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-Betrand 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.

Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic

19 00 N, 72 25 W

total: 27,750 sq km
land: 27,560 sq km
water: 190 sq km

slightly smaller than Maryland

total: 360 km
border countries: Dominican Republic 360 km

1,771 km

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: to depth of exploitation

tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds

mostly rough and mountainous

lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m

bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower

arable land: 28.11%
permanent crops: 11.53%
other: 60.36% (2005)

920 sq km (2003)

lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts

extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes

shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic)

8,308,504
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 2006 est.)

0-14 years: 42.4% (male 1,770,523/female 1,749,853)
15-64 years: 54.2% (male 2,201,957/female 2,301,886)
65 years and over: 3.4% (male 125,298/female 158,987) (2006 est.)

total: 18.2 years
male: 17.8 years
female: 18.6 years (2006 est.)

2.3% (2006 est.)

36.44 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

12.17 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

-1.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

total: 71.65 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 78.01 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 65.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

total population: 53.23 years
male: 51.89 years
female: 54.6 years (2006 est.)

4.94 children born/woman (2006 est.)

5.6% (2003 est.)

280,000 (2003 est.)

24,000 (2003 est.)

noun: Haitian(s)
adjective: Haitian

black 95%, mulatto and white 5%

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

French (official), Creole (official)

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

conventional long form: Republic of Haiti
conventional short form: Haiti
local long form: Republique d'Haiti/Repiblik d' Ayiti
local short form: Haiti/Ayiti

elected government

name: Port-au-Prince
geographic coordinates: 18 32 N, 72 20 W
time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in October

10 departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand 'Anse, Nippes, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est

1 January 1804 (from France)

Independence Day, 1 January (1804)

approved March 1987; suspended June 1988 with most articles reinstated March 1989; constitutional government ousted in a military coup in September 1991, although in October 1991, military government claimed to be observing the constitution; returned to constitutional rule in October 1994; constitution, while technically in force between 2004-2006, was not enforced; returned to constitutional rule in May 2006

based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

chief of state: President Rene PREVAL (since 14 May 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister Jacques-Edouard ALEXIS (since 30 May 2006)
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 2010); prime minister appointed by the president, ratified by the National Assembly
election results: Rene PREVAL elected president; percent of vote - Rene PREVAL 51%

bicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale consists of the Senate (30 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies (99 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); note - in reestablishing the Senate, the candidate in each department receiving the most votes in the last election serves six years, the candidate with the second most votes serves four years, and the candidate with the third most votes serves two years
elections: Senate - last held 21 April 2006, with run-off elections on 3 December 2006 (next regular election, for one third of seats, to be held in 2008); Chamber of Deputies - last held 21 April 2006, with run-off elections on 3 December 2006 (next regular election to be held in 2010)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - L'ESPWA 11, OPL 4, FL 3, FUSION 5, LAAA 2, UNCRH 2, ALYANS 1, PONT 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - L'ESPWA 21, FUSION 15, ALYANS 11, OPL 8, FL 6, UNCRH 6, MPH 4, RDNP 4, LAAA 4,KONBA 3, FRN 2, MOCHRENHA 1, MRN 1, Tet-Ansanm 1, MIRN 1, JPDN 1, UNITE 1, PLH 1; results for six other seats contested on 3 December 2006 remain unknown

Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation

Artibonite in Action or LAAA [Youri LATORTUE]; Assembly of Progressive National Democrats or RDNP [Leslie MANIGAT]; Convention for Democratic Unity or KID [Evans PAUL]; Cooperative Action to Build Haiti or KONBA [Evans LESCOUFALIR]; Democratic Alliance or ALYANS (coalition composed of KID and PPRH) [Evans PAUL]; Effort and Solidarity to Create an Alternative for the People or ESKAMP [Joseph JASME]; For Us All or PONT [Jean-Marie CHERESTAL]; Front for Hope or LESPWA (alliance of ESKAMP, PLB, and grass-roots organizations Grand-Anse Resistance Committee, the Central Plateau Peasants' Group, and Kombit Sudest) [Rene PREVAL]; Haitian Christian Democratic Party or PDCH [Osner FEVRY and Marie-Denise CLAUDE]; Haitian Democratic and Reform Movement or MODEREH [Dany TOUSSAINT and Pierre Soncon PRINCE]; Heads Together or Tet-Ansanm [Dr. Gerard BLOT]; Independent Movement for National Reconciliation or MIRN [Luc FLEURINORD]; Justice for Peace and National Development or JPDN [Rigaud DUPLAN]; Fanmi Lavalas or FL [Rudy HERIVEAUX]; Liberal Party of Haiti or PLH [Gehy MICHEL]; Merging of Haitian Social Democratic Parties or FUSION or FPSDH (coalition of Ayiti Capable, Haitian National Revolutionary Party, and National Congress of Democratic Movements) [Serge GILLES]; Mobilization for Haiti's Development or MPH [Samir MOURRA]; Mobilization for National Development or MDN [Hubert de RONCERAY]; Movement for National Reconstruction or MRN [Jean Henold BUTEAU]; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti or MIDH [Marc BAZIN]; National Christian Union for the Reconstruction of Haiti or UNCRH [Marie Claude GERMAIN]; National Front for the Reconstruction of Haiti or FRN [Guy PHILIPPE]; New Christian Movement for a New Haiti or MOCHRENA [Luc MESADIEU]; Open the Gate Party or PLB [Anes LUBIN]; Popular Party for the Renewal of Haiti or PPRH [Claude ROMAIN]; Struggling People's Organization or OPL [Edgard LEBLANC]; Union of Nationalist and Progressive Haitians or UNITE [Edouard FRANCISQUE]

