GEO Haiti 2010

State of the Environment Report 2010
35
Executive Summary
The Republic of Haiti, a territory of 27,750 km 2 ,
occupies a third of the surface area of the island
of Hispaniola, one of the largest in the Caribbean.
The country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, includes 12
townships and is home to 25% of the population
of Haiti, which accounts for 63% of all urban
populations within the country (IHSI, 2003a).
The name « Ayiti », which means “Land of high
mountains” or “The Mountain in the sea”, is derived
from the language of the Tainos, the Amerindians
of the insular Caribbean. Peaceful people, they
were involved in agriculture, fishing and croppicking,
and at the arrival of Christopher Columbus
in the New World in 1492, the Spaniards called the
island “Hispaniola”. Later, a division resulting from
the treaty of Ryswick (1677) separated the island
in two; the western portion (the future Haiti) was
given to France and named Saint Domingue, while
Spain retained the eastern portion.
The colony of Saint Domingue experienced
unequalled prosperity as one of the region’s main
sugar and coffee producers, and its external trade
was among France’s most profitable activities.
However the organization of the colony was based
on a much criticized social and economic system,
which led to a revolution. This revolution represents
the first successful rebellion of slaves in the modern
world and resulted in the establishment in 1804 of
the Republic of Haiti, as the first free black republic
in the world.
This country also wished to serve as an example
and prove to the rest of the world that no race
was inferior and that Blacks could attain a level
of civilization equivalent, or even superior, to that
of other races. Haiti, under Alexandre Pétion, also
supported the emancipation of other American
colonies under the tutelage of the Europeans.
Countries such as Venezuela, Mexico, Jamaica,
Cuba and the Dominican Republic benefitted
from significant assistance (financial, aid in men
and ammunition) from Haiti. According to Pétion,
the freedom of the people of Haiti would be
threatened as long as there remained enslaved
populations in the Americas. The history of Haiti
is one of heroism and grandeur, although it is
marked by a long succession of difficult political,
social and economic events.
For the past twenty years, Haiti’s economy has
been confronting a period of turbulence and the
country has faced a serious political and economic
crises. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell
during the first half of 1990 as a result of the sociopolitical
instability at that time. Calculated at nearly
US$3 billion at the beginning of 1991, the GDP fell
to US$2.5 billion in 1995, slightly rising to US$2.8
billion in 2001.
However, since 2005, an upward trend has been
observed, allowing the GDP to attain a value of
US$3.4 billion in 2007 (UNDP, 2007). That year, this
indicator grew by 3.2% (IHSI, 2008) in relation to
the previous year because of the re-establishment
of a favorable economic climate. It must be noted
however, that the per capita GDP, which currently
stands at around US$500, has never regained the
historic level of US$3,151 that it attained in 1980
(UNDP, 2007).
Young people account for a high proportion of
the Haitian population with more than half of
the population under 21 years of age, and of this
number, 36.5% under the age of 15. The population
of over 65 years of age represents a mere 5.1% of
the total population, and the male/female ratio
shows a slight preponderance of women (51%).