Ecuador (2005) | Haiti (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 22 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Pichincha, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe | 9 departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand 'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 33.5% (male 2,282,252/female 2,195,942)
15-64 years: 61.5% (male 4,094,146/female 4,130,096) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 310,336/female 350,821) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 42.7% (male 1,637,853; female 1,575,893)
15-64 years: 53.6% (male 1,962,975; female 2,073,353) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 131,784; female 145,959) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp | coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood |
Airports | 205 (2004 est.) | 12 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 62
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 18 (2004 est.) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 143
914 to 1,523 m: 30 under 914 m: 113 (2004 est.) |
total: 10
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 6 (2002) |
Area | total: 283,560 sq km
land: 276,840 sq km water: 6,720 sq km note: includes Galapagos Islands |
total: 27,750 sq km
land: 27,560 sq km water: 190 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Nevada | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | The "Republic of the Equator" was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others are Colombia and Venezuela). Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador lost territories in a series of conflicts with its neighbors. A border war with Peru that flared in 1995 was resolved in 1999. Although Ecuador marked 25 years of civilian governance in 2004, the period has been marred by political instability. Seven presidents have governed Ecuador since 1996. | The native Arawak Amerindians - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by Columbus in 1492 - were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola, and in 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island - Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean, but only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'OUVERTURE and after a prolonged struggle, became the first black republic to declare its independence in 1804. Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history since then, and it is now one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. Over three decades of dictatorship followed by military rule ended in 1990 when Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE was elected president. Most of his term was usurped by a military takeover, but he was able to return to office in 1994 and oversee the installation of a close associate to the presidency in 1996. ARISTIDE won a second term as president in 2000, and took office early in 2001. However, a political crisis stemming from fraudulent legislative elections in 2000 has not yet been resolved. |
Birth rate | 22.67 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 34.06 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $7.9 billion
expenditures: planned $7.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.6 billion (2004 est.) |
revenues: $273 million
expenditures: $361 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY 00/01 est.) |
Capital | Quito | Port-au-Prince |
Climate | tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands | tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds |
Coastline | 2,237 km | 1,771 km |
Constitution | 10 August 1998 | approved March 1987; suspended June 1988, with most articles reinstated March 1989; in October 1991, government claimed to be observing the constitution; return to constitutional rule, October 1994 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Ecuador
conventional short form: Ecuador local long form: Republica del Ecuador local short form: Ecuador |
conventional long form: Republic of Haiti
conventional short form: Haiti local long form: Republique d'Haiti local short form: Haiti |
Currency | - | gourde (HTG) |
Death rate | 4.24 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 13.36 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $16.81 billion (2004 est.) | $1.2 billion (1999) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Kristie Anne KENNEY
embassy: Avenida 12 de Octubre y Avenida Patria, Quito mailing address: APO AA 34039 telephone: [593] (2) 256-2890 FAX: [593] (2) 250-2052 consulate(s) general: Guayaquil |
chief of mission: Ambassador James B. Foley
embassy: 5 Harry S Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince telephone: [509] 222-0354, 222-0368, 222-0200, 222-0612 FAX: [509] 223-1641 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
chancery: 2535 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7200 FAX: [1] (202) 667-3482 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Jersey City (New Jersey), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Chief of Mission Harry Frantz LEO
chancery: 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4090 FAX: [1] (202) 745-7215 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
Disputes - international | organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia penetrate across Ecuador's shared border and caused over 20,000 refugees to flee into Ecuador in 2004 | despite efforts to control illegal migration, destitute Haitians continue to cross into Dominican Republic; claims US-administered Navassa Island |
Economic aid - recipient | $216 million (2002) | $120 million (FY02) |
