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Haiti
Background :
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.
Location :
Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic
Geographic Coordinates Center :
19 00 N, 72 25 W (Latitude, Longtitude)
Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :
| West | -74.48 |
| North | 20.09 |
| East | -71.61 |
| South | 18.02 |
Map references :
America
Area :
| total | 27 750 | square km |
| land | 27 560 | square km |
| water | 190 | square km |
Land boundaries :
| total | 360 | km |
| Dominican Republic (do) | 360 | km |
Coastline :
1771.00 km
Climate :
tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds
Terrain :
mostly rough and mountainous
Elevation extremes :
| lowest point | 0 | metres |
| highest point | 2 680 | metres |
Natural resources :
| bauxite | calcium carbonate |
| copper | gold |
| hydropower | marble |
Land use :
| arable land | 28.11 | % |
| permanent crops | 11.53 | % |
| other | 60.36 | % |
Irrigated land :
920 square km
Total renewable water resources :
14 cubic km
Natural hazards :
| earthquakes | flooding |
| periodic droughts | torms |
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
international agreements :
| Biodiversity | Climate Change |
| Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol | Desertification |
| Hazardous Wastes | Law of the Sea |
| Marine Dumping | Marine Life Conservation |
| Ozone Layer Protection |
Population :
9 035 536
Indicators :
| Growth rate | 1.84 | % |
| Birth rate | 29.10 | births/1,000 population |
| Total fertility rate | 3.81 | children born/woman |
| Death rate | 8.65 | deaths/1,000 population |
| Net migration rate | -2.07 | migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Age structure :
| 0-14 years | 38.10 | % |
| 15-64 years | 58.50 | % |
| 65 years and over | 3.40 | % |
Median age :
| total | 20.20 | years |
| male | 19.80 | years |
| female | 20.70 | years |
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 |
Health :
| Infant mortality rate | 59.69 | deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life expectancy at birth - total population | 60.78 | years |
| Life expectancy at birth - male | 59.13 | years |
| Life expectancy at birth - female | 62.48 | years |
| HIV-AIDS adult prevalence rate | 2.20 | % |
| HIV-AIDS people living with HIV-AIDS | 120 000 | |
| HIV-AIDS deaths | 7 200 |
Religions :
| Roman Catholic | 80.00 | % |
| Protestant | 16.00 | % |
| none | 1.00 | % |
| other | 3.00 | % |
Languages :
| French | |
| Creole |
Literacy :
| total population | 52.90 | % |
| male | 54.80 | % |
| female | 51.20 | % |
Country name :
| conventional long form | Republic of Haiti |
| conventional short form | Haiti |
| local long form | Republique d'Haiti/Repiblik d' Ayiti |
| local short form | Haiti/Ayiti |
Country Codes :
| ISO 3166 | HT |
| ISO Numeric | 332 |
| ISO3 | HTI |
| FIPS | HA |
| ccTLD | ht |
| English | Haiti |
Administrative divisions :
10 departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand 'Anse, Nippes, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est
Capital :
| name | Port-au-Prince |
| geographic coordinates | 18 32 N, 72 20 W |
| time difference | -5.00 |
| daylight saving time | 1 |
International organization participation :
| ACP | AOSIS |
| CDB | Caricom |
| FAO | G-77 |
| IADB | IAEA |
| IBRD | ICAO |
| ICCt (signatory) | ICRM |
| IDA | IFAD |
| IFC | IFRCS |
| ILO | IMF |
| IMO | IOC |
| IOM | ITSO |
| ITU | ITUC |
| Interpol | LAES |
| MIGA | NAM |
| OAS | OIF |
| OPANAL | OPCW |
| PCA | PetroCaribe |
| RG | UN |
| UNCTAD | UNESCO |
| UNIDO | UNWTO |
| UPU | Union Latina |
| WCO | WFTU |
| WHO | WIPO |
| WMO | WTO |
Independence :
1804-01-01
National holiday :
Independence Day
1804-01-01
Executive branch :
| President Rene PREVAL | Prime Minister Jean-Max BELLERIVE |
GDP - Gross Domestic product :
| PPP - Purchasing Power Parity | 11 610 000 000 | $ |
| Official Exchange Rate | 6 908 000 000 | |
| RGR - Real Growth rate | -0.50 | % |
| PPP - per capita | 1 300 | $ |
GDP Composition by sector :
| agriculture | 28.00 | % |
| industry | 20.00 | % |
| services | 52.00 | % |
Labor force - by occupation :
| agriculture | 66.00 | % |
| industry | 9.00 | % |
| services | 25.00 | % |
Other Indicators :
| Labor force | 3 643 000 | people |
| Population below poverty line | 80.00 | % |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index | 59.20 | |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.40 | % |
| Investment (gross fixed) | 28.90 | % of GDP |
| Current account balance | - 566 000 000 | $ |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | 734 000 000 | $ |
| Debt external | 428 000 000 | $ |
| Military expenditures | 0.40 | % of GDP |
Household income or consumption by percentage share :
| lowest 10% | 0.70 | % |
| highest 10% | 47.70 | % |
Budget :
| revenues | 960 600 000 | $ |
| expenditures | 1 186 000 000 | $ |
Agriculture - products :
| coffee | corn |
| mangoes | rice |
| sorghum | sugarcane |
| wood |
Industries :
| cement | flour milling |
| light assembly based on imported parts | sugar refining |
| textiles |
Energy :
| Electricity Production | 448 000 000 | kWh |
| Electricity Consumption | 273 000 000 | kWh |
| Oil Consumption | 12 000 | bbl/day |
| Oil Imports | 12 280 | bbl/day |
Value :
524 000 000 $
Partners :
| United States (us) | 70.00 | % |
| Dominican Republic (do) | 8.80 | % |
| Canada (ca) | 3.00 | % |
Commodities :
| apparel | cocoa |
| coffee | mangoes |
| manufactures | oil |
Value :
2 023 000 000 $
Partners :
| United States (us) | 34.20 | % |
| Dominican Republic (do) | 23.30 | % |
| Netherlands Antilles (an) | 10.60 | % |
| China (cn) | 4.50 | % |
Commodities :
| food | fuels |
| machinery and transportation equipment | manufactured products |
| raw materials |
Currency-code :
HTG
Currency-name :
gourde
Communications :
| Telephons Main lines in use | 108 000 | |
| Telephons Mobile, Cellular | 3 200 000 | |
| FM Radio broadcast stations | 26 | |
| Television broadcast stations | 2 | |
| Internet Country code (ccTLD) | ht | |
| Internet Hosts | 9 | |
| Internet Users | 1 000 000 |
Transportation :
| Airports with paved runways | 4 | |
| Roadways - total | 4 160 | km |
| Roadways - paved | 1 011 | km |
| Roadways - unpaved | 3 149 | km |
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