

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Electricity - consumption:
498.6 million kWh (2004)

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Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2004)

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Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2004)

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Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - consumption:
11,600 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

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Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

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Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl

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Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2008 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2008 est.)

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Current account balance:
-$611 million (2008 est.)

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Exports:
$490 million (2008 est.)

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Exports - commodities:
apparel, manufactures, oils, cocoa, mangoes, coffee

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Exports - partners:
US 70.7%, Dominican Republic 8.9%, Canada 3.1% (2008)

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Imports:
$2.107 billion (2008 est.)

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Imports - commodities:
food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials

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Imports - partners:
US 34%, Dominican Republic 23.1%, Netherlands Antilles 10.6%, China 4.5% (2008)

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$708 million (31 December 2008 est.)

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Debt - external:
$1.817 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

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Economic aid - recipient:
$153 million (FY05 est.)

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Currency (code):
gourde (HTG)

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Exchange rates:
gourdes (HTG) per US dollar - 39.216 (2008 est.), 37.138 (2007), 40.232 (2006), 40.449 (2005), 38.352 (2004)

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Fiscal year:
1 October - 30 September