The native Taino Amerindians - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by COLUMBUS in 1492 - were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola. In 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island, which later became Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean but only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'OUVERTURE. After a prolonged struggle, Haiti became the first black republic to declare independence in 1804. The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. After an armed rebellion led to the forced resignation and exile of President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE in February 2004, an interim government took office to organize new elections under the auspices of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Continued violence and technical delays prompted repeated postponements, but Haiti finally did inaugurate a democratically elected president and parliament in May of 2006. A massive magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010 with an epicenter about 15 km southwest of the capital, Port-au-Prince. An estimated 2 million people lived within the zone of heavy to moderate structural damage. The earthquake was assessed as the worst in this region over the last 200 years and massive international assistance will be required to help the country recover.

Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic

19 00 N, 72 25 W

Central America and the Caribbean

slightly smaller than Maryland

1,771 km

tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds

mostly rough and mountainous

bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower

920 sq km (2008)

14 cu km (2000)

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

extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water

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

9,719,932 (July 2011 est.)

0.787%

24.4 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)

8.21 deaths/1,000 population

-8.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)

PORT-AU-PRINCE (capital) 2.143 million (2010)

3.07 children born/woman (2011 est.)

1.9% (2009 est.)

120,000 (2009 est.)

7,100 (2009 est.)

urban: 71% of population

rural: 55% of population

total: 63% of population

urban: 29% of population

rural: 45% of population

total: 37% of population (2008)

urban: 24% of population

rural: 10% of population

total: 17% of population

urban: 76% of population

rural: 90% of population

total: 83% of population (2008)

black 95%, mulatto and white 5%

Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3%

French (official), Creole (official)

NA

NA

republic

10 departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand'Anse, Nippes, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est

1 January 1804 (from France)

Independence Day, 1 January (1804)

approved March 1987

civil law system strongly influenced by Napoleonic Code

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age; universal

bicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale consists of the Senate (30 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies (99 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); note - in reestablishing the Senate in 2006, the candidate in each department receiving the most votes in the last election serves six years, the candidate with the second most votes serves four years, and the candidate with the third most votes serves two years

Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation

Assembly of Progressive National Democrats or RDNP [Mirlande MANIGAT]; Christian and Citizen For Haiti's Reconstruction or ACCRHA [Chavannes JEUNE]; Convention for Democratic Unity or KID [Evans PAUL]; Cooperative Action to Rebuild Haiti or KONBA [Jean William JEANTY]; December 16 Platform or Platfom 16 Desanm [Dr. Gerard BLOT]; Democratic Alliance or ALYANS [Evans PAUL] (coalition composed of KID and PPRH); Effort and Solidarity to Create an Alternative for the People or ESKAMP [Joseph JASME]; Fanmi Lavalas or FL [Maryse NARCISSE]; For Us All or PONT [Jean-Marie CHERESTAL]; Grouping of Citizens for Hope or RESPE [Charles-Henri BAKER]; Haiti in Action or AAA [Youri LATORTUE]; Haitian Youth Democratic Movement or MODEJHA [Jean Hector ANACACIS]; Haitians for Haiti [Yvon NEPTUNE]; Independent Movement for National Reconstruction or MIRN [Luc FLEURINORD]; Lavni Organization or LAVNI [Yves CRISTALIN]; Liberal Party of Haiti or PLH [Jean Andre VICTOR]; Love Haiti or Renmen Ayiti [Jean-Henry CEANT and Camille LEBLANC]; Merging of Haitian Social Democratics or FUSION [Victor BENOIT] (coalition of Ayiti Capable, Haitian National Revolutionary Party, and National Congress of Democratic Movements); Mobilization for National Development or MDN [Hubert de RONCERAY]; Mobilization for Progress in Haiti or MPH [Samir MOURRA]; National Coalition of Nonaligned Political Parties or CONACED [Osner FEVRY]; National Front for the Reconstruction of Haiti or FRN [Guy PHILIPPE]; New Christian Movement for a New Haiti or MOCHRENA [Luc MESADIEU]; Open the Gate Party or PLB [Anes LUBIN]; Peasant's Response or Repons Peyizan [Michel MARTELLY]; Platform Alternative for Progress and Democracy or ALTENATIV [Victor BENOIT and Evans PAUL]; Platform of Haitian Patriots or PLAPH [Dejean BELISAIRE and Himler REBU]; Popular Party for the Renewal of Haiti or PPRH [Claude ROMAIN]; Strength in Unity or Ansanm Nou Fo [Leslie VOLTAIRE]; Struggling People's Organization or OPL [Harry MARSAN]; Union [Chavannes JEUNE]; Union of Haitian Citizens for Democracy, Development, and Education or UCADDE [Jeantel JOSEPH]; Union of Nationalist and Progressive Haitians or UNPH [Edouard FRANCISQUE]; Unity or Inite [Rene PREVAL] (coalition that includes Front for Hope or L'ESPWA); Vigilance or Veye Yo [Lavarice GAUDIN]; Youth for People's Power or JPP [Rene CIVIL]

