Haiti (2002) | Niue (2004) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 9 departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand 'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est | none; note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 14 villages at the second order |
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: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood | coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle |
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) |
- |
Area | total: 27,750 sq km
land: 27,560 sq km water: 190 sq km |
total: 260 sq km
land: 260 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | 1.5 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. | Niue's remoteness, as well as cultural and linguistic differences between its Polynesian inhabitants and those of the rest of the Cook Islands, have caused it to be separately administered. The population of the island continues to drop (from a peak of 5,200 in 1966 to about 2,100 in 2004), with substantial emigration to New Zealand, 2,400 km to the southwest. |
Birth rate | 31.42 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | NA births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $273 million
expenditures: $361 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.) |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
Capital | Port-au-Prince | Alofi |
Climate | tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds |
Coastline | 1,771 km | 64 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 | 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) |
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: none
conventional short form: Niue former: Savage Island |
Currency | gourde (HTG) | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 14.88 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.2 billion (1999) (1999) | $418,000 (2002 est.) |
Dependency status | - | self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1974; Niue fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defense; however, these responsibilities confer no rights of control and are only exercised at the request of the Government of Niue |
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 |
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
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) |
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | claims US-administered Navassa Island | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $730.6 million (1995) (1995) | $2.6 million from New Zealand (2002) |
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. | The economy suffers from the typical Pacific island problems of geographic isolation, few resources, and a small population. Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, and the shortfall is made up by critically needed grants from New Zealand that are used to pay wages to public employees. Niue has cut government expenditures by reducing the public service by almost half. The agricultural sector consists mainly of subsistence gardening, although some cash crops are grown for export. Industry consists primarily of small factories to process passion fruit, lime oil, honey, and coconut cream. The sale of postage stamps to foreign collectors is an important source of revenue. The island in recent years has suffered a serious loss of population because of migration of Niueans to New Zealand. Efforts to increase GDP include the promotion of tourism and a financial services industry, although Premier LAKATANI announced in February 2002 that Niue will shut down the offshore banking industry. Economic aid from New Zealand in 2002 was about $2.6 million. |
Electricity - consumption | 485.46 million kWh (2000) | 2.79 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) | 3 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 69%
hydro: 31% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
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 near Mutalau settlement 68 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 | increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture |
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
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | black 95%, mulatto and white 5% | Polynesian (with some 200 Europeans, Samoans, and Tongans) |
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) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.7229 (2003), 2.1620 (2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by New Zealand High Commissioner John BRYAN (since NA May 2000)
head of government: Premier Young VIVIAN (since 1 May 2002) cabinet: Cabinet consists of the premier and three ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; premier elected by the Legislative Assembly for a three-year term; election last held 1 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2005) election results: Young VIVIAN elected premier; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - Young VIVIAN (NPP) 70%, Hunukitama HUNUKI (AI) 30% |
Exports | $326.6 million f.o.b. (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | manufactures, coffee, oils, cocoa | canned coconut cream, copra, honey, vanilla, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | US 90%, EU 6% (2000) | New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | 1 April - 31 March |
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) | yellow with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the flag of the UK bears five yellow five-pointed stars - a large one on a blue disk in the center and a smaller one on each arm of the bold red cross |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $12 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7.6 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30%
industry: 20% services: 50% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: 55% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,600 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -1.2% (2001 est.) | -0.3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 19 00 N, 72 25 W | 19 02 S, 169 52 W |
Geography - note | shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic) | one of world's largest coral islands |
Highways | total: 4,160 km
paved: 1,011 km unpaved: 3,149 km (1996) |
total: 234 km
paved: 86 km unpaved: 148 km (2001) |
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 | - |
Imports | $977.5 million c.i.f. (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials | food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs |
Imports - partners | US 60%, EU 10.5%, Dominican Republic 3.7% (2000) | New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Australia, US (2000) |
Independence | 1 January 1804 (from France) | on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.6% (1997 est.) | NA |
Industries | sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, light assembly industries based on imported parts | tourism, handicrafts, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | 93.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: NA
male: NA female: NA (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 14% (2001 est.) | 1% (1995) |
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, FAO, PIF, Sparteca, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO |
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 of New Zealand; High Court of Niue |
Labor force | 3.6 million (1995)
note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (2001) (1995) |
NA (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9% | most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board |
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: 15.38%
permanent crops: 11.54% other: 73.08% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), Creole (official) | Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English |
Legal system | based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | English common law
note: Niue is self-governing, with the power to make its own laws |
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 Legislative Assembly (20 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; six elected from a common roll and 14 are village representatives)
elections: last held 21 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NPP 9, independents 11; note - all 20 seats were reelected |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 49.55 years
male: 47.88 years female: 51.29 years (2002 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA 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: 95% 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, east of Tonga |
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
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | none |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
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 indigenous military forces; Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $50 million (FY00) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.3% (FY00) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,691,585 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 919,275 (2002 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) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Haitian(s)
adjective: Haitian |
noun: Niuean(s)
adjective: Niuean |
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 | typhoons |
Natural resources | bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower | fish, arable land |
Net migration rate | -2.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | NA 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] | Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Young VIVIAN]; Alliance of Independents or AI [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.) |
2,156 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 80% (1998 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.42% (2002 est.) | 0.01% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cap-Haitien, Gonaives, Jacmel, Jeremie, Les Cayes, Miragoane, Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix, Saint-Marc | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 41, FM 26, shortwave 0 (1999) | AM 1, FM 1, 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.) |
- |
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 |
Ekalesia Niue (Niuean Church - a Protestant church closely related to the London Missionary Society) 75%, Latter-Day Saints 10%, other 15% (mostly Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventist) |
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.) |
NA (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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) |
domestic: single-line telephone system connects all villages on island
international: country code - 683 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 60,000 (1997) | 1,100 est (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1995) | 400 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (plus a cable TV service) (1997) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly rough and mountainous | steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 4.3 children born/woman (2002 est.) | NA 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) | NA (March 1999) |
Waterways | NEGL; less than 100 km navigable | - |