Haiti
| Republic of Haiti
République d'Haïti (fr)
Repiblik Ayiti (ht) |
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| Motto: Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité [1] | ||||||
| Anthem: La Dessalinienne The Dessalines Song  |
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| Capital (and largest city) |
Port-au-Prince 18°32′N 72°20′W / 18.533°N 72.333°W |
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| Official language(s) | French Haitian Creole |
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| Ethnic groups | 95% black, 5% mulatto and white[2] | |||||
| Demonym | Haitian | |||||
| Government | Unitary semi-presidential republic | |||||
| - | President | Michel Martelly | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | Garry Conille | ||||
| Formation | ||||||
| - | French colony declared (Treaty of Ryswick) |
30 October 1697 | ||||
| - | Independence declared | 1 January 1804 | ||||
| - | Independence recognized from France | 17 April 1825 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 27,750 km2 (140th) 10,714 sq mi |
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| - | Water (%) | 0.7 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2011 estimate | 9,719,932[2] (87th) | ||||
| - | Density | 350.27/km2 907.22/sq mi |
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| GDP (PPP) | 2010 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $11.477 billion[3] (139th) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $1,164[3] | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2010 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $6.632 billion[3] (134th) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $673[3] | ||||
| Gini (2001) | 59.2[4] (very high) | |||||
| HDI (2010) | ▼ 0.404[5] (low) (145th) | |||||
| Currency | Gourde (HTG) |
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| Time zone | (UTC-5) | |||||
| Drives on the | right | |||||
| Internet TLD | .ht | |||||
| Calling code | 509 | |||||
Haiti (French: Haïti; Haitian Creole: Ayiti), officially the Republic of Haiti (French: République d'Haïti; Haitian Creole: Repiblik d Ayiti) is a country on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola; the other country on the island is the Dominican Republic. There are two official languages: French and Haitian Creole, or "Kreyol". The capital city of Haiti is Port-au-Prince.
It has a tropical climate, and is called in French "La Perle des Antilles" (The pearl of the Antilles), because of its natural beauty. It is very mountainous, but is no longer covered with forests, as it once was. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
Haiti is divided into ten departements. There are two official languages, French and Haitian creole, or "Kreyol". The main religion is Roman Catholic, however Voodoo, derived from African folk beliefs in Benin, is still widely practised also. There are many holidays; the largest and most important is the Mardi Gras.
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[change] Geography
Haiti has a total area of 27,750 km²; most of it is in the western third of the Hispaniola island and the rest are smaller islands that are near the Haitian coast, such as tels que : Gonâve, Île de la Tortue, Les Cayemites, Île-à-Vache and La Navase.
There are many mountains in Haiti, with only some coastal plains and few valleys; the largest valley is the Cul-de-Sac, where Port-au-Prince is found, in its western end. The main Haitian river is the Artibonite, which is also the longest of the Hispaniola. The biggest city is Port-au-Prince with more than 3 millions of inhabitants in its metropolitan area; the second city is Cap-Haïtien.Haiti has a tropical weather. The rain season is from April to June and from October to November. Tropical cyclones are common during summer and made a lot of damage and many people die.
[change] History
The native Arawak Amerindians - who lived in the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by Columbus - were brutally killed by Spanish conquistadors within twenty-five years.
In the early 17th century, the French established a colony on Hispaniola, and in 1697, Spain sold to the French the western third of the island, Haiti. The French colony[6] , based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean, but only through bringing many African slaves and destroying much of the environment. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'Ouverture, and after a hard and bloody struggle, became the first black republic to declare its independence in 1804.[7], University of Louisiana</ref Today there are many historic monuments remembering this; one of the largest is La Citadelle Laferriere.
On January 12, 2010, at 21:53 UTC,the island was struck by a magnitude-7.0 earthquake, the country's most severe earthquake in the past 200 years.[8] The epicenter of the quake was just outside the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.[9] It has been estimated by numerous media that the death toll could reach 200,000.[10]
[change] Departments
Haiti is made of ten regions known as departments (French: départments, singular départment). These departments are further divided into 41 arrondissements, and 133 communes, second and third level units of administration.
