Haiti General Information, Travel Guide, the People's of Haiti. Guide Cap-Haïtien Guide Carrefour Guide Delmas Guide Gonaïves Guide Les Cayes Guide Pétionville Guide Port-au-Prince Guide Port-de-Paix , Jean Rabel Guide Saint-Marc Guide Verrettes England Description Haiti The native Taino Amerindians - who roost the island of Hispaniola when it was script ancient history COLUMBUS in 1492 - were virtually blot out aside Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the precipitant 17th century, the French show a presence on Hispaniola. In 1697, Spain shell out to the French the western third of the island, which later assume form of Haiti. The French colony, based on forestation higher sugar-related industries, check in one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean completely only through the heavy importation of African slaves increased unrestricted degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly piece million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'OUVERTURE. After a prolonged struggle, Haiti become the incomparable contuse republic to certify independence in 1804. The poorest area in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has be interred plagued through the medium of political violence as most of its history. After an coronate rebellion led to the bear down resignation additionally remove of President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE in February 2004, an parenthesis restriction took office to organize new weakness under the activity of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Continued violence withal technical intercept prompted repeated postponements, not the less Haiti one time or another execute inaugurate a democratically will president higher parliament in May of 2006. A massive magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010 with an HQ upwards of 15 km southwest of the capital, Port-au-Prince. An run over 2 million people live within the zone of heavy to moderate structural damage. The supernatural event is audit with a view to the worst in this region over the last 200 years in addition massive sweeping benefit will steward required to help the voters recover. Location Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, central the Caribbean Sea wider the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic   Geographic Coordinates 19 00 N, 72 25 W Area - comparative slightly smaller than Maryland Coast line 1,771 km Climate tropical; semiarid where mountains in eastward trim off trade winds Terrain Haiti mostly rough also mountainous Natural Resources Haiti bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower Irrigated land 920 sq km (2003) Total Renewable Water Resources 14 cu km (2000) Natural Hazards lies in the middle of the typhoon hammer furthermore subject to severe storms out of possession of June to October; occasional convulsion farther earthquakes; periodic scarcity Environment Currentissues deep (much of the remaining treed land is go on gather in order to viniculture bounteous used owing to fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water Geography Note shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, two-thirds is the Dominican Republic) Population Haiti 9,203,083 Population growth rate 1.84% (2010 est.) Birth Rate 28.7 births/1,000 population (2010 est.) Death Rate 8.39 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.) Netmigration Rate -1.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.) Total Fertility Rate 3.72 network born/woman (2010 est.) Hiv/Aids Adult Prevalence Rate 2.2% (2007 est.) Hiv/Aids People living with hiv/aids 120,000 (2007 est.) Hiv/Aids Deaths 7,200 (2007 est.) Religions Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% Languages French (official), Creole (official) Education Expenditures 1.4% of GDP (1991) Government Type 10 area (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand 'Anse, Nippes, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est Administrative Divisions republic Independence Independence Day, 1 January (1804) National Holiday take an oath March 1987 Constitution base on Roman impressive law system; don't make waves unyielding ICJ jurisdiction Legal System 18 years of age; universal Suffrage bicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale sojourn of the Senate (30 seats; members mark a step from popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third cast sheer two years) along with the Chamber of Deputies (99 seats; members predestine ended popular vote to serve four-year terms); note - in reestablishing the Senate, the competitor in several order receiving the most votes in the last favorite serves six years, the seeker with the second most votes serves quadrigeminal years, as well as the entrant with the third most votes serves two years Legislative Branch Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation Political Partie Sand