| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: Republic of Haiti
conventional short form: Haiti
local long form: Republique d'Haiti
local short form: Haiti |
| Capital: |
Port-au-Prince |
| 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 |
| Area: |
total: 27,750 sq km
land: 27,560 sq km
water: 190 sq km |
| Area
Comparative: |
slightly smaller than Maryland |
| Land
Boundaries: |
total: 360 km
border countries: Dominican Republic 360 km |
| Coastline: |
1,771 km |
| Maritime
Claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: to depth of exploitation |
| Climate: |
tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds |
| Terrain: |
mostly rough and mountainous |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
elected government |
| Administratives
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 with most articles reinstated March 1989; in October 1991 government claimed to be observing the constitution; returned to constitutional rule in 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: Interim President Boniface ALEXANDRE (since 29 February 2004)
note: Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE resigned as president on 29 February 2004; ALEXANDRE, as Chief of the Supreme Court, constitutionally succeeded Aristide
head of government: Interim Prime Minister Gerald LATORTUE (since 12 March 2004), chosen by extraconstitutional Council of Eminent Persons representing cross-section of political and civic interests
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 in November 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); note - the National Assembly stopped functioning in January 2004 when the terms of all Deputies and two-thirds of sitting Senators expired; no replacements have been elected; the President is currently ruling by decree
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 in 2005); 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 in November 2005)
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]; Ayiti Kapab [Ernst VERDIEU]; Convention for Democratic Unity or KID [Evans PAUL]; National Congress of Democratic Movements or KONAKOM [Victor BENOIT]; Nationalist Progressive Revolutionary Party or PANPRA [Serge GILLES]; Democratic Movement for the Liberation of Haiti or MODELH [Francois LATORTUE]; Grand Center Right Front coalition (composed of MDN, MRN, and PDCH) [Hubert de RONCERAY, Jean BUTEAU, Osner FEVRY and Marie-Denise CLAUDE]; Haitian Christian Democratic Party or PDCH [Osner FEVRY and Marie-Denise CLAUDE]; Haitian Democratic Party or PADEMH [Clark PARENT]; Haitian Democratic and Reform Movement or MODEREH [Dany TOUSSAINT and Pierre Soncon PRINCE]; Heads Together [Dr. Gerard BLOT]; Lavalas Family or FL [leader NA]; Liberal Party of Haiti or PLH [Michael MADSEN]; Mobilization for National Development or MDN [Hubert DE RONCERAY]; Movement for National Reconstruction or MRN [Jean Henold BUTEAU]; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti or MIDH [Marc BAZIN]; National Front for the Reconstruction of Haiti or FRON [Guy PHILIPPE]; National Progressive Democratic Party or PNDPH [Turneb DELPE]; New Christian Movement for a New Haiti or MOCHRENA [Luc MESADIEU]; Open the Gate Party (Parti Louvri Bayre) or PLB [leader NA]; Popular Party for the Renewal of Haiti, or Generation 2000 [Claude ROMAIN and Daniel SUPPLICE]; Struggling People's Organization or OPL [Edgard LEBLANC]; MNP28 [Dejean BELIZAIRE]; KOMBA [Evans LESCOUFLAIR] |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
8,121,622
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 42.6% (male 1,741,622/female 1,721,436)
15-64 years: 53.9% (male 2,137,225/female 2,242,639)
65 years and over: 3.4% (male 124,383/female 154,317) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 18.03 years
male: 17.63 years
female: 18.44 years (2005 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Haitian(s)
adjective: Haitian |
| 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% (1982)
note: roughly half of the population practices Voodoo |
| Languages: |
French (official), Creole (official) |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
130,000 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
140,000 (2002) |
| Telephone system: |
general assessment: domestic facilities barely adequate; international facilities slightly better
domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay trunk service
international: country code - 509; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 41, FM 26, shortwave 0 (1999) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
2 (plus a cable TV service) (1997) |
| Internet country
code: |
.ht |
| Internet hosts: |
NA |
| Internet users: |
80,000 (2002) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
|
| Highways: |
total: 4,160 km
paved: 1,011 km
unpaved: 3,149 km (1999 est.) |
| Waterways: |
|
| Pipelines: |
|
| Ports and harbors: |
Cap-Haitien, Gonaives, Jacmel, Jeremie, Les Cayes, Miragoane, Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix, Saint-Marc |
| Merchant marine: |
|
| Airports: |
13 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
|