The 10 departments, with their capital cities in parentheses, are:
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- Artibonite (Gonaïves)
- Centre (Hinche)
- Grand'Anse (Jérémie)
- Nippes (Miragoâne)
- Nord (Cap-Haïtien)
- Nord-Est (Fort-Liberté)
- Nord-Ouest (Port-de-Paix)
- Ouest (Port-au-Prince) *national capital*
- Sud-Est (Jacmel)
- Sud (Les Cayes)
[change] Holidays
Official holidays (on the same day every year)
- 1 January: Jour de l'Indépendance ("Independence Day")
- 2 January: Jour des Aïeux ("Ancestors' Day")
- 1 May: Fête de l'Agriculture et du Travail ("Agriculture and Labor Day")
- 18 May: Fête du Drapeau et de l'Université ("Flag and University Day")
- 17 October: Anniversary of the Death of Jean-Jacques Dessalines
- 1 November: All Saint's Day
- 2 November: All Soul's Day
- 18 November: Battle of Vertières' Day and Armed Forces Day
- 25 December: Christmas Day
Traditional and religious holidays (dates vary according to the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church)
- Carnival (Only Mardi Gras is an official holiday)
- Good Friday
- Corpus Christi
[change] Economy
Haiti is currently the least developed country in the Americas. The country is among the world's poorest and least developed. There are certain economic indicators that can be calculated to compare the social and economic situation of different countries. Some of these indicators show that Haiti fell behind other low-income developing countries since the 1980s. In 2006, Haiti ranked 146th of 177 countries in the United Nations Human Development Index (2006). About 90% of the population were estimated to be living in poverty in 2003.[11] Haiti is the only country in the Americas on the United Nations list of Least Developed Countries. Economic growth was negative in 2001 and 2002, and flat in 2003.
About 66% of all Haitians work in the agricultural sector. Most of them do small-scale subsistence farming,[12] but this activity makes up only 30% of the GDP. In the last ten years, very few jobs were created, but the informal economy is growing. Mangoes and coffee are two of Haiti's most important exports.[12] Haiti has consistently ranked among the most corrupt countries in the world on the Corruption Perceptions Index.
Foreign aid makes up approximately 30%-40% of the national government's budget. The largest donor is the United States followed by Canada, and the European Union also contributes. Venezuela and Cuba also make various contributions to Haiti's economy, especially after alliances were renewed in 2006 and 2007.
U.S. aid to the Haitian government was completely cut off in 2001-2004 after the 2000 election was disputed and President Aristide was accused of various misdeeds. After Aristide's departure in 2004, aid was restored, and the Brazilian army led the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti peacekeeping operation. Corruption is also very common on the island.[13][14]
Haiti is expected to receive debt forgiveness for about $525 million of its debt through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative by mid-2009.[15]
[change] Demographics
The population of Haiti is about 10,090,190 as of 2009. The ethnic groups of the population is 93.8% African descent, 5.4% Mulatto and 0.8% other. There is also a Asian minority and Arabs.
[change] References
- ↑ Article 4 of the Constitution
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedCIA_20110303 - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Haiti". International Monetary Fund. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2008&ey=2011&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=263&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=&pr.x=30&pr.y=10. Retrieved 2011-04-21.
- ↑ "Gini Index". World Bank. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI/. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedUNDP_2010 - ↑ "The Haitian Debacle: Yellow Fever and the Fate of the French" Montana State University; Retrieved January 14, 2010
- ↑ "Haitians"
- ↑ "Magnitude 7.0 – Haiti Region". http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2010/us2010rja6/. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
- ↑ "Major earthquake off Haiti causes hospital to collapse – Telegraph". telegraph.co.uk. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/haiti/6977308/Major-earthquake-off-Haiti-causes-hospital-to-collapse.html. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
- ↑ "Haiti says 200,000 may be dead, violence breaks out - Reuters". reuters.com. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66B5IZ20100115. Retrieved January 14, 2010.
- ↑ CIA - The World Factbook -- Haiti
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "CIA - The World Factbook – Haiti". United States. 2008-03-20. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
- ↑ "2006 Corruption Perceptions Index reinforces link between poverty and corruption". Transparency International. November 6, 2006. http://www.transparency.org/news_room/latest_news/press_releases/2006/en_2006_11_06_cpi_2006. Retrieved January 15, 2009.
- ↑ "Hoping for change in Haiti’s Cité-Soleil". International Red Cross. http://www.redcross.int/EN/mag/magazine2006_2/10-11.html. Retrieved January 15, 2009.
- ↑ CIA World Fact Book
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