Facts and Figures *

Location:
Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea
and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic
Area:
27,750 sq km (10,714 sq mi); slightly smaller than the state of Maryland
Population:
9,719,932 (July 2011 est.)
Major Cities:
Port-au-Prince, (capital) pop. 2.143 million (2010)
Border Countries:
Dominican Republic, 360 km (224 mi); closest islands are Cuba (northwest) and
Jamaica (southwest)
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
Climate:
tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds
EnvironmentCurrent 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
Life Expectancy at Birth:
62.17 years
Sex Ratio:
0.98 male(s)/female (2011 est.)
HIV/AIDS (People Living With):
120,000 (2009 est.)

Information in this section comes from the following source unless otherwise indicated: Central Intelligence
Agency, Haiti, in The World Factbook, 5 July 2011, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/geos/ha.html

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%;note: roughly half the population practice Vodou
Languages:
French (official), Creole (official)
Literacy:
52.9%
Country Name:
Conventional long form: Republic of Haiti
Conventional short form: Haiti
Local long form: Republique dHaiti/Repiblik dAyiti
Local short form: Haiti/Ayiti
Nationality:
Noun: Haitian(s)
Adjective: Haitian
Government Type:
Republic
Capital:
Port-au-Prince
Administrative Divisions:
10 departments (departements, singulardepartement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand'Anse,
Nippes, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est
Independence:
1 January 1804 (from France)
National Holiday:
Independence Day, 1 January (1804)
National Anthem:
La Dessalinienne (The Dessalines Song)
Constitution:
approved March 1987 ; note: 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
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technically in force between 20042006, was not enforced; returned to constitutional

rule in May 2006
Legal System:
civil law system strongly influenced by Napoleonic Code
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive Government:
Chief of state: president
Head of government: prime minister
Cabinet: chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a 5-year term (may not serve
consecutive terms)
Legislative Branch: National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale) consists of:
Senate: 30 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve 6-year terms; one-third
elected every 2 years
Chamber of deputies: 99 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve 4-year
terms;note: in reestablishing the Senate in 2006, the candidate in each department
who receives the most votes in the last election serves 6 years, the candidate with the
second-most votes serves 4 years, and the candidate with the third-most votes serves 2
years.
Judicial Branch:
Supreme Court (Cour de Cassation)
International Organization Participation:
(ACP), Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), Caribbean Community (CARICOM),
Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),
Group of 77 (G-77), Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(IBRD), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), International Red Cross
and Red Crescent Movement (ICRM), International Development Association (IDA),
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Financial
Corporation (IFC), International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
(IFRCS), International Labor Organization (ILO), International Monetary Fund (IMF),
International Maritime Organization (IMO), International Criminal Police
Organization (INTERPOL), International Olympic Committee (IOC), International
Organization for Migration (IOM), International Telecommunications Satellite
Organization (ITSO), International Telecommunications Union (ITU), International
Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Latin America Economic System (LAES),
Multilateral Investment Geographic Agency (MIGA), Nonaligned Movement (NAM),
Organization of American States (OAS), (OIF), Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear
Weapons in Latin America (OPANAL), Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons (OPCW), PCA, PetroCaribe, RG, United Nations (UN), United Nations
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Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Educational,

Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Industrial
Development Organization (UNIDO), Union Latina (UL), United Nations World
Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Universal Postal Union (UPU), World Customs
Organization (WCO), World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), World Health
Organization (WHO), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), World
Meteorological Organization (WMO), World Trade Organization (WTO)
note: The UN has had an ongoing peacekeeping presence on the island since 1991. For more
information about the UNs mission in Haiti, see
www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/minustah/index.shtml.
Economy:
free market
GDPOfficial Exchange Rate:
National: USD 6.632 billion (2010 est.)
Per capita: USD 1,200 (2010 est.)
GDPReal Growth Rate:
-5.1% (2010 est.)
GDPComposition by Sector:
Agriculture: 25%
Industry: 16%
Services: 59% (2010 est.)
Agricultural Products:
coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum, wood
Industries:
textiles, sugar-refining, flour-milling, cement, light assembly based on imported parts

Unemployment Rate:
40.6% (2010 est.);note: widespread unemployment and underemployment; more
than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs
Telephones:
108,300 (2009) landlines; 3.648 million (2009) cellular;note: telecommunications
infrastructure is among the least developed in Latin America and the Caribbean;
mobile-cellular telephone services are expanding rapidly due, in part, to the
introduction of low-cost GSM phones

Broadcast Media:
several television stations, including 1 government-owned; cable TV subscription
service is available; government-owned radio network; more than 250 private and
community radio stations operating with about 50 FM stations in Port-au-Prince alone
(2007)
Internet Users:
1 million (2009)
Airports:
14
Airports with Paved Runways:
Total: 4
2,4383,047 m (1.511.89 mi): 1
9141,523 m (0.570.95 mi): 3 (2010)
Airports with Unpaved Runways:
Total: 10
9141,523 m (0.570.95 mi): 2
under 914 m (0.57 mi): 8 (2010)

Roads:
Total: 4,160 km (2,585 mi)
Paved: 1,011 km (628 mi)
Unpaved: 3,149 km (1,957 mi)

Ports and Terminals:

Cap-Hatien, Gonaves, Jacmel, Port-au-Prince
Military Branches:
no regular military forces; small Coast Guard; the regular Haitian Armed Forces
(FAdH)Army, Navy, and Air Forcehave been demobilized but still exist on paper
until or unless they are constitutionally abolished (2009)
Military Service Age and Obligation:
NA
International Disputes:
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 cross into the Dominican Republic and sail to neighboring countries; Haiti
claims U.S.-administered Navassa Island.

Refugees and Displaced Persons:

Nearly 1.5 million Haitians were left homeless by the earthquake of 2010; as of 2011,
an estimated 680,000 still live in displacement camps, mostly in Port-au-Prince.
Trafficking:
Caribbean transshipment point for cocaine en route to the United States and Europe;
substantial bulk cash smuggling activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Haiti
for illicit financial transactions; pervasive corruption; significant consumer of
cannabis

Camp Coordination and Camp Management Cluster in Haiti (CCCM Cluster), Displacement Tracking Matrix
V2.0 Update, 16 March 2011,
http://www.cccmhaiti.info/pdf/DTM_V2_Report_15_Mar_English%20_FINAL3.pdf