Economy - overview | Ecuador has substantial petroleum resources, which have accounted for 40% of the country's export earnings and one-fourth of central government budget revenues in recent years. Consequently, fluctuations in world market prices can have a substantial domestic impact. In the late 1990s, Ecuador suffered its worst economic crisis, with natural disasters and sharp declines in world petroleum prices driving Ecuador's economy into free fall in 1999. Real GDP contracted by more than 6%, with poverty worsening significantly. The banking system also collapsed, and Ecuador defaulted on its external debt later that year. The currency depreciated by some 70% in 1999, and, on the brink of hyperinflation, the MAHAUD government announced it would dollarize the economy. A coup, however, ousted MAHAUD from office in January 2000, and after a short-lived junta failed to garner military support, Vice President Gustavo NOBOA took over the presidency. In March 2000, Congress approved a series of structural reforms that also provided the framework for the adoption of the US dollar as legal tender. Dollarization stabilized the economy, and growth returned to its pre-crisis levels in the years that followed. Under the administration of Lucio GUTIERREZ - January 2003 to April 2005 - Ecuador benefited from higher world petroleum prices, but the government has made little progress on economic reforms necessary to reduce Ecuador's vulnerability to petroleum price swings and financial crises. | About 80% 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. Following legislative elections in May 2000, fraught with irregularities, international donors - including the US and EU - suspended almost all aid to Haiti. The economy shrank an estimated 1.2% in 2001 and an estimated 0.9% in 2002. The contraction will likely intensify in 2003 unless a political agreement with donors is reached on economic policy. Suspended aid and loan disbursements totaled more than $500 million at the start of 2003. |
Electricity - consumption | 10.79 billion kWh (2002) | 539.4 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 57 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 11.54 billion kWh (2002) | 580 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 60.3%
hydro: 39.7% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chimborazo 6,267 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution; pollution from oil production wastes in ecologically sensitive areas of the Amazon Basin and Galapagos Islands | extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, black 3% | black 95%, mulatto and white 5% |
Exchange rates | 25,000 (2004), 25,000 (2003), 25,000 (2002), 25,000 (2001), 24,988 (2000) | gourdes per US dollar - 29.25 (2002), 24.43 (2001), 21.17 (2000), 16.94 (1999), 16.77 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Alfredo PALACIO (since 20 April 2005); Vice President Nicanor Alejandro SERRANO Aguilar (since 5 May 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; former President Lucio GUTIERREZ was removed from office by congress effective 20 April 2005
head of government: President Alfredo PALACIO (since 20 April 2005); Vice President Nicanor Alejandro SERRANO Aguilar (since 5 May 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: the president and vice president are elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a four-year term (no immediate reelection); election last held 20 October 2002; runoff election held 24 November 2002 (next to be held October 2006) election results: results of the 24 November 2002 runoff election - Lucio GUTIERREZ elected president; percent of vote - Lucio GUTIERREZ 54.3%; Alvaro NOBOA 45.7%; note - Vice President Alfredo PALACIO assumed the presidency on 20 April 2005 after congress removed Lucio GUTIERREZ from office |
chief of state: President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE (since 7 February 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Yvon NEPTUNE (since 4 March 2002); note - former Prime Minister CHERESTAL resigned in January 2002 cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president, ratified by the National Assembly election results: Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE elected president; percent of vote - Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE 92% |
Exports | 387,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp | manufactures, coffee, oils, cocoa |
Exports - partners | US 42.9%, Panama 14.3%, Peru 7.9%, Italy 4.6% (2004) | US 83.9%, Dominican Republic 6.6%, Canada 2.4% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag; similar to the flag of Colombia, which is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms | 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) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $10.6 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8.7%
industry: 30.5% services: 60.9% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 30%
industry: 20% services: 50% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,400 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.8% (2004 est.) | -0.9% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 2 00 S, 77 30 W | 19 00 N, 72 25 W |
Geography - note | Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world | shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic) |
Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 43,197 km
paved: 8,164 km unpaved: 35,033 km (2002) |
total: 4,160 km
