Yearbook 2016
Haiti. The year was marked by deep political disagreement and institutional uncertainty as well as a major natural disaster.
In January, the second round of the presidential and congressional elections would have been held, but they were suspended because Jude Célestin, presidential candidate of the opposition alliance LAPEH (Alternative Alliance for Progress and Liberation), referred to extensive electoral fraud in the first round of October 2015 won by Jovenel Moïse from PHTK (Haitian Tet Kalepartiet) and refused to participate.
The current population of Haiti is 11,402,539. President Michel Martelly resigned on February 7, and was succeeded by Senate President Jocelerme Privert for a 120-day interim period. Privert is closely associated with former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide (1991, 1994–96, 2001–04) and has been head of both the tax authorities and the interior minister. In May, a commission of inquiry submitted a report to Privert recommending that the election result be rejected because of widespread cheating. A new date for presidential and congressional elections was set for October 9, with a second round of presidential elections on January 8, 2017 if no candidate achieved a majority. However, during the run-up to the election, a number of violent incidents occurred and a Senate candidate from the opposition was subjected to attempted murder.
Five days before the October 4 election, however, according to thereligionfaqs, Haiti was hit by Hurricane Matthew and the election was canceled again. The hurricane caused a humanitarian disaster in the already poor country, which has not yet recovered from the earthquake in January 2010. Nearly 1,000 people died in the hurricane and more than 175,000 were evacuated. Particularly hard hit were the provinces of Nippes, Sud and Grand Anse in the south, where, according to the UN, 95% of housing and agricultural harvests were damaged and a total of about 1.4 million people were in need of humanitarian aid. The World Health Organization WHO reported that stagnant water in the hurricane’s tracks caused a new spread of cholera, which has been endemic in the country for several years. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon announced that $ 120 million has been earmarked for disaster relief for those affected.
Economy
Inflation rate | 14.70% |
Unemployment rate | 40.6% |
Gross domestic product (GDP) | $ 19,970,000,000 |
GDP growth rate | 1.20% |
GDP per capita | 1,800 USD |
GDP by sector | |
Agriculture | 22.10% |
Industry | 20.30% |
Service | 57.60% |
State budget | |
Revenue | 658 million |
Expenditure | 726.9 million |
Proportion of the population below the national poverty line | 58,% |
Distribution of household income | |
Top 10% | 47.7 |
Lower 10% | 0.7 |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.50% |
Investment volume | 28.9% of GDP |
National debt | 31.10% of GDP |
Foreign exchange reserves | $ 2,044,000,000 |
Tourism | 2014 |
Visitors | 465,000 |
Revenue | $ 578,000,000 |
Haiti is the country poorest of the entire American continent. Its economy, already negatively affected by political instability, has been made even more dependent on the outside by the devastating effects of the earthquake of January 2010. The primary sector is affected by the indiscriminate exploitation of the few agricultural soils (32% of the total area) by both small subsistence farms (corn, rice, cassava) and large plantations (coffee, bananas, sisal agave, cocoa, cotton, sugar cane, fruit trees). Although it has clearly decreased, the active population in agriculture still exceeds 60%, failing to ensure the country even food self-sufficiency; on the other hand, industrial labor is poorly paid, for this very reason constituting an attraction factor for foreign companies producing consumer goods and technologies (from sports equipment to electronics) destined not to enter the local market at all. Fishing employs a few thousand workers and is carried out with artisanal means (10,010 t in 2006) but this value does not take into account family fishing, which also contributes to integrating the food diet of the population with animal proteins. The supply of services is also very scarce, especially in the fundamental sectors of education and health. Modest is the production of electricity. Mineral resources are exploited only partially and once again by foreign companies (bauxite; copper; nickel; gold). Among the oldest industries there are sugar factories and tobacco factories, cement factories and some chemical plants. The road network (about 4000 km, of which only 1/6 of artificial ground) has been integrated, since 1980, by a motorway that runs through the southern regions, joining the capital to Les Cayes; the only railway (about 300 km) serves the sugar cane plantations. Air connections are based at Port-au-Prince international airport. The trade balance is heavily passive. The exchanges take place above all with the United States: especially coffee, bauxite and sugar are exported; food and textiles are imported. the only railway (about 300 km) serves the sugar cane plantations. Air connections are based at Port-au-Prince international airport. The trade balance is heavily passive. The exchanges take place above all with the United States: especially coffee, bauxite and sugar are exported; food and textiles are imported. the only railway (about 300 km) serves the sugar cane plantations. Air connections are based at Port-au-Prince international airport. The trade balance is heavily passive. The exchanges take place above all with the United States: especially coffee, bauxite and sugar are exported; food and textiles are imported.