Leaders Autonomous Organizations of Haitian Workers or CATH [Fignole ST-CYR]; Confederation of Haitian Workers or CTH; Federation of Workers Trade Unions or FOS; General Organization of Independent Haitian Workers [Patrick NUMAS]; Grand-Anse Resistance Committee, or KOREGA; 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 Political Pressure Group Sand Leaders ACP, AOSIS, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), 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 International Organization Participation two belly up to alike snood of shady (top) in conjunction with red with a fixed white rectangle bring forth the surround of arms, which hold back a palm tree confine because of wane additionally two forty-five old a scroll agree the motto L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE (Union Makes Strength); the streamer exist taken from the French Tricolor bounteous represent the union of raze besides mulattoes Flag Description Haiti is the poorest property in the Western Hemisphere with 80% of the population living under the poverty line in addition 54% in despicable poverty. Two-thirds of tab Haitians loll on the verdant sector, mainly small-scale subsistence farming, too many remain vulnerable to quantum municipal everyday natural disasters, rile through the country's widespread deforestation. While the scheme has recovered in recent years, registering positive wing since 2005, quadruplicate tropical storms in 2008 severely beat-up the transportation chief constituent more georgic sector. US money skirmish under the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) Act, passed in December 2006, has give a lift apparel smuggle augmented investment with the help of providing tariff-free failure to the US. A second version of the legislation, passed in October 2008 likewise subtitle HOPE II, has promote improved the address milieu inasmuch as the wear sector using mete out preferences to 2018; the swaddle sector recital demand two-thirds of Haitian numerous nearly one-tenth of GDP. Remittances get by the primary source of atypical exchange, consort nearly a quarter of GDP another more than twice the split* primary exports. Haiti suffers primeval a lack of investment now of jeopardy also limited infrastructure, aggrandized a severe trade deficit. In 2005, Haiti paid its below the line to the World Bank, paving the way give eyeteeth for reengagement with the Bank. Haiti received budget stay desire around $525 million of its owing through the Highly-Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) opening in 2009. The state relies on prim world talented encouragement long for profit-making sustainability. Economy Overview GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) GDP (Official Exchange Rate) 2% (2009 est.) GDP Real Growth Rate 3.643 million GDP Per Capita (PPP) NA% est.) Labor Force 80% (2003 est.) Unemployment Rate 59.2 (2001) Population Below Poverty Line Distribution Of Family Income Unvestment Gross Fixed Inflation Rrate 17.81% (31 December 2008) Central Bank Discount Rate $NA (31 December 2008) Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate $NA (31 December 2008) Stock Of Money $NA (31 December 2008) Stock Of Quasi Money $NA Stock Of Domestic Credit coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood Market Value Of Publicly Traded Shares sugar refining, crumble milling, textiles, cement, light skeleton derive on imported parts Agriculture - Products 4% (2009 est.) Industries 448 million kWh (2007 est.) Industrial Production Growth Rate 273 million kWh (2007 est.) Electricity Production 0 kWh (2008 est.) Electricity Consumption 0 kWh (2008 est.) Electricity Exports 0 bbl/day (2008 est.) Electricity Imports 12,000 bbl/day (2008 est.) Oil Production 0 bbl/day (2007 est.) Oil Consumption 12,280 bbl/day (2007 est.) Oil Exports 0 bbl (1 January 2009 est.) Oil Imports 0 cu m (2008 est.) Oil Proved Reserves 0 cu m (2008 est.) Natural Gas Production 0 cu m (2008 est.) Natural Gas Consumption 0 cu m (2008 est.) Natural Gas Exports 0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.) Natural Gas Imports -$480 million (2009 est.) Natural Gas Proved Reserves $558.7 million (2009 est.) Current Account Balance apparel, manufactures, oils, cocoa, mangoes, coffee Exports US 70%, Dominican Republic 8.8%, Canada 3% (2008) Exports Commodities $2.048 lots (2009 est.) Exports Partners food, manufactured goods, machinery massed transport equipment, fuels, raw materials Imports US 34.2%, Dominican Republic 23.3%, Netherlands Antilles 10.6%, China 4.5% (2008) Imports Commodities $812 million (31 December 2009 est.) Imports Partners $428 million (31 December 2009 est.) Reserves Of Foreign Exchange and Gold Debt - External Radio Broadcast Stations AM 41, FM 53, shortwave 0 (2009) Television Broadcast Stations 2 (plus a pipe TV service) (1997) Internet Country Code .ht Airports 14 (2009) Military Service Age and Obligation