Haiti

republicIndependence 1 January 1804 (from France)

Haiti as the 1992 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 75 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalPort-au-Prince
Area27,750 km2
1992

Every edition of Haiti

Populationas each edition published it
6.43 million July 1992 · 6.14m in 1990
Population growth% a year
Not in this edition 1.68% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 17.9 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
Not in this edition 45.45 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
6.2 children per woman 1992 · 6.4 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
104 deaths per 1,000 live births 1992 · 107 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
Not in this edition $340 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
Not in this edition -4% in 1993

Geography

13 fields
Total area
27,750km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
Coastline
1,771km
Contiguous zone: 24 nmContinental shelf: to depth of exploitationExclusive economic zone: 200 nmTerritorial sea: 12 nm
Land boundaries
275km
Dominican Republic 275 km

Land area

27,560 km2

Disputes

claims US-administered Navassa Island

Climate

tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds

Terrain

mostly rough and mountainous

Land use

  • arable land 20%;
  • permanent crops 13%;
  • meadows and pastures 18%;
  • forest and woodland 4%;
  • other 45%;
  • includes irrigated 3%

Environment

  • lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October;
  • occasional flooding and earthquakes;
  • deforestation;
  • soil erosion

Note

shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic

People

14 fields
Population
6,431,977
(July 1992), growth rate 2.3% (1992)

Per 1,000 population(1992)

Birth
42Death
15Net migration
-5
Literacy
53%
(male 59%, female 47%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Infant mortality rate

104 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Life expectancy at birth

53 years male, 55 years female (1992)

Total fertility rate

6.2 children born/woman (1992)

Nationality

noun - Haitian(s); adjective - Haitian

Ethnic divisions

black 95%, mulatto and European 5%

Religions

Roman Catholic is the official religion; 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 (official) spoken by only 10% of population; all speak Creole

Labor force

  • 2,300,000;
  • agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9%;
  • shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1982)

Government

Republic

21 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

67.5%
Rev. Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE 67.5%Marc BAZIN 14.2%Louis DEJOIE 4.9%

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, suspended June 1988, most articles reinstated March 1989;
  • October 1991, government claims to be observing the Constitution

National holiday

Independence Day, 1 January (1804)

Executive branch

president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch

bicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale) consisting of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or Chamber of Deputies

Judicial branch

Court of Appeal (Cour de Cassation)

Leaders

Chief of State:
  • President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE (since 7 February 1991), ousted in a coup in September 1991, but still recognized by international community as Chief of State;
  • President Joseph NERETTE installed by military on 7 October 1991
Head of Government:
de facto Prime Minister Marc BAZIN (since June 1992)

Political parties and leaders

  • National Front for Change and Democracy (FNCD) led by Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE, including Congress of Democratic Movements (CONACOM), Victor BENOIT;
  • National Konbite Movement (MKN), Volvick Remy JOSEPH;
  • National Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ANDP), a coalition - that broke up following elections - consisting of Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti (MIDH), Marc BAZIN;
  • National Progressive Revolutionary Party (PANPRA), Serge GILLES;
  • and National Patriotic Movement of November 28 (MNP-28), Dejean BELIZAIRE;
  • National Agricultural and Industrial Party (PAIN), Louis DEJOIE;
  • Movement for National Reconstruction (MRN), Rene THEODORE;
  • Haitian Christian Democratic Party (PDCH), Joseph DOUZE;
  • Assembly of Progressive National Democrats (RDNP), Leslie MANIGAT;
  • National Party of Labor (PNT), Thomas DESULME;
  • Mobilization for National Development (MDN), Hubert DE RONCERAY;
  • Democratic Movement for the Liberation of Haiti (MODELH), Francois LATORTUE;
  • Haitian Social Christian Party (PSCH), Gregoire EUGENE;
  • Movement for the Organization of the Country (MOP), Gesner COMEAU

