Also available: 2007 and 2008 country profiles.

Basic Information
Location: The western end of the island of Hispaniola, bordering the Dominican Republic.  Hispaniola is located between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean.
Population Size: 9 million
Ethnic Composition: 95% black, 5% mixed and white
Religious Composition: 80% Roman Catholic, 16% Protestant, 3% other, 1% none; about half the population also practices voodoo
Languages: French and Creole (official languages); only 10% speak French fluently
Major Exports: apparel, light manufactures, oils, cocoa, mangoes, coffee
GDP per Capita (PPP): $1,300

Historical Overview
Christopher Columbus discovered the island of Hispaniola in 1492 and, with the establishment of a Spanish settlement in 1496, the island became home to the first European settlement in the Western hemisphere.  Spanish and French settlers occupied the island, quickly decimating the native population and importing large numbers of African slaves. In 1697, the Spanish officially ceded control of the western half of the island to the French. The area became the French’s most profitable New World possession. Its exports, sugar and forestry products, relied heavily on imported slave labor and promoted environmental degradation.  Toussaint L’Ouverture, a former black slave, led a successful rebellion against the French, abolishing slavery on the island and proclaiming himself “governor-general” in 1801. A French counter-revolution led by Charles Leclerc failed and Haiti proclaimed its independence in 1804.  The country has had little political stability since.

Between 1843 and 1915, 20 different rulers controlled Haiti, the large majority of whom were assassinated or deposed by revolution.  The United States invaded Haiti in 1915 in order to protect its investments in the country from conflict caused by racial tensions. Though the U.S. Marines withdrew in 1934, the United States retained fiscal control of Haiti until 1947. In 1956, Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier seized power in a military coup, establishing a dictatorship notorious for human rights abuses.  His son, Jean-Claude or “Baby Doc”, succeeded his father upon his death in 1971, declaring himself president-for-life, but was forced to flee Haiti for France in 1986, succumbing to hostile public sentiment. 

For the past two decades, government in Haiti has cycled between civilian governments and military regimes.  Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president in 1990, only to be ousted by a military coup a year later, prompting sanctions and a US invasion in 1994 to enforce a return to civilian government under Aristide.  United Nations peacekeepers replaced U.S. forces as elections took place. Rene Preval won and was sworn in as president in 1996. Following years of political disagreements, Preval began ruling by decree in 1999.  Aristide claimed election victory in 2000, though only 10% of the population turned out to vote. In early 2004, after years of mounting unrest, violence broke out again, with rebels threatening to march on the capital. Aristide fled and was replaced by the constitutional successor, President of the Supreme Court Boniface Alexandre. The transitional government drafted a pact for political transition and requested the presence of a UN peacekeeping force (MINUSTAH).  The first elections since Aristide’s departure were held in 2006, with Preval winning the presidency and Jacques-Eduoard Alexis serving as Prime Minister.  Armed gangs and gang violence remain a problem, with increases in ransom kidnappings in recent years.

Social Indicators
The demographic pressures indicator for Haiti worsened from 8.5 in the FSI 2008 to 9.3 in the FSI 2009.  Global food prices spiked sharply in 2008. Many protests against the rising cost of living turned violent, with at least six people estimated to be killed by riots in April 2008. Haiti’s geographical location places it in the path of late summer and fall tropical storms, four of which hit Haiti particularly hard in 2008, flooding agricultural fields, burying cities in mud, and worsening the food crisis. The storms caused a combined damage estimated at 15% of Haiti’s GDP. Haiti has a young population, with 38.1% under the age of 15.  The population growth rate is low at 1.84%.  The population is extremely impoverished, with more than half living on less than $1 per day.  The risk of infectious diseases is high and devastating flooding from storms is common. The indicator for refugees and displaced persons worsened from 4.2 in the FSI 2008 to 5.8 in the FSI 2009. Although the exact number of displaced persons was unknown, thousands of homes were damaged or completely destroyed in the past year’s hurricane season from massive flooding and mud slides. 

Haiti’s group grievance indicator improved slightly from 8.0 in the FSI 2008 to 7.3 in the FSI 2009.  Tensions still remain between the poor, black, Creole-speaking majority and the French-speaking minority, a very small percentage of whom control nearly half the nation’s wealth. Gang violence is still prevalent, though it has declined since a UN task force crackdown. In May 2008, President Preval called for more international support following a spate of kidnappings-for-ransom.  The indicator for human flight remains high and has worsened from 8.0 in the FSI 2008 to 8.6 in the FSI 2009.  Haiti has suffered from a significant incidence of emigration for years, with an estimated one in eight Haitians living abroad. Overseas remittances represent a crucial portion of Haiti’s economy.  Many educated professionals have long since left the country.

Economic Indicators
The indicator for uneven development has remained the same in the FSI 2009 at a high score of 8.2.  There is a huge wealth gap in Haiti between a very small minority that holds about half of the country’s wealth, and the rest of the population. It is estimated that 80% of the population is impoverished, with half in abject poverty.  An official unemployment rate is difficult to pinpoint, as most of the population is un- or underemployed.  Two-thirds of the population is employed in agriculture, mostly small-scale subsistence farming, which has been very prone to devastation from flooding following tropical storms and hurricanes.  The economic indicator worsened from 8.3 in the FSI 2008 to 8.9 in the FSI 2009, after a year of very modest economic growth exacerbated by devastation from the storms, and 15.8% inflation. Haiti remains the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere and is one of the least developed nations in the world. It is almost entirely dependent on foreign aid to maintain basic public services and provide humanitarian relief.

