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. 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 an estimated 0.9% in
2002. The contraction will likely intensify in 2003 unless a
political agreement with donors is reached on economic policy.
Suspended aid and loan disbursements totaled more than $500 million
at the start of 2003.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $10.6 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
-0.9% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $1,400 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 30%
industry: 20%
services: 50% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line:
80% (2002 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
11.9% (2001 est.)
Labor force:
3.6 million
note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1995)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9%
Unemployment rate:
widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds
of the labor force do not have formal jobs (2002 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $273 million
expenditures: $361 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(FY 00/01 est.)
Industries:
sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, light assembly
industries based on imported parts
Industrial production growth rate:
NA
Electricity - production:
580 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 60.3%
hydro: 39.7%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
539.4 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
11,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
NA (2001)
Agriculture - products:
coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood
Exports:
$298 million f.o.b. (2002)
Exports - commodities:
manufactures, coffee, oils, cocoa
Exports - partners:
US 83.9%, Dominican Republic 6.6%, Canada 2.4% (2002)
Imports:
$1.14 billion c.i.f. (2002)
Imports - commodities:
food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels,
raw materials
Imports - partners:
US 53.4%, Dominican Republic 5.3%, Colombia 3.4% (2002)
Debt - external:
$1.2 billion (1999)
Economic aid - recipient:
$120 million (FY02)
Currency:
gourde (HTG)
Currency code:
HTG
Exchange rates:
gourdes per US dollar - 29.25 (2002), 24.43 (2001), 21.17 (2000),
16.94 (1999), 16.77 (1998)
Fiscal year:
1 October - 30 September