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

Geographic coordinates: 19 00 N, 72 25 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 27,750 sq km
land: 27,560 sq km
water: 190 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries:
total: 275 km
border countries : Dominican Republic 275 km

Coastline: 1,771 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf : to depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds

Terrain: mostly rough and mountainous

Elevation extremes:
lowest point : Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m

Natural resources: bauxite

Land use:
arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 13%
permanent pastures : 18%
forests and woodland: 5%
other: 44% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 750 sq km (1993 est.)

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

Environment - current issues: extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and use as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation
signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban

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

Population: 7,063,722 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 39.5% (male 1,414,052; female 1,377,693)
15-64 years : 56.3% (male 1,924,867; female 2,049,952)
65 years and over: 4.2% (male 142,657; female 154,501) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.42% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 31.42 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 14.88 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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:0.92 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 93.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 49.55 years
male : 47.88 years
female: 51.29 years (2002 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.3 children born/woman (2002 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Haitian(s)
adjective: Haitian

Ethnic groups: black 95%, mulatto plus white 5%

Religions:Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (1982)
note: roughly half of the population also practices Voodoo

Languages: French (official) 10%, Creole

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 45%
male: 48%
female: 42.2% (1995 est.)

Country name:
conventional long form : Republic of Haiti
conventional short form: Haiti
local long form: Republique d'Haiti
local short form: Haiti

Data code: HA

Government type: republic

National 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)

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 January (1804)

Constitution: approved March 1987, suspended June 1988, most articles reinstated March 1989; in October 1991, government claimed to be observing the constitution; return to constitutional rule, October 1994

Legal system: based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE (since 7 February 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Yvon NEPTUNE (since 4 March 2002); note - former Prime Minister CHERESTAL resigned in January 2002
cabinet : Cabinet; chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president
elections:president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president, ratified by the National Assembly
election results: Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE elected president; percent of vote - Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE 92%

Legislative branch:bicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale consists of the Senate (27 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies (83 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held for two-thirds of seats 21 May 2000, with runoffs on 9 July boycotted by the opposition; seven seats still disputed; election for remaining one-third held on 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2002); Chamber of Deputies - last held 21 May 2000, with runoffs on 30 July boycotted by the opposition; one vacant seat rerun 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2004)
election results:Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 26, independent 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 73, MOCHRENA 3, PLB 2, OPL 1, vacant 1, other minor parties and independents 3

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation

Political parties and leaders: Alliance for the Liberation and Advancement of Haiti or ALAH [Reynold GEORGES]; Assembly of Progressive National Democrats or RDNP [Leslie MANIGAT]; Convergence (opposition coalition composed of ESPACE, OPL, and MOCHRENA) [Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES, Evans PAUL, Luc MESADIEU, Victor BENOIT]; Democratic Consultation Group coalition or ESPACE [Evans PAUL, Victor Benoit] composed of the following parties: National Congress of Democratic Movements or KONAKOM, National Progressive Revolutionary Party or PANPRA, Generation 2004, and Haiti Can; Haitian Christian Democratic Party or PDCH [Marie-France CLAUDE]; Haitian Democratic Party or PADEM [Clark PARENT]; Lavalas Family or FL [Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE]; Mobilization for National Development or MDN [Hubert DE RONCERAY]; Movement for National Reconstruction or MRN [Rene THEODORE]; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti or MIDH [Marc BAZIN]; Movement for the Organization of the Country or MOP [Gesner COMEAU and Jean MOLIERE]; National Cooperative Action Movement or MKN [Volrick Remy JOSEPH]; National Front for Change and Democracy or FNCD [Evans PAUL and Turneb DELPE]; New Christian Movement for a New Haiti or MOCHRENA [Luc MESADIEU]; Open the Gate or PLB [Renaud BERNARDIN]; Struggling People's Organization or OPL [Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES]

Political pressure groups and leaders: Roman Catholic Church; Confederation of Haitian Workers (CTH); Federation of Workers Trade Unions (FOS); Autonomous Haitian Workers (CATH); National Popular Assembly (APN); Papaye Peasants Movement (MPP)

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, Caricom (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission : Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Louis Harold JOSEPH
chancery: 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 332-4090 through 4092
FAX: [1] (202) 745-7215
consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Brian Dean CURRAN
embassy : 5 Harry Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince
mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince
telephone: [509] 22-0354, 22-0368, 22-0200, 22-0612
FAX: [509] 23-1641

Flag description: 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 80% of the population lives in abject poverty. Nearly 70% of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, which consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming and employs about two-thirds of the economically active work force. The country has experienced little job creation since the former President PREVAL took office in February 1996, although the informal economy is growing. Following legislative elections in May 2000, fraught with irregularities, international donors - including the US and EU - suspended almost all aid to Haiti. The economy shrank an estimated 1.2% in 2001, and the contraction will likely intensify in 2002 unless a political agreement with donors is reached and aid restored.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $12 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: -1.2% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 30%
industry: 20%
services: 50% (2001 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 14% (2001 est.)

Labor force:
total: 3.6 million (1995)
by occupation: agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9%
note : shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (2001)

Unemployment rate: widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs (2001)

Budget:
revenues : $273 million
expenditures: $361 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 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 - capacity: 216,500 kW (1995)

Electricity - production: 522 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 485.46 million kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products: coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood

Exports:
total value: $326.6 million (f.o.b., 2001)
commodities: light manufactures 65%, coffee 19%, other agriculture 8%, other 8%
partners: US 90%, EU 6% (2000)

Imports:
total value : $977.5 million (c.i.f., 2001)
commodities: machines and manufactures 34%, food and beverages 22%, petroleum products 14%, chemicals 10%, fats and oils 9%
partners: US 60%, EU 10.5%, Dominican Republic 3.7% (2000)

Debt - external:$1.2 billion (1999)

Economic aid:
recipient: $730.6 million (1995)

Currency: 1 gourde (HTG) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates:gourdes per US dollar - 26.674 (January 2002), 26.339 (2001), 22.524 (2000), 17.965 (1999), 16.505 (1998), 17.311 (1997)

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September

Telephones: 60,000 (1997)

Telephone system: domestic facilities barely adequate, international facilities slightly better
domestic:coaxial cable and microwave radio relay trunk service
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 41, FM 26, shortwave 0 (1999)

Radios: 415,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 2 (plus a cable TV service) (1997)

Televisions: 38,000 (1997)

Railways:
total: 40 km (single track; privately owned industrial line) - closed in early 1990's
narrow gauge : 40 km 0.760-m gauge (2001 est.)

Highways:
total:4,160 km
paved: 1,011 km
unpaved:3,149 km (1996)

Waterways: negligible; less than 100 km navigable

Ports and harbors: Cap-Haitien, Gonaives, Jacmel, Jeremie, Cayes, Miragoane, Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix, Saint-Marc

Merchant marine: none(2002 est.)

Airports:12 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m:1 (2001)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 10
914 to 1,523 m:4
under 914 m:6 (2001)

Military branches: Haitian National Police (PNH)
note: the regular Haitian Army, Navy, and Air Force have been demobilized but still exist on paper until/unless constitutionally abolished

Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 1,691,585 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males: 919,275 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 87,049 (2002 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $50 million (FY00)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.3% (FY00)

Disputes - international: claims US-administered Navassa Island

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana en route to the US and Europe