Poland (2004) | Haiti (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 16 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo); Dolnoslaskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Lodzkie, Lubelskie, Lubuskie, Malopolskie, Mazowieckie, Opolskie, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie, Pomorskie, Slaskie, Swietokrzyskie, Warminsko-Mazurskie, Wielkopolskie, Zachodniopomorskie | 10 departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand 'Anse, Nippes, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 17.1% (male 3,388,247; female 3,216,085)
15-64 years: 70% (male 13,454,820; female 13,591,814) 65 years and over: 12.9% (male 1,896,940; female 3,078,443) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 42.4% (male 1,770,523/female 1,749,853)
15-64 years: 54.2% (male 2,201,957/female 2,301,886) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 125,298/female 158,987) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | potatoes, fruits, vegetables, wheat; poultry, eggs, pork | coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood |
Airports | 122 (2003 est.) | 12 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 84
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 40 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 39
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
total: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 7 (2006) |
Area | total: 312,685 sq km
land: 304,465 sq km water: 8,220 sq km |
total: 27,750 sq km
land: 27,560 sq km water: 190 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Mexico | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Poland is an ancient nation that was conceived around the middle of the 10th century. Its golden age occurred in the 16th century. During the following century, the strengthening of the gentry and internal disorders weakened the nation. In a series of agreements between 1772 and 1795, Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland amongst themselves. Poland regained its independence in 1918 only to be overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union in World War II. It became a Soviet satellite state following the war, but its government was comparatively tolerant and progressive. Labor turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union "Solidarity" that over time became a political force and by 1990 had swept parliamentary elections and the presidency. A "shock therapy" program during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe, but Poland currently suffers low GDP growth and high unemployment. Solidarity suffered a major defeat in the 2001 parliamentary elections when it failed to elect a single deputy to the lower house of Parliament, and the new leaders of the Solidarity Trade Union subsequently pledged to reduce the Trade Union's political role. Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. | The native Taino 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, which later became 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. After a prolonged struggle, Haiti became the first black republic to declare its independence in 1804. The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. After an armed rebellion led to the departure of President Jean-Betrand ARISTIDE in February 2004, an interim government took office to organize new elections under the auspices of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Continued violence and technical delays have prompted repeated postponements, and Haiti missed the constitutionally-mandated presidential inauguration date of 7 February 2006. |
Birth rate | 10.64 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 36.44 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $39.13 billion
expenditures: $48.64 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003) |
revenues: $400 million
expenditures: $600.8 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Warsaw | name: Port-au-Prince
geographic coordinates: 18 32 N, 72 20 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers | tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds |
Coastline | 491 km | 1,771 km |
Constitution | adopted by the National Assembly 2 April 1997; passed by national referendum 25 May 1997; effective 17 October 1997 | approved March 1987; suspended June 1988 with most articles reinstated March 1989; constitutional government ousted in a military coup in September 1991, although in October 1991, military government claimed to be observing the constitution; returned to constitutional rule in October 1994; constitution remains technically in force but has not been observed since Aristide's departure in 2004 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Poland
conventional short form: Poland local long form: Rzeczpospolita Polska local short form: Polska |
conventional long form: Republic of Haiti
conventional short form: Haiti local long form: Republique d'Haiti/Repiblik d' Ayiti local short form: Haiti/Ayiti |
Currency | zloty (PLN) | - |
Death rate | 9.97 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 12.17 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $86.82 billion (2003) | $1.313 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Victor ASHE
embassy: Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31 00-540 Warsaw mailing address: American Embassy Warsaw, US Department of State, 5010 Warsaw Place, Washington, DC 20521-5010 (pouch) telephone: [48] (22) 504-2000 FAX: [48] (22) 504-2688 consulate(s) general: Krakow |