paved: 1,011 km unpaved: 3,149 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 32% note: data for urban households only (October 2003) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | significant transit country for cocaine originating in Colombia and Peru; importer of precursor chemicals used in production of illicit narcotics; attractive location for cash-placement by drug traffickers laundering money because of dollarization and weak anti-money-laundering regime, especially vulnerable along the border with Colombia; increased activity on the northern frontier by trafficking groups and Colombian insurgents | major Caribbean transshipment point for cocaine en route to the US and Europe; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Haiti for illicit financial transactions; pervasive corruption |
Imports | NA | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | vehicles, medicinal products, telecommunications equipment, electricity | food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials |
Imports - partners | US 16.5%, Colombia 14.1%, China 9.2%, Venezuela 7.1%, Brazil 6.5%, Chile 4.6%, Japan 4.5%, Mexico 4.3% (2004) | US 53.4%, Dominican Republic 5.3%, Colombia 3.4% (2002) |
Independence | 24 May 1822 (from Spain) | 1 January 1804 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 10% (2004 est.) | NA |
Industries | petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products, chemicals | sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, light assembly industries based on imported parts |
Infant mortality rate | total: 23.66 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 28.36 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 76.01 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 81.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 70.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2004 est.) | 11.9% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | CAN, CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACCT, ACP, Caricom, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 3 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 8,650 sq km (1998 est.) | 750 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (according to the Constitution, new justices are elected by the full Supreme Court; in December 2004, however, Congress successfully replaced the entire court via a simple-majority resolution) | Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation |
Labor force | 4.53 million (urban) (2004 est.) | 3.6 million
note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1995) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 8%, industry 24%, services 68% (2001) | agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9% |
Land boundaries | total: 2,010 km
border countries: Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km |
total: 360 km
border countries: Dominican Republic 360 km |
Land use | arable land: 5.85%
permanent crops: 4.93% other: 89.22% (2001) |
arable land: 20.32%
permanent crops: 12.7% other: 66.98% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua) | French (official), Creole (official) |
Legal system | based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (100 seats; members are popularly elected by province to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2002 (next to be held October 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PSC 25, PRE 15, ID 16, PRIAN 10, PSP 9, Pachakutik Movement 6, MPD 5, DP 4, PS-FA 3, independents 7; note - defections by members of National Congress are commonplace, resulting in frequent changes in the numbers of seats held by the various parties |
bicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale consists of the Senate (27 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies (83 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held for two-thirds of seats 21 May 2000, with runoffs on 9 July boycotted by the opposition; seven seats still disputed; election for remaining one-third held on 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2002); Chamber of Deputies - last held 21 May 2000, with runoffs on 30 July boycotted by the opposition; one vacant seat rerun 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 26, independent 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 73, MOCHRENA 3, PLB 2, OPL 1, vacant 1, other minor parties and independents 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.21 years
male: 73.35 years female: 79.22 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 51.61 years
male: 50.36 years female: 52.92 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.5% male: 94% female: 91% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 52.9% male: 54.8% female: 51.2% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru | Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic |
Map references | South America | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm
continental shelf: 100 nm from 2,500 meter isobath |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: to depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 31 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 241,403 GRT/391,898 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 2, liquefied gas 1, passenger 8, petroleum tanker 20 foreign-owned: 3 (Germany 1, Greece 1, Paraguay 1) (2005) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry, Naval Aviation, Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana, FAE) | Haitian National Police (HNP)
