Michael CARNEY
embassy: 5 Harry Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince
mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince

Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and
red with a centered white rectangle bearing the coat of arms, which
contains a palm tree flanked by flags and two cannons above a scroll
bearing the motto L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE (Union Makes Strength)

Economy

Economy--overview: About 75% of the population lives in abject
poverty. Nearly 70% of all Haitians depend on the agriculture
sector, which consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming and
employs about two-thirds of the economically active work force. The
country has experienced little job creation since President PREVAL
took office in February 1996, although the informal economy is
growing. Failure to reach agreements with international sponsors
have denied Haiti badly needed budget and development assistance.
Meeting aid conditions in 1999 will be especially challenging in the
face of mounting popular criticism of reforms.

GDP: purchasing power parity--$8.9 billion (1998 est.)

GDP--real growth rate: 3% (1998 est.)

GDP--per capita: purchasing power parity?$1,300 (1998 est.)

GDP--composition by sector:
agriculture: 42%
industry: 14%
services: 44% (1997 est.)

Population below poverty line: 75% (1998 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8% (1998 est.)

Labor force: 3.6 million (1995)
note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1998)

Labor force--by occupation: agriculture 66%, services 25%,
industry 9%

Unemployment rate: 60% (1996 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $323 million
expenditures: $363 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(FY97/98 est.)

Industries: sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement,
tourism, light assembly industries based on imported parts

Industrial production growth rate: 0.6% (1997 est.)

Electricity--production: 415 million kWh (1996)

Electricity--production by source:
fossil fuel: 60.24%
hydro: 39.76%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)

Electricity--consumption: 415 million kWh (1996)

Electricity--exports: 0 kWh (1996)

Electricity--imports: 0 kWh (1996)

Agriculture--products: coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn,
sorghum; wood

Exports: $110 million (f.o.b., 1997)

Exports--commodities