chief of mission: Ambassador Janet A. SANDERSON
embassy: 5 Harry S Truman Boulevard, Bicentenaire-Port-au-Prince mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince telephone: [509] 222-0200 FAX: [509] 223-9038 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Przemyslaw GRUDZINSKI
chancery: 2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-3800 through 3802 FAX: [1] (202) 328-6270 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Raymond JOSEPH (as of October 2005)
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, San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
Disputes - international | none | since 2004, about 8,000 peacekeepers from the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) maintain civil order in Haiti; despite efforts to control illegal migration, Haitians fleeing economic privation and civil unrest continue to cross into the Dominican Republic and sail to neighboring countries; Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island |
Economic aid - recipient | EU structural adjustment funds (2000) | $153 million (FY05 est.) |
Economy - overview | Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of economic liberalization throughout the 1990s and today stands out as a success story among transition economies. Even so, much remains to be done. The privatization of small and medium state-owned companies and a liberal law on establishing new firms has encouraged the development of the private business sector, but legal and bureaucratic obstacles alongside persistent corruption are hampering its further development. Poland's agricultural sector remains handicapped by structural problems, surplus labor, inefficient small farms, and lack of investment. Restructuring and privatization of "sensitive sectors" (e.g., coal, steel, railroads, and energy), while recently initiated, have stalled. Reforms in health care, education, the pension system, and state administration have resulted in larger than expected fiscal pressures. Further progress in public finance depends mainly on privatization of Poland's remaining state sector, the reduction of state employment, and an overhaul of the tax code to incorporate the growing gray economy and farmers, most of whom pay no tax. The government's determination to enter the EU has shaped most aspects of its economic policy and new legislation; in a nationwide referendum in November 2003, 77% of the voters voted in favor of Poland's EU accession, now scheduled for May 2004. Improving Poland's export competitiveness and containing the internal budget deficit are top priorities. Due to political uncertainty, the zloty has recently depreciated in relation to the euro, while currencies of the other euro-zone aspirants have been appreciating. GDP per capita equals that of the three Baltic states. | In this poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, 80% of the population lives in abject poverty. Two-thirds of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, mainly small-scale subsistence farming, and remain vulnerable to damage from frequent natural disasters, exacerbated by the country's widespread deforestation. The economy grew 1.5% in 2005, the highest growth rate since 1999. Haiti suffers from rampant inflation, a lack of investment, and a severe trade deficit. In early 2005, Haiti paid its arrears to the World Bank, paving the way for reengagement with the Bank. The government is reliant on formal international economic assistance for fiscal sustainability. Remittances are the primary source of foreign exchange, equaling nearly a quarter of GDP in 2005. |
Electricity - consumption | 118.8 billion kWh (2001) | 507.8 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 11.04 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 4.306 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 135 billion kWh (2001) | 546 million kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: near Raczki Elblaskie -2 m
highest point: Rysy 2,499 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m |
Environment - current issues | situation has improved since 1989 due to decline in heavy industry and increased environmental concern by post-Communist governments; air pollution nonetheless remains serious because of sulfur dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants, and the resulting acid rain has caused forest damage; water pollution from industrial and municipal sources is also a problem, as is disposal of hazardous wastes; pollution levels should continue to decrease as industrial establishments bring their facilities up to European Union code, but at substantial cost to business and the government | 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: Air Pollution, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes |
Ethnic groups | Polish 96.7%, German 0.4%, Belarusian 0.1%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other 2.7% (2002) | black 95%, mulatto and white 5% |
Exchange rates | zlotych per US dollar - 3.8891 (2003), 4.08 (2002), 4.0939 (2001), 4.3461 (2000), 3.9671 (1999)
note: zlotych is the plural form of zloty |
gourdes per US dollar - 40.449 (2005), 38.352 (2004), 42.367 (2003), 29.251 (2002), 24.429 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI (since 23 December 1995)
