Economy of Haiti

Economy of Haiti
Port-au-Prince, the financial centre of Haiti
CurrencyHaitian gourde (HTG)
1 October – 30 September
Trade organizations
CARICOM, WTO
Country group
Statistics
GDP
  • Decrease $8.347 billion (nominal, 2020)[3]
  • Decrease $19.704 billion (PPP, 2020)[3]
GDP rank
GDP growth
  • 1.5% (2018) −0.9% (2019e)
  • −3.5% (2020f) 1.0% (2021f)[4][note 1]
GDP per capita
  • Decrease $732 (nominal, 2020 est.)[3]
  • Decrease $1,728 (PPP, 2020 est.)[3]
GDP per capita rank
GDP by sector
Agriculture 21.9%
industry 20.8%
services 57.3% (2017 est.)[5]
12.885% (2018)[3]
Population below poverty line
58.5% (2012 est.)[5]
41.1 medium (2012)[6]
Labor force
4.594 million[5]
Labor force by occupation
Agriculture 38.1%
industry 11.5%
services 50.4% (2010 est.)
Unemployment13.2%
Main industries
Sugar refining, flour milling, textile, cement, light assembly, industries based on imported parts
External
Exports$960.1 million (2017 est.)[5]
Export goods
apparel, manufactures, essential oils (Vetiver), cocoa, mangoes, coffee, bitter oranges (Grand Marnier)
Main export partners
Imports$3.621 billion (2017 est.)[5]
Import goods
food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials
Main import partners
FDI stock
$1.46 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[5]
$2.607 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[5]
Public finances
31.1% of GDP (2017 est.)[5]
Revenues$1.58 billion (2017 est.)[5]
Expenses$2.251 billion (2017 est.)[5]
Economic aid$600 million (FY04 est.)
$2.044 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[5]
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

Haiti has a free market economy[10][11][12] with low labor costs. A republic, it was a French colony before gaining independence in an uprising by its enslaved people. It faced embargoes and isolation after its independence as well as political crises punctuated by foreign interventions and devastating natural disasters. Haiti's estimated population in 2018 was 11,439,646.[13][14] The Economist reported in 2010: "Long known as the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, Haiti has stumbled from one crisis to another since the Duvalier (François Duvalier) years."[15]

Haiti has an agricultural economy. Over half of the world's vetiver oil (an essential oil used in high-end perfumes) comes from Haiti. Bananas, cocoa, and mangoes are important export crops. Haiti has also moved to expand to higher-end manufacturing, producing Android-based tablets[16] and current sensors and transformers.[17] Its major trading partner is the United States (US), which provides the country with preferential trade access to the US market through the Haiti Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) and the Haiti Economic Lift Program Encouragement Acts (HELP) legislation.

Vulnerability to natural disasters, as well as poverty and limited access to education are among Haiti's most serious disadvantages.[5] Two-fifths 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.[5] Haiti suffers from a severe trade deficit, which it is working to address by moving into higher-end manufacturing and more value-added products in the agriculture sector. Remittances are the primary source of foreign exchange, equaling nearly 20% of GDP.[5] Haiti's economy was severely impacted by the 2010 Haiti earthquake which occurred on 12 January 2010.[5]

  1. ^ "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2019". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  2. ^ "World Bank Country and Lending Groups". datahelpdesk.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2019". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  4. ^ Global Economic Prospects, June 2020. World Bank. 8 June 2020. p. 86. doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-1553-9. ISBN 978-1-4648-1553-9. Retrieved 16 June 2020. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o CIA World Factbook, Haiti entry, accessed 31 January 2017.
  6. ^ "GINI index (World Bank estimate) - Haiti". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Human Development Report 2023/2024" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  8. ^ "Export Partners of Haiti". The Observatory of Economic Complexity. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Import Partners of Haiti". The Observatory of Economic Complexity. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  10. ^ "Haiti". Forbes.
  11. ^ The World Factbook
  12. ^ "BTI 2022 Haiti Country Report".
  13. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  14. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  15. ^ "The World In Figures". The Economist. 13 November 2009. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  16. ^ "Surtab". Surtab. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  17. ^ "Manutech". Manutech. Retrieved 5 May 2015.


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