chief of mission:
Special Charge d'Affaires Charles REDMAN
embassy:
Harry Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince
mailing address:
P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince
telephone:
[509] 22-0354, 22-0368, 22-0200, or 22-0612
FAX:
[509] 23-9007
Flag:
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)

*Haiti, Economy

Overview:
About 75% of the population live in abject poverty. Agriculture is mainly
small-scale subsistence farming and employs nearly three-fourths of the work
force. The majority of the population does not have ready access to safe
drinking water, adequate medical care, or sufficient food. Few social
assistance programs exist, and the lack of employment opportunities remains
one of the most critical problems facing the economy, along with soil
erosion and political instability. Trade sanctions applied by the
Organization of American States in response to the September 1991 coup
against President ARISTIDE have further damaged the economy.
National product:
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $2.2 billion (1991 est.)
National product real growth rate:
-4% (FY91 est.)
National product per capita:
$340 (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
20% (FY91 est.)
Unemployment rate:
25-50% (1991)
Budget:
revenues $300 million; expenditures $416 million, including capital
expenditures of $145 million (1990 est.)
Exports:
$146 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
commodities:
light manufactures 65%, coffee 19%, other agriculture 8%, other 8%
partners:
US 84%, Italy 4%, France 3%, other industrial countries 6%, less developed
countries 3% (1987)
Imports:
$252 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
commodities:
machines and manufactures 34%, food and beverages 22%, petroleum products
14%, chemicals 10%, fats and oils 9%
partners:
US 64%, Netherlands Antilles 5%, Japan 5%, France 4%, Canada 3%, Germany 3%
(1987)
External debt:
$838 million (December 1990)
Industrial production:
growth rate -2.0% (1991 est.); accounts for 15% of GDP
Electricity:
217,000 kW capacity; 480 million kWh produced, 75 kWh per capita (1992)
Industries:
sugar refining, textiles, flour milling, cement manufacturing, tourism,
light assembly industries based on imported parts