head of government: Prime Minister Marek BELKA (since 24 June 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Jerzy HAUSNER (since 11 June 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers responsible to the prime minister and the Sejm; the prime minister proposes, the president appoints, and the Sejm approves the Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 8 October 2000 (next to be held NA October 2005); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm election results: Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI reelected president; percent of popular vote - Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI 53.9%, Andrzej OLECHOWSKI 17.3%, Marian KRZAKLEWSKI 15.6%, Lech WALESA 1% |
chief of state: President Rene PREVAL (since 14 May 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister Jacques-Edouard ALEXIS (since 30 May 2006) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (may not serve consecutive terms); election last held 7 February 2006 (next to be held in 2011); prime minister appointed by the president, ratified by the National Assembly election results: Rene PREVAL elected president; percent of vote - Rene PREVAL 51% |
Exports | 53,000 bbl/day (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 30.2%, intermediate manufactured goods 25.5%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 20.9%, food and live animals 8.5% (1999) | manufactures, coffee, oils, cocoa, mangoes |
Exports - partners | Germany 32.3%, France 6.1%, Italy 5.8%, UK 5%, Netherlands 4.5%, Czech Republic 4.1% (2003) | US 80.8%, Dominican Republic 6.9%, Canada 4% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; similar to the flags of Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white | 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 - $427.1 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.1%
industry: 31% services: 65.9% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 28%
industry: 20% services: 52% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $11,100 (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.7% (2003 est.) | 1.8% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 52 00 N, 20 00 E | 19 00 N, 72 25 W |
Geography - note | historically, an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain | shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic) |
Heliports | 3 (2003 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 364,656 km
paved: 249,060 km (including 358 km of expressways) unpaved: 115,596 km (2000) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 24.7% (1998) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | major illicit producer of synthetic drugs for the international market; minor transshipment point for Asian and Latin American illicit drugs to Western Europe | 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 | 413,700 bbl/day (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 38.2%, intermediate manufactured goods 20.8%, chemicals 14.3%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 9.5% (1999) | food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials |
Imports - partners | Germany 24.4%, Italy 8.5%, Russia 7.7%, France 7.1%, China 4.3% (2003) | US 49.3%, Netherlands Antilles 12%, Colombia 3.2% (2005) |
Independence | 11 November 1918 (independent republic proclaimed) | 1 January 1804 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.6% (2003) | NA% |
Industries | machine building, iron and steel, coal mining, chemicals, shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles | sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, light assembly industries based on imported parts |
Infant mortality rate | total: 8.73 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 71.65 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 78.01 deaths/1,000 live births female: 65.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.7% (2003 est.) | 15.7% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC | ACCT, ACP, Caricom, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, MIGA, OAS, OIF, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 1,000 sq km (1998 est.) | 920 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the National Council of the Judiciary for an indefinite period); Constitutional Tribunal (judges are chosen by the Sejm for nine-year terms) | Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation |
Labor force | 16.92 million (2003 est.) | 3.6 million
note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1995) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 27.5%, industry 22.1%, services 50.4% (1999) | agriculture: 66%
industry: 9% services: 25% |
Land boundaries | total: 2,788 km
border countries: Belarus 407 km, Czech Republic 658 km, Germany 456 km, Lithuania 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Slovakia 444 km, Ukraine 526 km |
total: 360 km
border countries: Dominican Republic 360 km |
Land use | arable land: 45.91%
permanent crops: 1.12% other: 52.97% (2001) |
arable land: 28.11%
permanent crops: 11.53% other: 60.36% (2005) |
Languages | Polish | French (official), Creole (official) |
