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Background:
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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.
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Location:
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Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic
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Geographic coordinates:
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19 00 N, 72 25 W
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Map references:
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Area:
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total: 27,750 sq km
land: 27,560 sq km
water: 190 sq km
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than Maryland
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Land boundaries:
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total: 360 km
border countries: Dominican Republic 360 km
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Coastline:
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1,771 km
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
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Climate:
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tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds
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Terrain:
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mostly rough and mountainous
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m
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Natural resources:
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bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower
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Land use:
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arable land: 28.11%
permanent crops: 11.53%
other: 60.36% (2005)
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Irrigated land:
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920 sq km (2003)
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Total renewable water resources:
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14 cu km (2000)
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
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Total: 0.99 cu km/yr (5%/1%/94%)
Per capita: 116 cu m/yr (2000)
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Natural hazards:
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lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts
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Environment - current issues:
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extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water
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Environment - international agreements:
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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
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Geography - note:
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shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic)
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Population:
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8,706,497
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.)
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Age structure:
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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.)
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Median age:
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total: 18.4 years
male: 17.9 years
female: 18.8 years (2007 est.)
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Population growth rate:
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2.453% (2007 est.)
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Birth rate:
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35.87 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
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Death rate:
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10.4 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
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Net migration rate:
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-0.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
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Sex ratio:
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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.)
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Infant mortality rate:
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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.)
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 57.03 years
male: 55.35 years
female: 58.75 years (2007 est.)
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Total fertility rate:
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4.86 children born/woman (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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5.6% (2003 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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280,000 (2003 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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24,000 (2003 est.)
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Nationality:
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noun: Haitian(s)
adjective: Haitian
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Ethnic groups:
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black 95%, mulatto and white 5%
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Religions:
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Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3%
note: roughly half of the population practices voodoo
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Languages:
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French (official), Creole (official)
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 52.9%
male: 54.8%
female: 51.2% (2003 est.)
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This page was last updated on 24 January, 2008
- The Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook - |
