About Haiti
Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and children bear the brunt of this poverty. Many people live on less than $1 per day. Two-thirds of the labor force does not have formal employment, but is under- or un-employed. Politics, a struggling economy, and geography have all contributed to Haiti's extreme poverty, prevented a return to stability, and caused great suffering among Haitian children. 13-21% of children are malnourished, depending on area of the country. |
Facts & Figures
- Population: 8.5 million
- Childhood Mortality: 129 of every 1,000 Haitian children will die before their fifth birthday.
In the United States this figure is 8 per 1,000 children.
- Life Expectancy: Males - 50.52 years, Females - 53.12 years.
In comparison life expectancy in the U.S. for men is 74.1 years; for women, 79.5 years.
- Approximately 6.1 percent of the adult population is infected with HIV/AIDS.
- Over 80 percent of the population lives below the poverty level.
- The literacy rate in Haiti is 53 percent.
See the CIA Facebook for additional information. |
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History of Haiti | | |
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When Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492, the island of Hispaniola was called "Hayti," or mountainous land, by the native Arawak people. The indigenous population was decimated by diseases introduced by the Europeans and by enslavement. Today there is no trace of the Arawak culture on the island.
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Under Spanish and then French rule, Haiti became a slave-import center through the 18th century. With the country's natural resources - cocoa, cotton, sugar cane and coffee - in high demand in Europe, colonial powers brought slaves from West Africa and forced them into labor.
In 1804, a guerilla war waged by runaway slaves living in the mountains resulted in the first and only successful slave revolution in history. Haiti declared itself an independent republic. The island was divided in 1844 into two separate countries, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Decades of political unrest, class and racial divisions, and violence have contributed to Haiti's decline into abject poverty. After a brief period of political stability in the early 1900s, Haiti endured decades of dictatorship under the notorious Duvaliers - "Papa Doc" and his son "Baby Doc." True democracy continues to elude the country as corruption, military coups, and violent protests have dominated in recent years. United Nations peacekeeping troops are now struggling to keep peace, and foreign aid trickles in, hampered by violence and uncertainty.
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Agriculture constitutes the primary economic activity in Haiti. Coffee, cotton and sugar are exported; and most families grow subsistence crops on small plots. Suitable agricultural land is scarce in Haiti, damaged by years of deforestation in the surrounding mountains. Forests have been stripped bare for fuel and to clear land for subsistence farming. The country's strife has been exacerbated in recent years by flood-producing rains and by 2004's Tropical Storm Jeanne, which killed 2,500 and left the city of Gonaives cut off from the rest of the country for weeks.
Today Haitian families face a daily struggle for food, clean water, medical care, and basic necessities.
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