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Haiti is a Latin American country located in the Greater Antilles Archipelago on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, sharing it with the Dominican Republic. It has a coastline that stretches upto 1,771 km. it claims 12 nautical miles of territorial sea, 24 nautical miles of contiguous zone, 200 nautical miles of exclusive economic zone. Geologically it is has mostly rough and mountainous terrains. Caribbean Sea is the lowest point and Chaine de la Selle is the highest with 2,680 m. The chief natural resources found in Haiti are bauxite, copper, gold, marble, hydropower and calcium carbonate.
Haiti has approximately 920 sq km of irrigated land. The climate is tropical and semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds. The Columbus had discovered the island of Hispaniola in 1492, Taino Amerindians the natives had inhabited the island. The Spanish has dissipated the natives within 25 years. In the early 17th Century French made its presence felt in Hispaniola and in 1697 Spain handed over the western third of the island to French, which later became Haiti. After prolonged struggle, Haiti succeeded as the first black republic to declare its independence in 1804. Haiti has been captivated by political violence for most of its history. |
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| People |
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The Haitian population is approximately 8,706,497. 95% of the Haitians are black and only 5% mulatto and white. The white descents are mainly of French, Polish or Italian ancestry, a minority of Asians are also present especially Chinese.The religions followed can be classified into chiefly Christians, 80% are Roman Catholic and only 14% are protestant which includes Baptists, Pentecostal, Adventist and other sects, 1% of the population follow none and 3% follow other indigenous religion. Both French and Creole are official languages. Spanish is also spoken near the border with the Dominican Republic.
Haitian culture is rich with long stories and history. Culture is has a dominant influence of French and African elements, with a very little influence from Spanish colonists and some from the native Taino. The customs is a mixture of diverse cultural beliefs and ethnic groups that inhabited the island of Hispaniola.
Haiti is renowned for its distinctive art, majority painting and sculpture. |
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| Government |
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Haiti follows a framework of republic government, a pluriform multiparty system. President is the head of the State and Prime Minister the head of the Government. The Cabinet is chosen by the Prime Minister in consultation with the president. The president elected by popular vote for a five-year term. The executive power is exercised by the President and Prime Minister who together constitute the government.
The legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the National Assembly of Haiti. Haiti is administratively divided into 10 departments, Artibonite, CentreNippes, Nord, Nord-Est, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est, Grand 'Anse and Nord-Ouest. These departments are furthermore divided into 41 arrondissements, and 133 communes which serve as second and third level administrative divisions.
President: Rene Preval
Prime Minister: Jacques-Edouard Alexis
Independence Day, 1 January (1804)
Currency: Gourde
Literacy rate: 53% |
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| Economy |
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Haiti is one of the poorest and underdeveloped country in the western hemisphere, with approximately 80% living under poverty and 54% in abject poverty. A major percentage of population depends on agriculture for their livelihood. Haiti is very sensitive to natural disasters therefore has let to major deforestation.
66% of the labor force depends on the agriculture, 25% in the service sector and only9% in the industrial sector. The chief agricultural products are coffee, mangoes, rice, corn, sugarcane, sorghum and wood. The major industrial produce and services are sugar refining, flour milling, cement, textiles and light assembly based on imported parts. |
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