Political/Military Indicators
The indicator for the legitimacy of the state worsened slightly from 9.0 in the FSI 2008 to 9.2 in the FSI 2009.  The government, though remaining intact since the 2006 elections, has been battered by the food crisis and ensuing riots across the country, which drew thousands of people into the streets and caused at least six deaths, including a UN peacekeeper. The Parliament voted out Prime Minister Jacques-Edouard Alexis for his poor handling of the crisis; such intergovernmental squabbling has done little to assist the general populace. Haiti’s government has historically been perceived as corrupt, with Transparency International ranking it as the 177th most corrupt nation out of 180 in its 2008 Corruption Perceptions Index. 

The indicator for public services has also worsened from 8.8 in the FSI 2008 to 9.5 in the FSI 2009. Haiti has never had a strong infrastructure, but it was further weakened by the devastation from the past tropical storm season and an inadequate government response. Nearly half of the population does not have access to potable water and sanitation. The infant mortality rate remains high at 59.6 deaths per 1,000 live births and one out of eight children die before the age of five. The public health care system is too expensive for most Haitians to afford and it is understaffed and under-funded. There are only four airports with paved runways and the length of unpaved roads is triple that of paved roads. Although public education is free, most Haitians can not afford the associated costs of uniforms, textbooks, and school supplies. Only 65% of children are enrolled in primary school and only 35% of those who begin primary school will complete it. Only 56% of the adult population is literate. 

The indicator for human rights has continued to improve slightly, although it remained high at 8.5 in the FSI 2009. Arbitrary arrests and filing of charges without evidence continue to be reported. Police forces also have been reported to use excessive force. The justice system is largely ineffective with a weak penal code, overlong delays in the process, and with violent prisons prone to overcrowding.  Haiti’s constitution provides for religious freedom, which is respected by the government.  There are multiple independent newspapers and TV and radio stations. The biggest threat to a free press is the personal safety of journalists at the hands of armed gangs, with multiple documented murders in the past decade.

The indicator for the security apparatus improved from 8.9 in the FSI 2008 to 8.4 in the FSI 2009.  MINUSTAH, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, has been present since 2004 and currently has 7,044 troops and 2,011 police in Haiti. A disarmament, demobilization and rehabilitation program for all armed groups exists under the mission’s mandate, yet armed gangs continue to operate. A wave of kidnappings-for-ransom hit the country in the past year. MINUSTAH did more to combat the gangs and kidnappings than the government, which has no military and a police force with an uneven record of performance. 

The indicator for factionalized elites decreased from 8.9 in the FSI 2008 to 8.3 in the FSI 2009, though it remains high due to the continued tensions from political factions and rival gangs. With the presence of a thousands-strong international peacekeeping force and 60% of Haiti’s budget coming from foreign aid, the indicator for external intervention is very high at 9.8. MINUSTAH’s mandate currently extends until 15 October 2009.  The United Nations has been repeatedly calling for continued international aid to Haiti despite the global economic crisis.

Core Five State Institutions

Leadership	Military	Police	Judiciary	Civil Service
Poor	N/A	Poor	Poor	Poor

The current government was installed in 2006 elections that were deemed to be fair by outside observers.  President Rene Preval was elected to his second non-consecutive term.  The Parliament voted out Prime Minister Jacques-Edouard Alexis in a crisis of confidence after food-related riots in April 2008. The new Prime Minister, Michele Pierre-Louis, was not confirmed until September.  Elections scheduled for May 2008 to fill parliamentary vacancies did not occur.

The regular military forces have been demobilized for years, although Haiti maintains a small coast guard and a national police force.

The Haitian National Police (HNP) have been criticized for corruption, inefficiency, and lack of resources and training. It is too small to provide adequate enforcement, with most efforts against armed gangs being left to international forces.  There are frequent reports of arbitrary arrests and detentions longer than 48 hours before suspects are brought before a judge. Detention without a warrant occurs frequently. International training of the HNP continues, including establishing an internal mechanism for rooting out corruption.  Polls by the UN peacekeeping force have found public confidence in the police force rising greatly, with 66% of respondents listing the HNP as the most trusted government organization.

The judicial system is corrupt, with reported heavy influence from the other branches of government.  Prisons are overcrowded and many detainees go months without being brought before a judge.  Many of the delays can be attributed to lack of funding and trained justices. Judges frequently flout the constitutionally-provided right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty as well as the right to be present at one’s trial. Investigatory duties are not clearly designated and investigations often remain incomplete.

The civil service is underfunded and understaffed like the other branches of government, partly due to a pattern of sustained emigration and brain drain from Haiti.

Prognosis
Still the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti suffered a sharp setback in 2008 from previous modest advances with the combined blows of spiraling global food prices and four devastating tropical storms.  The government needs to show its citizens that it can provide basic public services, such as potable water, access to health care, reliable roads, and relief assistance after predictable natural disasters from flooding.  Haiti’s chronic political instability may continue apace if living needs are not met, although the riots incited by food crises prompted nothing more severe than a democratic change in prime minister, rather than a violent change in government.  While Haiti currently receives billions in foreign aid for food relief and rebuilding infrastructure, it must use such aid wisely.  The presence of MINUSTAH has provided the country with a measure of stability that it could not provide on its own, with UN peacekeeping forces containing armed gangs.  Haiti has multiple challenges, the most daunting of which is to build its own police force and infrastructure in preparation for future tapering off of the security and financial foreign aid it currently receives.

Recent Developments

Last updated August 6, 2009

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