Autonomous Organizations of Haitian Workers or CATH [Fignole ST-CYR]; Confederation of Haitian Workers or CTH; Federation of Workers Trade Unions or FOS; General Organization of Independent Haitian Workers [Patrick NUMAS]; Grand-Anse Resistance Committee, or KOREGA; National Popular Assembly or APN; Papaye Peasants Movement or MPP [Chavannes JEAN-BAPTISTE]; Popular Organizations Gathering Power or PROP; Roman Catholic Church; Protestant Federation of Haiti

ACCT, ACP, Caricom, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, ITUC, LAES, MIGA, OAS, OIF, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

chief of mission: Ambassador Raymond JOSEPH
chancery: 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 332-4090
FAX: [1] (202) 745-7215
consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, San Juan (Puerto Rico)

chief of mission: Ambassador Janet A. SANDERSON
embassy: 5 Harry S Truman Boulevard, Bicentenaire-Port-au-Prince
mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince
telephone: [509] 222-0200
FAX: [509] 223-9038

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 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 agriculture sector, mainly small-scale subsistence farming, and remain vulnerable to damage from frequent natural disasters, exacerbated by the country's widespread deforestation. A macroeconomic program developed in 2005 with the help of the International Monetary Fund helped the economy grow 1.8% in 2006, the highest growth rate since 1999. Haiti suffers from higher inflation than similar low-income countries, a lack of investment, and a severe trade deficit. In 2005, Haiti paid its arrears to the World Bank, paving the way for reengagement with the Bank. The government relies on formal international economic assistance for fiscal sustainability. In 2006, Haiti held a successful donors conference in which the total aid pledged exceeded Haiti's request. Remittances are the primary source of foreign exchange, equaling nearly a quarter of GDP.

$14.56 billion (2006 est.)

$5.947 billion (2006 est.)

1.8% (2006 est.)

$1,800 (2006 est.)

agriculture: 28%
industry: 20%
services: 52% (2004 est.)

3.6 million
note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1995)

agriculture: 66%
industry: 9%
services: 25%

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

80% (2003 est.)

lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

14.4% (2006 est.)

27.4% of GDP (2004 est.)

revenues: $385 million
expenditures: $807.7 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood

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

NA%

536.2 million kWh (2004)

498.6 million kWh (2004)

0 kWh (2004)

0 kWh (2004)

0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

11,600 bbl/day (2004 est.)

NA bbl/day (2001)

NA bbl/day (2001)

0 cu m (2004 est.)

0 cu m (2004 est.)

$-58.72 million (2006 est.)

$443.7 million f.o.b. (2006 est.)

manufactures, coffee, oils, cocoa, mangoes

US 80.9%, Dominican Republic 6.9%, Canada 4% (2005)

$1.721 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials

US 48.7%, Netherlands Antilles 11.9%, Brazil 3.3% (2005)

$123.4 million (2006 est.)

$1.309 billion (2006 est.)

$153 million (FY05 est.)

gourde (HTG)

gourdes per US dollar - 45.189 (2006), 40.449 (2005), 38.352 (2004), 42.367 (2003), 29.251 (2002)

1 October - 30 September

140,000 (2004)

400,000 (2004)

general assessment: domestic facilities barely adequate; international facilities slightly better
domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay trunk service
international: country code - 509; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

AM 41, FM 26, shortwave 0 (1999)

2 (plus a cable TV service) (1997)

.ht

6 (2006)

500,000 (2005)

12 (2006)

total: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2006)

total: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 7 (2006)

total: 4,160 km
paved: 1,011 km
unpaved: 3,149 km (1999)

Cap-Haitien

the regular Haitian Armed Forces (FAdH) - Army, Navy, and Air Force - have been demobilized but still exist on paper unless they are constitutionally abolished

18 years of age for voluntary recruitment into the police force (2001)

males age 18-49: 1,626,491
females age 18-49: 1,637,657 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49: 948,320
females age 18-49: 931,972 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49: 98,554
females age 18-49: 97,690 (2005 est.)

0.9% (2003 est.)

since 2004, about 8,000 peacekeepers from the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) maintain civil order in Haiti; despite efforts to control illegal migration, Haitians fleeing economic privation and civil unrest continue to cross into the Dominican Republic and sail to neighboring countries; Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island

Caribbean transshipment point for cocaine en route to the US and Europe; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Haiti for illicit financial transactions; pervasive corruption