]! ^! The native Arawak 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 - 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 and after a prolonged struggle, became the first black republic to declare its independence in 1804. Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. 
]" ^" Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic ^# 19 00 N, 72 25 W ^$ Central America and the Caribbean ^% `! 27,750 sq km `" 27,560 sq km `# 190 sq km ^& slightly smaller than Maryland ^' `! 360 km `U Dominican Republic 360 km ^( 1,771 km ^) `$ 12 nm `H 24 nm `I 200 nm `J to depth of exploitation ^* tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds ^+ mostly rough and mountainous ^, `% Caribbean Sea 0 m `& Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m ^- bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower ^. `' 28.3% `( 11.61% `) 60.09% (2001) ^/ 750 sq km (1998 est.) ^0 lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts ^1 extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water _J `K Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection `L Hazardous Wastes ^2 shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic) 
]# ^3 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.) ^4 `* 42.6% (male 1,741,622/female 1,721,436) `+ 53.9% (male 2,137,225/female 2,242,639) `, 3.4% (male 124,383/female 154,317) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 18.03 years `- 17.63 years `. 18.44 years (2005 est.) ^6 2.26% (2005 est.) ^7 36.59 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 12.34 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 -1.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.03 male(s)/female `0 1.01 male(s)/female `+ 0.95 male(s)/female `, 0.81 male(s)/female `1 0.97 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 73.45 deaths/1,000 live births `- 79.92 deaths/1,000 live births `. 66.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 52.92 years `- 51.58 years `. 54.31 years (2005 est.) ^= 5.02 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> 5.6% (2003 est.) ^? 280,000 (2003 est.) ^@ 24,000 (2003 est.) ^A `2 Haitian(s) `3 Haitian ^B black 95%, mulatto and white 5% ^C 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 ^D French (official), Creole (official) ^E `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 52.9% `- 54.8% `. 51.2% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 Republic of Haiti `5 Haiti `V Republique d'Haiti `W Haiti ^H elected government ^I Port-au-Prince ^J 9 departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand 'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est ^K 1 January 1804 (from France) ^L Independence Day, 1 January (1804) ^M 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 ^N based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 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 `7 Interim Prime Minister Gerald LATORTUE (since 12 March 2004), chosen by extraconstitutional Council of Eminent Persons representing cross-section of political and civic interests `8 Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president `9 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 `: Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE elected president; percent of vote - Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE 92% ^Q 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 `9 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) `: 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 ^R Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation ^S 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] ^T Autonomous Organizations of Haitian Workers or CATH [Fignole ST-CYR]; Confederation of Haitian Workers or CTH; Federation of Workers Trade Unions or FOS; Group of 184 Civil Society Organization, or G-184 [Andy APAID]; National Popular Assembly or APN; Papaye Peasants Movement or MPP [Chavannes JEAN-BAPTISTE]; Popular Organizations Gathering Power or PROP; Roman Catholic Church; Protestant Federation of Haiti ^U ACCT, ACP, Caricom (suspended), FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, MIGA, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO ^V `N Charge d'Affaires Raymond JOSEPH (as of November 2004) `O 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 `P [1] (202) 332-4090 `Q [1] (202) 745-7215 `R Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) ^W `N Ambassador James B. FOLEY `Z 5 Harry S Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince `[ P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince `P [509] 222-0354, 222-0269, 222-0200, 222-0327 `Q [509] 223-1641 or 222-0200 ext 460 ^X 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) 
]% ^Y In this poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, 80% of the population lives in abject poverty, and natural disasters frequently sweep the nation. Two-thirds of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, which consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming. 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, 0.9% in 2002, grew 0.4% in 2003, and shrank by 3.5% in 2004. Suspended aid and loan disbursements totaled more than $500 million at the start of 2003. Haiti also suffers from rampant inflation, a lack of investment, and a severe trade deficit. In early 2005 Haiti paid its arrears to the World Bank, paving the way to reengagement with the Bank. The resumption of aid flows from all donors is alleviating but not ending the nation's bitter economic problems. Civil strife in 2004 combined with extensive damage from flooding in southern Haiti in May 2004 and Tropical Storm Jeanne in northwestern Haiti in September 2004 further impoverished Haiti. ^Z $12.05 billion (2004 est.) ^[ -3.5% (2004 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2004 est.) ^] `; 30% `< 20% `= 50% (2001 est.) ^^ 3.6 million note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1995) ^_ agriculture 66%, industry 9%, services 25% ^` widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs (2002 est.) ^a 80% (2003 est.) _! `> NA `? NA _" 22% (2004 est.) _# `@ $330.2 million `A $529.6 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) _$ coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum, wood _% sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, light assembly industries based on imported parts _& NA _' 618 million kWh (2002) _( 574.7 million kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 11,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _X $-27.63 million (2004 est.) _/ $338.1 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) _0 manufactures, coffee, oils, cocoa, mangoes _1 US 81.2%, Dominican Republic 7.3%, Canada 4.1% (2004) _2 $1.085 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _3 food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials _4 US 34.8%, Netherlands Antilles 18%, Malaysia 5.1%, Colombia 4.7% (2004) _Y $80.64 million (2004 est.) _5 $1.2 billion (2004 est.) _6 $150 million (FY04 est.) _7 gourde (HTG) _8 gourdes per US dollar - 38.352 (2004), 42.367 (2003), 29.251 (2002), 24.429 (2001), 21.171 (2000) _9 1 October - 30 September 
]& _: 130,000 (2002) _; 140,000 (2002) _< `B domestic facilities barely adequate; international facilities slightly better `C coaxial cable and microwave radio relay trunk service `D country code - 509; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) _= AM 41, FM 26, shortwave 0 (1999) _> 2 (plus a cable TV service) (1997) _? .ht _@ NA _A 80,000 (2002) 
]' _B `! 4,160 km `E 1,011 km `F 3,149 km (1999 est.) _C Cap-Haitien _D 13 (2004 est.) _E `! 4 `G 1 `_ 3 (2004 est.) _L `! 9 `_ 4 `T 5 (2004 est.) 
]( _F the regular Haitian Armed Forces (FAdH) - Army, Navy, and Air Force - have been demobilized but still exist on paper until or unless they are constitutionally abolished _M 18 years of age for voluntary recruitment into the police force (2001) _] males age 18-49: 1,626,491 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 948,320 (2005 est.) _^ `` 98,554 (2005 est.) _N $26 million (2003) _O 0.9% (2003) 
]) _H 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 fleeing economic privation and civil unrest continue to cross into Dominican Republic and to sail to neighboring countries; Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island _I major Caribbean transshipment point for cocaine en route to the US and Europe; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Haiti for illicit financial transactions; pervasive corruption 