Autonomous Organizations of Haitian Workers or CATH [Fignole ST-CYR]; Confederation of Haitian Workers or CTH; Economic Forum of the Private Sector or EF [Reginald BOULOS]; Federation of Workers Trade Unions or FOS; General Organization of Independent Haitian Workers [Patrick NUMAS]; Grand-Anse Resistance Committee, or KOREGA; The Haitian Association of Industries or ADIH [Georges SASSINE]; National Popular Assembly or APN; Papaye Peasants Movement or MPP [Chavannes JEAN-BAPTISTE]; Popular Organizations Gathering Power or PROP; Protestant Federation of Haiti; Roman Catholic Church

ACP, AOSIS, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OIF, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, PetroCaribe, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

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); the colors are taken from the French Tricolor and represent the union of blacks and mulattoes

Haiti is a free market economy that enjoys the advantages of low labor costs and tariff-free access to the US for many of its exports. Poverty, corruption, and poor access to education for much of the population are among Haiti's most serious disadvantages. Over the longer term, Haiti needs to create jobs for its young workforce and to build institutional capacity. Haiti's economy suffered a severe setback when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake destroyed much of its capital city, Port-au-Prince, and neighboring areas in January 2010. Already the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with 80% of the population living under the poverty line and 54% in abject poverty, the damage to Port-au-Prince caused the country's GDP to contract an estimated 5.1% in 2010. Two-thirds of all Haitians depend on the agricultural sector, mainly small-scale subsistence farming, and remain vulnerable to damage from frequent natural disasters, exacerbated by the country's widespread deforestation. US economic engagement under the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) Act, passed in December 2006, has boosted apparel exports and investment by providing duty-free access to the US. Congress voted in 2010 to extend the legislation until 2020 under the Haitian Economic Lift Act (HELP); the apparel sector accounts for three-quarters of Haitian exports and nearly one-tenth of GDP. Remittances are the primary source of foreign exchange, equaling nearly 20% of GDP and more than twice the earnings from exports. Haiti suffers from a lack of investment, partly because of limited infrastructure and a lack of security. In 2005, Haiti paid its arrears to the World Bank, paving the way for reengagement with the Bank. Haiti received debt forgiveness for over $1 billion through the Highly-Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative in mis-2009. The remainder of its outstanding external debt was cancelled by donor countries in early 2010 but has since risen to about $400 million. The government relies on formal international economic assistance for fiscal sustainability, with over half of its annual budget coming from outside sources.

$11.48 billion (2010 est.)

$12.09 billion (2009 est.)

$11.75 billion (2008 est.)

$6.632 billion (2010 est.)

-5.1% (2010 est.)

2.9% (2009 est.)

0.8% (2008 est.)

$1,200 (2010 est.)

$1,200 (2009 est.)

$1,200 (2008 est.)

4.81 million

40.6% (2010 est.)

80% (2003 est.)

59.2 (2001)

25% of GDP (2010 est.)

4.7% (2010 est.)

-4.7% (2009 est.)

8% (31 December 2010 est.)

8% (31 December 2009 est.)

$970 million (31 December 2010 est.)

$709 million (31 December 2009 est.)

$3.249 billion (31 December 2009)

$2.49 billion (31 December 2008)

$960.1 million (31 December 2010 est.)

$1.273 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$NA

coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood

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

-4.8% (2010 est.)

650 million kWh (2010 est.)

309 million kWh (2010 est.)

NA kWh (2010 est.)

0 kWh (2010 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

12,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

12,280 bbl/day (2007 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2010 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2010 est.)

$-781 million (2010 est.)

$-627 million (2009 est.)

$530.2 million (2010 est.)

$550 million (2009 est.)

apparel, manufactures, oils, cocoa, mangoes, coffee

US 79.76%, Dominican Republic 7.24%, Canada 2.96% (2009)

$2.727 billion (2010 est.)

$1.996 billion (2009 est.)

food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials

US 33.11%, Dominican Republic 23.53%, Netherlands Antilles 10.75%, China 5.36% (2009)

$1.587 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$615 million (31 December 2009 est.)

$350 million (31 December 2010 est.)

$1.362 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

gourdes (HTG) per US dollar -

40.15 (2010)

42.02 (2009)

39.216 (2008)

37.138 (2007)

40.232 (2006)

108,300 (2009)

3.648 million (2009)

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)

.ht

273 (2010)

1 million (2009)

14 (2010)

Cap-Haitien, Gonaives, Jacmel, Port-au-Prince

no regular military forces - small Coast Guard; the regular Haitian Armed Forces (FAdH) - Army, Navy, and Air Force - have been demobilized but still exist on paper until or unless they are constitutionally abolished (2009)

0.4% of GDP (2006)

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 US-administered Navassa Island

Caribbean transshipment point for cocaine en route to the US and Europe; substantial bulk cash smuggling activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Haiti for illicit financial transactions; pervasive corruption; significant consumer of cannabis