Suffrage

universal at age 18

Elections

Chamber of Deputies:
  • last held 16 December 1990, with runoff held 20 January 1991 (next to be held by December 1994);
  • results - percent of vote NA;
  • seats - (83 total) FNCD 27, ANDP 17, PDCH 7, PAIN 6, RDNP 6, MDN 5, PNT 3, MKN 2, MODELH 2, MRN 1, independents 5, other 2
President:
last held 16 December 1990 (next election to be held by December 1995); results - Rev. Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE 67.5%, Marc BAZIN 14.2%, Louis DEJOIE 4.9%

Elections

Senate:
  • last held 16 December 1990, with runoff held 20 January 1991 (next to be held December 1992);
  • results - percent of vote NA;
  • seats - (27 total) FNCD 13, ANDP 6, PAIN 2, MRN 2, PDCH 1, RDNP 1, PNT 1, independent 1

Communists

United Party of Haitian Communists (PUCH), Rene THEODORE (roughly 2,000 members)

Other political or pressure groups

Democratic Unity Confederation (KID), Roman Catholic Church, Confederation of Haitian Workers (CTH), Federation of Workers Trade Unions (FOS), Autonomous Haitian Workers (CATH), National Popular Assembly (APN)

Member of

ACCT, CARICOM (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LAES, LORCS, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation

  • Ambassador Jean CASIMIR;
  • 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 Alvin P. ADAMS, Jr.; Embassy at Harry Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince (mailing address is P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince), telephone [509] 22-0354 or 22-0368, 22-0200, 22-0612

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

About 75% of the population live in abject poverty.

17 fields
External debt
$838million
(December 1990)

Budget

Revenues
$300 millionExpenditures
$416 million
expenditures, including capital expenditures of $145 million (1990 est.)

Overview

About 75% of the population live in abject poverty. Agriculture is mainly small-scale subsistence farming and employs nearly three-fourths of the work force. The majority of the population does 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 one of the most critical problems facing the economy, along with soil erosion and political instability. Trade sanctions applied by the Organization of American States in response to the September 1991 coup against President Aristide have further damaged the economy.

GDP

exchange rate conversion - $2.7 billion, per capita $440; real growth rate - 3.0% (1990 est.)

Unemployment rate

25-50% (1990 est.)

Exports

$169 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.)

commodities:
light manufactures 65%, coffee 19%, other agriculture 8%, other 8%
partners:
US 84%, Italy 4%, France 3%, other industrial countries 6%, less developed countries 3% (1987)

Imports

$348 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.)

commodities:
machines and manufactures 34%, food and beverages 22%, petroleum products 14%, chemicals 10%, fats and oils 9%
partners:
US 64%, Netherlands Antilles 5%, Japan 5%, France 4%, Canada 3%, Germany 3% (1987)

Industrial production

growth rate 0.3% (FY88); accounts for 15% of GDP

Electricity

217,000 kW capacity; 468 million kWh produced, 74 kWh per capita (1991)

Industries

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

Agriculture

  • accounts for 28% of GDP and employs 74% of work force;
  • mostly small-scale subsistence farms;
  • commercial crops - coffee, mangoes, sugarcane and wood;
  • staple crops - rice, corn, sorghum;
  • shortage of wheat flour

Illicit drugs

transshipment point for cocaine

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (1970-89), $700 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $770 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

7 fields

Airports, 13 total, 10 usable

permanent-surface runways
3runways | over 3,659 m
nonerunways 2,440-3,659 m
1runways 1,220-2,439 m
3

Networkskm

Highways
4,000Railroads
40
Highways: ; 950 km paved, 900 km otherwise improved, 2,150 km unimproved · Railroads: , single-track, privately owned industrial line

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

12 major transport aircraft

Telecommunications

  • domestic facilities barely adequate, international facilities slightly better;
  • 36,000 telephones;
  • broadcast stations - 33 AM, no FM, 4 TV, 2 shortwave;
  • 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Defense Forces

Army (including Police), Navy, Air Force

3 fields

Branches

Army (including Police), Navy, Air Force

Manpower availability

  • males 15-49, 1,313,044;
  • 706,221 fit for military service;
  • 59,060 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $34 million, 1.5% of GDP (1988 est.)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Haiti.” The World Factbook 1992. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/haiti/1992.

How to cite ← 1991 edition 1993 edition →