consulting Articles

Haiti

The Republic of Haiti is situated on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. It was the first independent black republic in the world. Haiti is the most densely populated nation in the Western Hemisphere. It is the third largest country in the Caribbean island capturing total 27,750 square kilometers area. The capital of the country Port-au-Prince is located in the Ouest department.

HISTORY:- The Taíno Arawak people inhabited in Haiti before Christopher Columbus arrived in the land in 1492. The region was claimed and ruled by the Spanish afterwards. France and Spain claim over the land was come to an end with the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697. As Hispaniola was divided between them, the French control remains over this region and they renamed it as Saint-Domingue. In 1697, Haiti was colonized by the French and the island was evolved as a leading sugarcane producer which was highly dependent on slaves. In 1793 slavery was outlawed. After the slave rebellion of 1791, the former slaves declared independence by Pierre-Dominique Toussaint l'Ouverture in 1801. Though Napoléon Bonaparte initially succeeded to suppress the movement but in 1804 the nation achieved independence with the new name of Haiti. Following the independence Haiti was coming through a complete chaos socially and economically. Haiti became bankrupt and embraced United States occupation in 1915 which remained until 1934. This occupation brought stability to the nation.

GEOGRAPHY:- Haiti is located at 19 00 N, 72 25 W in the Caribbean. The total area of Haiti, the second largest island in the Greater Antilles is 27,750 sq km in which 190 sq km area is captured by the internal water resources. The coastline is 1,771 km long bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. The lowest point is Caribbean Sea (0 m) and the highest point is Chaine de la Selle (2,680 m). Haiti is mostly rough and mountainous.

CLIMATE:- The climate of Haiti is tropical while semiarid climate can be seen in the mountains in the east. The eastern mountains cut off trade winds.

GOVERNMENT:- Haiti is a republic. The legal system is designed on the model of the Roman civil law system. The constitution was approved in 1987. The three branches of the government are:

Executive branch comprises the President (chief of state), the Prime minister (head of government), and the cabinet. The President is elected by a popular vote on a 5-year term. The Prime minister is appointed by the President. The cabinet is chosen by the Prime minister after consulting with the President.

Legislative branch comprises the bicameral National Assembly which is divided into the Senate (30 seats) and the Chamber of Deputies (99 seats).

Judicial branch comprises the Supreme Court.

The major political parties of Haiti are Lespwa, Fanmi Lavalas (FL), Struggling People's Organization (OPL), Open the Gate Party (PLB), Christian Movement for a New Haiti (MOCHRENHA), Tet Ansam, Fusion of Socialist Democrats (FUSION), Grand Center Right Front Coalition, Assembly of Progressive National Democrats (RNDP), Union to Save Haiti, Mobilisation for Haiti's progress, Haitian Democratic and Reform Movement. Suffrage is universal at the age of 18.

President René Préval

Prime Minister Jacques-Édouard Alexis

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS:- Haiti is divided into 10 departments, which in turn sub-divided into 41 arrondissements, and 133 communes.

The 10 departments are:

Artibonite

Centre

Grand'Anse

Nippes

Nord

Nord-Est

Nord-Ouest

Ouest

Sud-Est

Sud

CULTURE:- Haiti has a rich cultural heritage with a fusion of French and African cultures. Haiti celebrates a vibrant and colourful carnival, popularly known as Kanaval in Haitian Creole. The Jacmel Carnival is also culturally very famous. The most popular music genre of Haiti is compas. Most notably, popular music genres like Salsa music, soca and zouk came from compas. Rasin and kadans are other popular genres of music in Haiti. Haitian cuisine is highly influenced by the French and African cuisines.

ECONOMY:- With 80% of the population living under the poverty line, Haiti is one of the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere. Almost 66% of the population depends on subsistence farming.

GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $15.82 billion; per capita $1,900.

Real growth rate: 3.5%.

Inflation: 8.9%.

Unemployment: More than two-thirds of the labor force does not have formal jobs (2002 est.).

Arable land: 28%.

Agriculture: Coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood.

Labor force: 3.6 million; (1995); agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9%.

Budget:

Revenues: $926.3 million

Expenditures: $1.045 billion (2007 est.)

Debt - external: $1.463 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Industries: Sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, light assembly industries based on imported parts.

Natural resources: Bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower.

Exports: $554.8 million f.o.b. (2007 est.): manufactures, coffee, oils, cocoa, mangoes.

Imports: $1.844 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials.

Major trading partners: U.S., Dominican Republic, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba, UK (2004).

Monetary unit: Gourde

LANGUAGE:- The official languages are French, Haitian Creole.

CITIES:- The capital Port-au-Prince is the largest city of Haiti. Cap Haitien is another large city.

POPULATION:- The estimated population of Haiti is 8,706,497 with a growth rate of 2.5%.

Density per sq mi: 818

Literacy rate: 53% (2003 est.)

RACE:-

Black African 95%

Mulatto, Arab, European 5%

RELIGION:- Almost half of the entire population practices Vaudou.

Roman Catholic 80%

Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%)

Other 3%

None 1%.

HEALTH:-

Birth rate: 35.69 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 10.15 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 62.33 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 57.56 years

Total fertility rate: 4.79 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 24,000 (2003 est.)

Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2005): 71

UNICEF:- With the help of UNICEF, 824,000 children were immunized against polio in 2005. UNICEF provided medical equipment to reduce maternal mortality rates. UNICEF tries to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of AIDS. UNICEF helped in building 55 new schools to accommodate 20,000 children and also provided water and sanitation supplies to 75 schools. UNICEF and its partners provide identification cards, birth certificates and psychosocial support and counseling to the children of Haiti.

TRANSPORTATION:-

Railways: NA.

Highways: 4,160 km (1999)

Waterways: NA.

Ports and harbors: Cap-Haitien.

Airports: 14 (2007).

Other consulting articles


Nigger Joke, JOKES - Blonde Joke redneck joke and more., nigger joke, Enter here to find out our joke collection: blonde joke
Services and Information at GROCERYWORLD.COM , Grocer Chicago Grocer New York, Guide information regarding Grocer Chicago, Grocer Los Angeles
Alterationsiworld.com visualization, therapy, psychoneuroimmunology

1

Explore the Worldviewer.com Network Sites