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: 19 00 N, 72 25 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

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

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries:
total: 275 km
border countries : Dominican Republic 275 km

Coastline: 1,771 km

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

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

Land use:
arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 13%
permanent pastures : 18%
forests and woodland: 5%
other: 44% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 750 sq km (1993 est.)

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

Environment - current issues: extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and use as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water

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

Population: 6,611,407 (July 1997 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 43% (male 1,451,550; female 1,409,056)
15-64 years : 53% (male 1,668,670; female 1,811,957)
65 years and over: 4% (male 134,366; female 135,808) (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.39% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 33.12 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 15.25 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: -4.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years : 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.99 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 102.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 49.49 years
male : 47.45 years
female: 51.63 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.76 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Haitian(s)
adjective: Haitian

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

Religions: Roman Catholic 80% (of which an overwhelming majority also practice Voodoo), Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (1982)

Languages: French, Creole

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 45%
male: 48%
female: 42.2% (1995 est.)

Country name:
conventional long form : Republic of Haiti
conventional short form: Haiti
local long form: Republique d'Haiti
local short form: Haiti

Data code: HA

Government type: republic

National 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)

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 January (1804)

Constitution: approved March 1987, suspended June 1988, most articles reinstated March 1989; in October 1991, government claimed to be observing the constitution; return to constitutional rule, October 1994

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Rene Garcia PREVAL (since 7 February 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister
cabinet : Cabinet; chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 17 December 1995 (next to be held by December 2000); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Rene Garcia PREVAL elected president; percent of vote - Rene Garcia PREVAL 88%, Leon JEUNE 2.5%, Victor BENOIT 2.3%

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale consists of the Senate (27 seats; members serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies (83 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 25 June 1995 with reruns on 13 August and runoffs on 17 September (election held for nine seats 6 April 1997; runoffs to be held 25 May 1997 were postponed); Chamber of Deputies - last held 25 June 1995 with reruns on 13 August and runoffs on 17 September (next to be held NA 1999; byelections for two vacant seats were held 6 April 1997; runoffs to be held 25 May 1997 were postponed)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Lavalas Platform 17, FNDC 6, National Alliance for Democracy and Progress 2, RDNP 1, independent 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Lavalas Platform 67, FNCD 2, CONACOM 1, PANPRA 1, MRN 2, MKN 1, PROP 1, UPD 2, independents 4, vacant 2

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal (Cour de Cassation)

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, Caricom (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission : Ambassador Jean CASIMIR
chancery: 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 332-4090 through 4092
FAX: [1] (202) 745-7215
consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador William Lacy SWING
embassy : 5 Harry Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince
mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince
telephone: [509] 22-0354, 22-0368, 22-0200, 22-0612
FAX: [509] 23-1641

Flag description: 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 75% of the population lives in abject poverty. Nearly 70% of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, which consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming and employs about two-thirds of the economically active work force. The country has experienced little or no job creation since President PREVAL took office in February 1996. Failure to reach agreements with international sponsors have denied Haiti badly needed budget and development assistance. Meeting aid conditions in 1997 will be especially challenging in the face of mounting popular criticism of reforms.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $6.8 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 2% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,000 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 34.8%
industry: 23%
services: 42.2% (1991 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 18% (1996)

Labor force:
total: 2.3 million
by occupation: agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9%
note : shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1982)

Unemployment rate: 60% (1996 est.)

Budget:
revenues : $240 million (est.)
expenditures: $250 million including capital expenditures of $NA (FY94/95 est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate: 2.5% (1995 est.)

Electricity - capacity: 216,500 kW (1995)

Electricity - production: 379 million kWh (1995)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 33 kWh (1995 est.)

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

Exports:
total value: $123 million (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: light manufactures 65%, coffee 19%, other agriculture 8%, other 8%
partners: US 73.5%, EU 19.4% (1995)

Imports:
total value : $666 million (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: machines and manufactures 34%, food and beverages 22%, petroleum products 14%, chemicals 10%, fats and oils 9%
partners: US 65.0%, EU 13.9% (1995)

Debt - external: $827 million (September 1995 est.)

Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 gourde (G) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: gourdes (G) per US$1 (end of period) - 16.260 (January 1997), 15.093 (1996), 16.160 (1995), 12.947 (1994), 12.805 (1993), 10.953 (1992)

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September

Telephones: 50,000 (1990 est.)

Telephone system: domestic facilities barely adequate, international facilities slightly better
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 33, FM 0, shortwave 2

Radios: 320,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 4 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 32,000 (1992 est.)

Railways:
total: 40 km (single track; privately owned industrial line) - closed in early 1990's
narrow gauge : 40 km 0.760-m gauge

Highways:
total: 4,080 km
paved: 987 km
unpaved: 3,093 km (1995 est.)

Waterways: negligible; less than 100 km navigable

Ports and harbors: Cap-Haitien, Gonaives, Jacmel, Jeremie, Cayes, Miragoane, Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix, Saint-Marc

Merchant marine: none

Airports: 11 (1996 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 7
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 4 (1996 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 4 (1996 est.)

Military branches: Haitian National Police (PNH)
note: the regular Haitian Army, Navy, and Air Force have been demobilized but still exist on paper until/unless constitutionally abolished

Disputes - international: claims US-administered Navassa Island

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana en route to the US and Europe

The above information was made available by the U.S. Government.