ern Hemisphere,
Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history.
Over three decades of dictatorship followed by military rule ended in
1990 when Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE was elected president. Most of his
term was usurped by a military takeover, but he was able to return to
office in 1994 and oversee the installation of a close associate to
the presidency in 1996.

@Haiti:Geography

Location: Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola,
between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the
Dominican Republic

Geographic coordinates: 19 00 N, 72 25 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 27,750 sq km
land: 27,560 sq km
water: 190 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries:
total: 275 km
border countries: Dominican Republic 275 km

Coastline: 1,771 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade
winds

Terrain: mostly rough and mountainous

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m

Natural resources: bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble,
hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 13%
permanent pastures: 18%
forests and woodland: 5%
other: 44% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 750 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject
to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and
earthquakes; periodic droughts

Environment - current issues: extensive deforestation (much of the
remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as
fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the
Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation
signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban

Geography - note: shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic
(western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican
Republic)

@Haiti:People

Population: 6,867,995
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the
effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life
expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population