ural resources:
bauxite
Land use:
arable land 20%; permanent crops 13%; meadows and pastures 18%; forest and
woodland 4%; other 45%; includes irrigated 3%
Environment:
lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from
June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; deforestation; soil
erosion
Note:
shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic

:Haiti People

Population:
6,431,977 (July 1992), growth rate 2.3% (1992)
Birth rate:
42 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
15 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
-5 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
104 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
53 years male, 55 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
6.2 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Haitian(s); adjective - Haitian
Ethnic divisions:
black 95%, mulatto and European 5%
Religions:
Roman Catholic is the official religion; Roman Catholic 80% (of which an
overwhelming majority also practice Voodoo), Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%,
Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (1982)
Languages:
French (official) spoken by only 10% of population; all speak Creole
Literacy:
53% (male 59%, female 47%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
2,300,000; agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9%; shortage of skilled
labor, unskilled labor abundant (1982)
Organized labor:
NA

:Haiti Government

Long-form name:
Republic of Haiti
Type:
republic
Capital:
Port-au-Prince
Administrative divisions:
9 departments, (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre,
Grand'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est
Independence:
1 January 1804 (from France)
Constitution:
27 August 1983, suspended February 1986; draft constitution approved March
1987, suspended June 1988, most articles reinstated March 1989; October
1991, government claims to be observing the Constitution
Legal system:
based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
Independence Day, 1 January (1804)
Executive branch:
president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch:
bicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale) consisting of an upper
house or Senate and a lower house or Chamber of Dep