Haiti 



Facts
Population:
6,964,549
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 2001 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years:
40.31% (male 1,421,945; female 1,385,580)
15-64 years:
55.52% (male 1,869,323; female 1,997,246)
65 years and over:
4.17% (male 140,556; female 149,899) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.4% (2001 est.)
Birth rate:
31.68 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate:
15 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate:
-2.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.94 male(s)/female
total population:
0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
95.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
49.38 years
male:
47.67 years
female:
51.17 years (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate:
4.4 children born/woman (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
5.17% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
210,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
23,000 (1999 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Haitian(s)
adjective:
Haitian
Ethnic groups:
black 95%, mulatto and white 5%
Religions:
Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (1982)
note:
roughly one-half of the population also practices Voodoo
Languages:
French (official), Creole (official)
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population:
45%
male:
48%
female:
42.2% (1995 est.)
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $12.7 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
1.2% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture:
32%
industry:
20%
services:
48% (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line:
80% (1998 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%:
NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
19% (2000 est.)
Labor force:
3.6 million (1995)
note:
shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1998)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9%
Unemployment rate:
widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs (1999)
Budget:
revenues:
$317 million
expenditures:
$362 million, including capital expenditures of $84 million (FY99/00 est.)
Industries:
sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, tourism, light assembly industries based on imported parts
Industrial production growth rate:
0.6% (1997 est.)
Electricity - production:
672 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel:
52.83%
hydro:
47.17%
nuclear:
0%
other:
0% (1999)
Electricity - consumption:
625 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (1999)
Agriculture - products:
coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood
Exports:
$186 million (f.o.b., 1999)
Exports - commodities:
manufactures, coffee, oils, mangoes
Exports - partners:
US 89%, EU 8% (1999)
Imports:
$1.2 billion (c.i.f., 1999)
Imports - commodities:
food, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials
Imports - partners:
US 60%, EU 13% (1999)
Debt - external:
$1 billion (1998 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$730.6 million (1995)
Currency:
gourde (HTG)
Currency code:
HTG
Exchange rates:
gourdes per US dollar - 23.761 (January 2001), 22.524 (2000), 17.965 (1999), 16.505 (1998), 17.311 (1997), 15.093 (1996)
Fiscal year:
1 October - 30 September
Statistics: CIA World Factbook.
Press
Haïti Observateur
(Conservative weekly), Port-au-Prince
(Independent weekly), Port-au-Prince
http://www.haiti-progres.com/
Haiti in the News
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Displaying 1 to 4 of 15 items.
Haiti's geopolitical position—especially its close proximity to the United States and level of dependence on foreign aid—highlights the contradictions and flaws in the system of international aid.
There is very little discussion in Brazil about the country's role in the occupation of Haiti, and especially, about the accusations leveled against the United Nations troops.
The 2006 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award was recently awarded to Sonia Pierre.
Say "the return" when discussing Haiti, and people who follow events in the country know you are talking about the return of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from his exile in South Africa.