Legal system | mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and holdover Communist legal theory; changes being gradually introduced as part of broader democratization process; limited judicial review of legislative acts, but rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are final; court decisions can be appealed to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg | based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral legislature consisting of an upper house, the Senate or Senat (100 seats; members are elected by a majority vote on a provincial basis to serve four-year terms), and a lower house, the Sejm (460 seats; members are elected under a complex system of proportional representation to serve four-year terms); the designation of National Assembly or Zgromadzenie Narodowe is only used on those rare occasions when the two houses meet jointly
elections: Sejm elections last held 23 September 2001 (next to be held by September 2005); Senate - last held 23 September 2001 (next to be held by September 2005) election results: Sejm - percent of vote by party - SLD-UP 41%, PO 12.7%, Samoobrona 10.2%, PiS 9.5%, PSL 9%, LPR 7.9%, AWSP 5.6% UW 3.1%, other 1%; seats by party (as of 10 December 2004) - SLD 154, PO 56, PiS 44, PSL 40, SDPL 33, SO 30, LPR 25, UP 15, PLD 11, SKL 6, RKN 5, Dom Ojczysty 4, PP 3, ROP 3, German minorities 2, independents 26; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party (as of 10 December 2004)- SLD-UP 74, Block Senate 2001 10, PSL and unaffiliated 5, UW 4, SO 2, LPR 2, independents 2, PiS 1 note: two seats are assigned to ethnic minority parties in the Sejm only |
bicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale consists of the Senate (30 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies (99 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); note - in reestablishing the Senate, the candidate in each department receiving the most votes in the last election serves six years, the candidate with the second most votes serves four years, and the candidate with the third most votes serves two years
elections: Senate - last held 21 April 2006, run-off elections to be determined (next regular election, for one third of seats, to be held in 2008); Chamber of Deputies - last held 21 April 2006, run-off elections to be determined (next regular election to be held in 2010) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - L'ESPWA 11, OPL 4, FL 3, FUSION 3, LAAA 2, UNCRH 2, ALYANS 1, PONT 1, 3 seats subject to run-off election; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - L'ESPWA 19, FUSION 15, ALYANS 10, OPL 8, FL 6, UNCRH 6, MPH 4, RDNP 4, LAAA 3,KONBA 3, FRN 1, MOCHRENHA 1, MRN 1, Tet-Ansanm 1, MIRN 1, JPDN 1, UNITE 1, PLH 1, 13 seats subject to run-off election |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.16 years
male: 70.04 years female: 78.52 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 53.23 years
male: 51.89 years female: 54.6 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.7% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 52.9% male: 54.8% female: 51.2% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, east of Germany | 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 | Europe | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: defined by international treaties |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: to depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | total: 14 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 154,710 GRT/228,132 DWT
by type: bulk 7, cargo 3, chemical tanker 3, roll on/roll off 1 registered in other countries: 100 (2004 est.) |
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Military branches | Land Forces, Navy, Air Force | the regular Haitian Armed Forces (FAdH) - Army, Navy, and Air Force - have been demobilized but still exist on paper unless they are constitutionally abolished |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $3.5 billion (2002) | $25.96 million (2003 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.71% (2002) | 0.9% (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 10,291,628 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 8,034,577 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 329,743 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Constitution Day, 3 May (1791) | Independence Day, 1 January (1804) |
Nationality | noun: Pole(s)
adjective: Polish |
noun: Haitian(s)
adjective: Haitian |
Natural hazards | flooding | 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 | coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, amber, arable land | bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -1.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 13,552 km; oil 1,772 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Catholic-National Movement or RKN [Antoni MACIEREWICZ]; Citizens Platform or PO [Donald TUSK]; Coalition Electoral Action Solidarity of the Right or AWSP; Conservative Peasants Party or SKL-RNP [Artur BALAZS]; Democratic Left Alliance or SLD [Krzysztof JANIK]; Freedom Union or UW [Wladyslaw FRASYNIUK]; German Minority of Lower Silesia or MNSO [Henryk KROLL]; Law and Justice or PiS [Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI]; League of Polish Families or LPR [Marek KOTLINOWSKI]; Movement for the Reconstruction of Poland or ROP [Jan OLSZEWSKI]; Peasant-Democratic Party or PLD [Roman JAGIELINSKI]; Polish Accord or PP [Jan LOPUSZANSKI]; Polish Peasant Bloc or PBL [Wojciech MOJZESOWICZ]; Polish Peasant Party or PSL [Janusz WOJCIECHOWSKI]; Polish Raison d'Etat or PRS [Piotr MUSIAL]; Samoobrona or SO [Andrzej LEPPER]; Social Democratic Party