Introduction

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 forced resignation and exile 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. A massive magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010 with an epicenter about 15 km southwest of the capital, Port-au-Prince. An estimated 2 million people live within the zone of heavy to moderate structural damage. The earthquake is assessed as the worst in this region over the last 200 years and massive international assistance will be required to help the country recover.

Geographical Location

Located in the Caribbean, Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic – the western one-third is Haiti and the eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic. With a total area of 27,750 sq. km., Haiti is slightly smaller than Maryland. It has 1,771 km. of coastline. Some of its natural resources are bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble and hydro power. Agricultural products include coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum, and wood. However there is extensive deforestation. Much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel. Other environmental issues are soil erosion and inadequate supplies of potable water.

Climate

Haiti has a tropical climate except in the east where it is semiarid because mountains cut off trade winds. The terrain is mostly rough and mountainous. The highest point in Haiti is Chaine de la Selle at 2,680 m. Haiti lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and is subject to severe storms from June to October. Other natural hazards include occasional flooding, earthquakes, and periodic droughts.

Population

The 2007 estimated population of Haiti is 9,035,536. The growth rate is 1.838% with 29.1 births per 1000 and 8.65deaths per 1000. Life expectancy at birth is 60.78 years. It is estimated that over 120,000 people there have HIV/AIDS. Ninety- five percent of the population is black while mulatto and white make up the other 5%.

Languages

The two official languages are French and Creole. 52.9% of the population over age 15 can read and write.

Religion

Religions include Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3%. Roughly half of the population practices Voodoo.