The World Factbook (1990)/Haiti
Haiti
See regional map III
Geography
Total area: 27,750 km²; land area: 27,560
km²
Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundary: 275 km with the Dominican Republic
Coastline: 1,771 km
Maritime claims:
- Contiguous zone: 24 nm
- Continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
- Extended economic zone: 200 nm
- Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: claims US-administered Navassa Island
Climate: tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds
Terrain: mostly rough and mountainous
Natural resources: bauxite
Land use: 20% arable land; 13% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures; 4% forest and woodland; 45% other; includes 3% irrigated
Environment: lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; deforestation
Note: shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic
People
Population: 6,142,141 (July 1990), growth
rate 2.3% (1990)
Birth rate: 45 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 16 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: -6 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 107 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 52 years male, 55 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 6.4 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Haitian(s); adjective—Haitian
Ethnic divisions: 95% black, 5% mulatto and European
Religion: 75-80% Roman Catholic (of which an overwhelming majority also practice Voodoo), 10% Protestant
Language: French (official) spoken by only 10% of population; all speak Creole
Literacy: 23%
Labor force: 2,300,000; 66% agriculture, 25% services, 9% industry; shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1982)
Organized labor: NA
Government
Long-form name: Republic of Haiti
Type: republic
Capital: Port-au-Prince
Administrative divisions: 9 departments, (départements, singular—département); Artibonite, Centre, Grand'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Quest, 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
Legal system: based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 January (1804)
Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) consisted of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives, but was dissolved on 20 June 1988 after the coup of 19 June 1988 (there was a subsequent coup on 18 September 1988); after naming a civilian as provisional president on 13 March 1990, it was announced that a Council of State was being formed
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal (Cour de Cassation)
Leaders: Chief of State and Head of Government—Provisional President Ertha PASCAL-TROUILLOT (since 13 March 1990)
Political parties and leaders: Haitian Christian Democratic Party (PDCH), Sylvio Claude; Haitian Social Christian Party (PSCH), Grégoire Eugéne; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti (MIDH), Marc Bazin; National Alliance Front (FNC), Gerard Gourgue; National Agricultural and Industrial Party (PAIN), Louis Dejoie; Congress of Democratic Movements (CONACOM), Victor Bono; National Progressive Revolutionary Party (PANPRA), Serge Gilles; National Patriotic Movement of November 28 (MNP-28), Dejean Belizaire; Movement for the Organization of the Country (MOP), Gesner Comeau; Mobilization for National Development (MDN), Hubert De Ronceray
Suffrage: none
Elections: President—last held 17 January 1988 (next to be held by mid-June 1990); on 13 March 1990 Ertha Pascal-Trouillot became provisional president after the resignation of President Lieut. Gen. Prosper Avril;
Legislature—last held 17 January 1988, but dissolved on 20 June 1988; the government has promised an election by mid-June 1990
Communists: United Party of Haitian Communists (PUCH), René Théodore (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: CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB—Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IRC, ITU, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador (vacant), Chargé d'Affaires Fritz VOUGY; 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 ADAMS; Embassy at Harry Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince (mailing address is P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince), telephone [509](1) 20354 or 20368, 20200, 20612
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
Overview: About 85% of the population
live in absolute poverty. Agriculture is
mainly small-scale subsistence farming
and employs 65% 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
the most critical problem facing the
economy.
GDP: $2.4 billion, per capita $380; real growth rate 0.3% (1988 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.8% (1988)
Unemployment rate: 50% (1988 est.)
Budget: revenues $252 million; expenditures $357 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (1988)
Exports: $200 million (f.o.b., FY88); commodities—light manufactures 65%, coffee 17%, other agriculture 8%, other products 10%; partners—US 77%, France 5%, Italy 4%, FRG 3%, other industrial 9%, less developed countries 2% (FY86)
Imports: $344 million (c.i.f., FY88); commodities—machines and manufactures 36%, food and beverages 21%, petroleum products 11%, fats and oils 12%, chemicals 12%; partners—US 65%, Netherlands Antilles 6%, Japan 5%, France 4%, Canada 2%, Asia 2% (FY86)
External debt: $820 million (December 1988)
Industrial production: growth rate -2% (FY87)
Electricity: 230,000 kW capacity; 482 million kWh produced, 75 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: sugar refining, textiles, flour milling, cement manufacturing, bauxite mining, tourism, light assembly industries based on imported parts
Agriculture: accounts for 32% of GDP and employs 65% of work force; mostly small-scale subsistence farms; commercial crops—coffee and sugarcane; staple crops—rice, corn, sorghum, mangoes; shortage of wheat flour
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $638 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $627 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
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: 4 major transport aircraft
Airports: 15 total, 10 usable; 3 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: domestic facilities barely adequate, international facilities slightly better; 36,000 telephones; stations—33 AM, no FM, 4 TV, 2 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean earth station
Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Corps
Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,264,238; 679,209 fit for military service; 59,655 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: NA