Adjacent Words

Haiti definitions

	Tweet

Flags of the World

Flag of Haiti

CIA World Factbook, 2008

Background
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, and 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 its 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 departure 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.

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

Area - comparative
total: 360 km border countries: Dominican Republic 360 km

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

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

Natural resources
arable land: 28.11% permanent crops: 11.53% other: 60.36% (2005)

Irrigated land
Total: 0.99 cu km/yr (5%/1%/94%) Per capita: 116 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes

Geography - note
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 2007 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 42.1% (male 1,846,175/female 1,817,082) 15-64 years: 54.4% (male 2,313,542/female 2,426,326) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 134,580/female 168,792) (2007 est.)

Median age
total: 18.4 years male: 17.9 years female: 18.8 years (2007 est.)

Population growth rate
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.016 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.954 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.797 male(s)/female total population: 0.973 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate
total: 63.83 deaths/1,000 live births male: 68.45 deaths/1,000 live births female: 59.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 57.03 years male: 55.35 years female: 58.75 years (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate
noun: Haitian(s) adjective: Haitian

Ethnic groups
note: roughly half of the population practices voodoo

Languages
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 52.9% male: 54.8% female: 51.2% (2003 est.)

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

Government type
name: Port-au-Prince geographic coordinates: 18 32 N, 72 20 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions
chief of state: President Rene PREVAL (since 14 May 2006) head of government: Prime Minister Jacques-Edouard ALEXIS (since 30 May 2006) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (may not serve consecutive terms); election last held 7 February 2006 (next to be held in 2011); prime minister appointed by the president, ratified by the National Assembly election results: Rene PREVAL elected president; percent of vote - Rene PREVAL 51%

Legislative branch
elections: Senate - last held 21 April 2006 with run-off elections on 3 December 2006 (next regular election, for one third of seats, to be held by January 2008 but will probably be postponed); Chamber of Deputies - last held 21 April 2006 with run-off elections on 3 December 2006 and 29 April 2007 (next regular election to be held in 2010) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - L'ESPWA 11, FUSION 5, OPL 4, FL 3, LAAA 2, UNCRH 2, PONT 2, ALYANS 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - L'ESPWA 23, FUSION 17, FRN 12, OPL 10, ALYANS 10, LAAA 5, MPH 3, MOCHRENA 3, other 10; results for six other seats contested on 3 December 2006 remain unknown

Judicial branch
chief of mission: Ambassador Raymond JOSEPH chancery: 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4090 FAX: [1] (202) 745-7215 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, San Juan (Puerto Rico)

Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Janet A. SANDERSON embassy: 5 Harry S Truman Boulevard, Bicentenaire-Port-au-Prince mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince telephone: [509] 222-0200 FAX: [509] 223-9038

Flag description
agriculture: 28% industry: 20% services: 52% (2004 est.)

Labor force
note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1995)

Labor force - by occupation
agriculture: 66% industry: 9% services: 25% (1995)

Unemployment rate
lowest 10%: 0.7% highest 10%: 47.7% (2001)

Distribution of family income - Gini index
revenues: $918.6 million expenditures: $1.036 billion (2007 est.)

Agriculture - products
general assessment: domestic facilities barely adequate; international facilities slightly better; telephone density in Haiti remains the lowest in the Latin American and Caribbean region domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay trunk service; combined fixed and mobile-cellular teledensity is about 8 per 100 persons international: country code - 509; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations
total: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways
total: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 9 (2007)

Roadways
total: 4,160 km paved: 1,011 km unpaved: 3,149 km (1999)

Ports and terminals
males age 18-49: 1,626,491 females age 18-49: 1,637,657 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service
males age 18-49: 948,320 females age 18-49: 931,972 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually
males age 18-49: 98,554 females age 18-49: 97,690 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP
0.4% (2006)

Disputes - international
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

Illicit drugs
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

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a republic in the West Indies on the western part of the island of Hispaniola; achieved independence from France in 1804; the poorest and most illiterate nation in the western hemisphere [syn: Haiti, Republic of Haiti]
2: an island in the West Indies [syn: Hispaniola, Haiti, Hayti]

Merriam Webster's

geographical name 1. — see Hispaniola 2. country West Indies on W Hispaniola; a republic capital Port-au-Prince area 10,714 square miles (27,856 square kilometers), population 6,902,000