World Atlas: Haiti. On this page you can see the map, country flag and many detailed information about the people, history and economy of Haiti.
Here you can find online selected information about the geography, inhabitants, government, economy and history of Haiti. Included are selected statistics, an overview map and the detailed map of Haiti. But let's start with the flag of Haiti here:
Haiti - Overview:
What you should know about Haiti? Let's start with this: The native Taino - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by Christopher 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 post-colonial black-led nation in the world, declaring its independence in 1804. Currently the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has experienced political instability for most of its history. A massive magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010 with an epicenter about 25 km (15 mi) west of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Estimates are that over 300,000 people were killed and some 1.5 million left homeless. The earthquake was assessed as the worst in this region over the last 200 years. President Michel Martelly resigned in February 2016 and was replaced by Interim President Jocelerme Privert. President Jovenel Moise won the November 2016 elections and assumed office in February 2017.
Geography of Haiti
Where on the globe is Haiti? The location of this country is Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic. Total area of Haiti is 27,750 sq km, of which 27,560 sq km is land. So this is not a large country. How could we describe the terrain of the country? This way: mostly rough and mountainous. The lowest point of Haiti is Caribbean Sea 0 m, the highest point Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m. And the climate is tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds.
Inhabitants of Haiti
Let's take a look how many people live in Haiti. The number is: 10,646,714. So this is not very populous country. Who lives here? black 95%, mulatto and white 5%. What are the languages in Haiti? French (official), Creole (official). And the religions: Roman Catholic (official) 54.7%, Protestant 28.5% (Baptist 15.4%, Pentecostal 7.9%, Adventist 3%, Methodist 1.5%, other 0.7%), voodoo (official) 2.1%, other 4.6%, none 10.2%. How old are the people in average? 23 years. We have to add that this number is the median - so one half of the people is older than this, one half is younger. And what is their life expectancy (at birth)? This: 64.2 years. Where the people live in Haiti? Here: fairly even distribution; largest concentrations located near coastal areas. The major urban areas of Haiti are: PORT-AU-Prince (capital) 2.44 million (2015).
Government and Economy of Haiti
The capital of Haiti is Port-au-Prince and the government type semi-presidential republic. Let's take a look at the administrative divisions - 10 departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand'Anse, Nippes, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est. Regarding the economy of Haiti, important industrial products are textiles, sugar refining, flour milling, cement, light assembly using imported parts. Important agricultural products are coffee, mangoes, cocoa, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood, vetive. The most important export commodities are apparel, manufactures, oils, cocoa, mangoes, coffee and the most important export partners are US 80.8%, Dominican Republic 5.1% (2016). The most important import commodities are food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials and the most important import partners are US 19.3%, China 18.9%, Netherlands Antilles 18.1%, Indonesia 6.5%, Colombia 4.8% (2016). How rich is Haiti and how rich are people in this country? The most important number here is GDP per capita (PPP): $1,800 (2017 est.). This is a very low number. Let's add that this means Gross Domestic Product per person, which is recalculated with respect to the relative cost of local goods and services. And one more important number - population below poverty line: 58.5% (2012 est.).