Haiti (2002) | Nauru (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand 'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 39.5% (male 1,414,052; female 1,377,693)
15-64 years: 56.3% (male 1,924,867; female 2,049,952) 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 142,657; female 154,501) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 38.2% (male 2,516; female 2,372)
15-64 years: 60% (male 3,782; female 3,898) 65 years and over: 1.9% (male 128; female 113) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood | coconuts |
Airports | 12 (2001) | 1 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 10
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 6 (2002) |
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Area | total: 27,750 sq km
land: 27,560 sq km water: 190 sq km |
total: 21 sq km
land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | 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. | Nauru's phosphate deposits began to be mined early in the 20th century by a German-British consortium; the island was occupied by Australian forces in World War I. Nauru achieved independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999. Nauru is the world's smallest independent republic. |
Birth rate | 31.42 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 25.61 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $273 million
expenditures: $361 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.) |
revenues: $23.4 million
expenditures: $64.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY95/96) |
Capital | Port-au-Prince | no official capital; government offices in Yaren District |
Climate | tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds | tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February) |
Coastline | 1,771 km | 30 km |
Constitution | 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 | 29 January 1968 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Haiti
conventional short form: Haiti local long form: Republique d'Haiti local short form: Haiti |
conventional long form: Republic of Nauru
conventional short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island |
Currency | gourde (HTG) | Australian dollar (AUD) |
Death rate | 14.88 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 6.95 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.2 billion (1999) (1999) | $33.3 million (2002) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Roger NORIEGA
embassy: 5 Harry S Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince telephone: [509] 222-0354, 222-0269, 222-0200, 222-0327 FAX: [509] 223-1641, 222-0200, extension 460 |
the US does not have an embassy in Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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) |
Nauru does not have an embassy in the US, but does have a UN office at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400 D, New York, New York 10017; telephone: (212) 937-0074
consulate(s): Hagatna (Guam) |
Disputes - international | claims US-administered Navassa Island | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $730.6 million (1995) (1995) | $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.) (2000 est.) |
Economy - overview | 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. The country has experienced little job creation since the former President PREVAL took office in February 1996, although the informal economy is growing. 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 the contraction will likely intensify in 2002 unless a political agreement with donors is reached and aid restored. | Revenues of this tiny island have traditionally come from exports of phosphates, but reserves are now depleted. Few other resources exist with most necessities being imported, mainly from Australia, its former occupier and later major source of support. The rehabilitation of mined land and the replacement of income from phosphates are serious long-term problems. In anticipation of the exhaustion of Nauru's phosphate deposits, substantial amounts of phosphate income have been invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition and provide for Nauru's economic future. As a result of heavy spending from the trust funds, the government faces virtual bankruptcy. To cut costs the government has called for a freeze on wages, a reduction of over-staffed public service departments, privatization of numerous government agencies, and closure of some overseas consulates. In recent years Nauru has encouraged the registration of offshore banks and corporations. In 2004 the deterioration in housing, hospitals, and other capital plant continued, and the cost to Australia of keeping the government and economy afloat has substantially mounted. Few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's GDP varying widely. |
Electricity - consumption | 485.46 million kWh (2000) | 27.9 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 522 million kWh (2000) | 30 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 69%
hydro: 31% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m |
Environment - current issues | extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water | limited natural fresh water resources, roof storage tanks collect rainwater, but mostly dependent on a single, aging desalination plant; intensive phosphate mining during the past 90 years - mainly by a UK, Australia, and NZ consortium - has left the central 90% of Nauru a wasteland and threatens limited remaining land resources |
Environment - international 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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black 95%, mulatto and white 5% | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% |
Exchange rates | gourdes per US dollar - 26.674 (January 2002), 26.339 (2001), 22.524 (2000), 17.965 (1999), 16.505 (1998), 17.311 (1997) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.5419 (2003), 1.2641 (2002) 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999) |
Executive branch | 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% |
chief of state: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 26 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 26 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a three-year term; election last held 23 October 2004 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: Ludwig SCOTTY was unopposed in the parliamentary elections for president |
Exports | $326.6 million f.o.b. (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | manufactures, coffee, oils, cocoa | phosphates |
Exports - partners | US 90%, EU 6% (2000) | Japan 42.3%, India 38.5%, South Korea 7.7% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | 1 July - 30 June |
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) | blue with a narrow, horizontal, yellow stripe across the center and a large white 12-pointed star below the stripe on the hoist side; the star indicates the country's location in relation to the Equator (the yellow stripe) and the 12 points symbolize the 12 original tribes of Nauru |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $12 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $60 million (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30%
industry: 20% services: 50% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -1.2% (2001 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 19 00 N, 72 25 W | 0 32 S, 166 55 E |
Geography - note | shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic) | Nauru is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Makatea in French Polynesia; only 53 km south of Equator |
Highways | total: 4,160 km
paved: 1,011 km unpaved: 3,149 km (1996) |
total: 30 km
paved: 24 km unpaved: 6 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | 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 | offshore banking recently stopped, remains on Financial Action Task Force Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories List for continued failure to address deficiencies in money-laundering control regime |
Imports | $977.5 million c.i.f. (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery |
Imports - partners | US 60%, EU 10.5%, Dominican Republic 3.7% (2000) | Australia 67.9%, Indonesia 10.7%, US 7.1% (2003) |
Independence | 1 January 1804 (from France) | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.6% (1997 est.) | NA |
Industries | sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, light assembly industries based on imported parts | phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products |
Infant mortality rate | 93.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 10.14 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.76 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 14% (2001 est.) | -3.6% (1993) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, Caricom, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 750 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 3.6 million (1995)
note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (2001) (1995) |
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Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9% | employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation |
Land boundaries | total: 360 km
border countries: Dominican Republic 360 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 20.32%
permanent crops: 12.7% other: 66.98% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), Creole (official) | Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes |
Legal system | based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law |
Legislative branch | 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 |
unicameral Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 3 May 2003 (next to be held not later than May 2006) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - Nauru First Party 3, independents 15 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 49.55 years
male: 47.88 years female: 51.29 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 62.33 years
male: 58.78 years female: 66.06 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 45% male: 48% female: 42.2% (1995 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
Location | Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Oceania |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: to depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | none |
Military - note | - | Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia |
Military branches | 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 |
no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $50 million (FY00) | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.3% (FY00) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,691,585 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 3,275 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 919,275 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,810 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 87,049 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 January (1804) | Independence Day, 31 January (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Haitian(s)
adjective: Haitian |
noun: Nauruan(s)
adjective: Nauruan |
Natural hazards | lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower | phosphates, fish |
Net migration rate | -2.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal) [leader NA]; Naoero Amo (Nauru First) Party [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | 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 | NA |
Population | 7,063,722
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 2002 est.) |
12,809 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 80% (1998 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.42% (2002 est.) | 1.87% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cap-Haitien, Gonaives, Jacmel, Jeremie, Les Cayes, Miragoane, Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix, Saint-Marc | Nauru |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 41, FM 26, shortwave 0 (1999) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 415,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 40 km
narrow gauge: 40 km 0.760-m gauge; single-track note: privately owned industrial line; closed in early 1990s (2001 est.) |
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Religions | 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 |
Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.13 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 20 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment: adequate local and international radiotelephone communication provided via Australian facilities
domestic: NA international: country code - 674; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 60,000 (1997) | 1,900 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1995) | 1,500 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (plus a cable TV service) (1997) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly rough and mountainous | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center |
Total fertility rate | 4.3 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.29 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs (2001) (2001) | 0% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | NEGL; less than 100 km navigable | - |