of Poland or SDPL [Marek BOROWSKI]; Social Movement or RS [Krzysztof PIESIEWICZ]; Union of Labor or UP [Izabela JARUAGA-NOWACKA] | Artibonite in Action or LAAA [Youri LATORTUE]; Assembly of Progressive National Democrats or RDNP [Leslie MANIGAT]; Convention for Democratic Unity or KID [Evans PAUL]; Cooperative Action to Build Haiti or KONBA [Evans LESCOUFALIR]; Democratic Alliance or ALYANS (coalition composed of KID and PPRH) [Evans PAUL]; Effort and Solidarity to Create an Alternative for the People or ESKAMP [Joseph JASME]; For Us All or PONT [Jean-Marie CHERESTAL]; Front for Hope or L'ESPWA (alliance of ESKAMP, PLB, and grass-roots organizations Grand-Anse Resistance Committee, the Central Plateau Peasants' Group, and Kombit Sudest) [Rene PREVAL]; Grand Center Right Front coalition (composed of MDN, MRN, and PDCH) [Hubert de RONCERAY]; Haitian Christian Democratic Party or PDCH [Osner FEVRY and Marie-Denise CLAUDE]; Haitian Democratic and Reform Movement or MODEREH [Dany TOUSSAINT and Pierre Soncon PRINCE]; Heads Together or Tet-Ansanm [Dr. Gerard BLOT]; Independent Movement for National Reconciliation or MIRN [Luc FLEURINORD]; Justice for Peace and National Development or JPDN [Rigaud DUPLAN]; Fanmi Lavalas or FL [Rudy HERIVEAUX]; Liberal Party of Haiti or PLH [Gehy MICHEL]; Merging of Haitian Social Democratic Parties or FUSION or FPSDH (merged Ayiti Capable, Haitian National Revolutionary Party, and National Congress of Democratic Movements) [Serge GILLES]; Mobilization for Haiti's Development or MPH [Samir MOURRA]; Mobilization for National Development or MDN [Hubert de RONCERAY]; Movement for National Reconstruction or MRN [Jean Henold BUTEAU]; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti or MIDH [Marc BAZIN]; National Christian Union for the Reconstruction of Haiti or UNCRH [Marie Claude GERMAIN]; National Front for the Reconstruction of Haiti or FRN [Guy PHILIPPE]; New Christian Movement for a New Haiti or MOCHRENA [Luc MESADIEU]; Open the Gate Party or PLB [Anes LUBIN]; Popular Party for the Renewal of Haiti or PPRH [Claude ROMAIN and Daniel SUPPLICE]; Struggling People's Organization or OPL [Edgard LEBLANC]; Union for Haiti or UPH (coalition of MIDH and FL) [Marc BAZIN]; Union of Nationalist and Progressive Haitians or UNITE [Edouard FRANCISQUE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | All Poland Trade Union Alliance or OPZZ (trade union) [Maciej MANICKI]; Roman Catholic Church [Cardinal Jozef GLEMP]; Solidarity Trade Union [Janusz SNIADEK] | Autonomous Organizations of Haitian Workers or CATH [Fignole ST-CYR]; Confederation of Haitian Workers or CTH; Federation of Workers Trade Unions or FOS; Grand-Anse Resistance Committee, or KOREGA; Group of 184 Civil Society Organizations, or G-184 [Andy APAID]; National Popular Assembly or APN; Papaye Peasants Movement or MPP [Chavannes JEAN-BAPTISTE]; Popular Organizations Gathering Power or PROP; Roman Catholic Church; Protestant Federation of Haiti |
Population | 38,626,349 (July 2004 est.) | 8,308,504
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 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 18.4% (2000 est.) | 80% (2003 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.02% (2004 est.) | 2.3% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Gdansk, Gdynia, Gliwice, Kolobrzeg, Szczecin, Swinoujscie, Ustka, Warsaw, Wroclaw | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 14, FM 777, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 41, FM 26, shortwave 0 (1999) |
Railways | total: 23,852 km
broad gauge: 629 km 1.524-m gauge standard gauge: 23,223 km 1.435-m gauge (11,962 km electrified) (2003) |
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Religions | Roman Catholic 95% (about 75% practicing), Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, and other 5% | Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3%
note: roughly half of the population practices Voodoo |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: underdeveloped and outmoded system in the process of being overhauled; partial privatization of the state-owned telephone monopoly is underway; the long waiting list for main line telephone service has resulted in a boom in mobile cellular telephone use
domestic: cable, open-wire, and microwave radio relay; 3 cellular networks; local exchanges 56.6% digital international: country code - 48; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat, NA Eutelsat, 2 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions), and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
general assessment: domestic facilities barely adequate; international facilities slightly better
domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay trunk service international: country code - 509; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 12.3 million (2003) | 140,000 (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 17.4 million (2003) | 400,000 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 179 (plus 256 repeaters) (September 1995) | 2 (plus a cable TV service) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border | mostly rough and mountainous |
Total fertility rate | 1.38 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 4.94 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 20% (2003) | widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 3,997 km (navigable rivers and canals) (2003) | - |