note: the regular Haitian Army, Navy, and Air Force have been demobilized but still exist on paper until or unless they are constitutionally abolished |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $655 million (2004) | $50 million (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.2% (2004) | 1.3% (FY00) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,735,845 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 944,474 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 94,349 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day (independence of Quito), 10 August (1809) | Independence Day, 1 January (1804) |
Nationality | noun: Ecuadorian(s)
adjective: Ecuadorian |
noun: Haitian(s)
adjective: Haitian |
Natural hazards | frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts | lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower | bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -6.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -4.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | extra heavy crude 578 km; gas 71 km; oil 1,386 km; refined products 1,185 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Concentration of Popular Forces or CFP [Averroes BUCARAM]; Democratic Left or ID [Guillermo LANDAZURI]; National Action Institutional Renewal Party or PRIAN [Alvaro NOBOA]; Pachakutik Movement [Gilberto TALAHUA]; Patriotic Society Party or PSP [Lucio GUTIERREZ Borbua]; Popular Democracy or DP [Dr. Juan Manuel FUERTES]; Popular Democratic Movement or MPD [Gustavo TERAN Acosta]; Radical Alfarista Front or FRA [Fabian ALARCON, director]; Roldosist Party or PRE [Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz, director]; Social Christian Party or PSC [Leon FEBRES CORDERO]; Socialist Party - Broad Front or PS-FA [Victor GRANDA] | Alliance for the Liberation and Advancement of Haiti or ALAH [Reynold GEORGES]; Assembly of Progressive National Democrats or RDNP [Leslie MANIGAT]; Convergence (opposition coalition composed of ESPACE, OPL, and MOCHRENA) [Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES, Evans PAUL, Luc MESADIEU, Victor BENOIT]; Democratic Consultation Group coalition or ESPACE [Evans PAUL, Victor BENOIT] composed of the following parties: National Congress of Democratic Movements or KONAKOM, National Progressive Revolutionary Party or PANPRA, Generation 2004, and Haiti Can; Haitian Christian Democratic Party or PDCH [Marie-France CLAUDE]; Haitian Democratic Party or PADEM [Clark PARENT]; Lavalas Family or FL [Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE]; Mobilization for National Development or MDN [Hubert DE RONCERAY]; Movement for National Reconstruction or MRN [Rene THEODORE]; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti or MIDH [Marc BAZIN]; Movement for the Organization of the Country or MOP [Gesner COMEAU and Jean MOLIERE]; National Cooperative Action Movement or MKN [Volrick Remy JOSEPH]; National Front for Change and Democracy or FNCD [Evans PAUL and Turneb DELPE]; New Christian Movement for a New Haiti or MOCHRENA [Luc MESADIEU]; Open the Gate or PLB [Renaud BERNARDIN]; Struggling People's Organization or OPL [Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador or CONAIE [Luis MACAS, president]; Coordinator of Social Movements or CMS [F. Napoleon SANTOS]; Federation of Indigenous Evangelists of Ecuador or FEINE [Marco MURILLO, president]; National Federation of Indigenous Afro-Ecuatorianos and Peasants or FENOCIN [Pedro DE LA CRUZ, president]; Popular Front or FP [Luis VILLACIS] | Autonomous Haitian Workers or CATH; Confederation of Haitian Workers or CTH; Federation of Workers Trade Unions or FOS; National Popular Assembly or APN; Papaye Peasants Movement or MPP; Popular Organizations Gathering Power or PROP; Roman Catholic Church |
Population | 13,363,593 (July 2005 est.) | 7,527,817
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 45% (2001 est.) | 80% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.24% (2005 est.) | 1.67% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, La Libertad, Manta, Puerto Bolivar | Cap-Haitien, Gonaives, Jacmel, Jeremie, Les Cayes, Miragoane, Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix, Saint-Marc |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 392, FM 35, shortwave 29 (2001) | AM 41, FM 26, shortwave 0 (1999) |
Railways | total: 966 km
narrow gauge: 966 km 1.067-m gauge (2004) |
total: 40 km
narrow gauge: 40 km 0.760-m gauge; single-track note: privately owned industrial line; closed in early 1990s (2001 est.) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, other 5% | Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (1982)
note: roughly half of the population also practices Voodoo |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: generally elementary but being expanded
domestic: facilities generally inadequate and unreliable international: country code - 593; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: domestic facilities barely adequate; international facilities slightly better
domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay trunk service international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.549 million (2003) | 60,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,394,400 (2003) | over 180,000 (January 2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (plus 14 repeaters) (2001) | 2 (plus a cable TV service) (1997) |
Terrain | coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente) | mostly rough and mountainous |
Total fertility rate | 2.72 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 4.86 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11.1%; note - underemployment of 47% (2004 est.) | widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 1,500 km (most inaccessible) (2003) | NEGL; less than 100 km navigable |