map of Haiti

About Haiti

Haiti, an independent country on the western third of the island of Hispaniola, is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. This impoverished nation is only 600 miles or a 1½ hour flight from Florida. Haiti's population of 9.7 million is slightly larger than the state of Maryland's 5.6 million.

Of Haiti’s population, about 3 million of its people live in the capital, Port au Prince.

Nearly half of the population, around 3 million live in the capital city of Port au Prince This overcrowded city offers the majority of the employment opportunities in this country. For this reason, many leave their rural homes and flock to their capital looking for work and a chance at a better life. Unfortunately, when they arrive they find very little. This consistent influx only serves to further overwhelm an already devastated area.

Over population contributes greatly to the myriad of problems that Haiti experiences. Haiti has some of the worse health statistics in the world. Life expectancy in Haiti is 61.3 years. Although improving, actual quality of life remains dismal for most. Malnourishment and undernourishment affects 67 percent of the population. Potable water is available to only 58 percent of the people. Adequate sanitation is almost non-existent. Children suffer greatly from these terrible conditions.

 

Child mortality and death in childbirth rates further reflect the morbidity of this health crisis. For every thousand births, eighty infants and children die before the age of five. Death during childbirth bears another horrific rate. For every 100,000 live births, 630 women die. The rate in the United States is fifteen per 100,000 births.

Poverty affects 80 percent of the population and of that percent, 54 percent live in abject poverty. The distribution of income rate in Haiti shows one percent of the population holding fifty percent of the wealth. Unemployment is estimated at 70 percent. Haitians interviewed in this regard state that what they need is a job. It has been written that if Diaspora remittances from the United States and Canada were to end, half of Haiti’s population would die of starvation.

Haiti, only 600 miles from Florida, is the poorest country in the western hemisphere.