Total
area: 27,750 sq km (this makes Haiti the 154th
largest country in world)y in world)
Border
countries:
Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican
Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds
is the Dominican Republic)
Population
7,527,817 (estimated as of July 2003) This ranks Haiti as
the 93rd most populous country in the world and the 3rd
most populous Caribbean nation.
Religion
African nature gods are worshiped and vodun (voodoo) rites
are practiced by roughly half of the population. Although
Voodoo was illegal for many years, it retained a strong
following throughout the country and was decriminalized
in 2003. Add link to Voodoo section. Catholicism and Protestantism
also have a strong following in Haiti and the Catholic belief
system often co-exists and blends with the Voodoo religion.
Language
Haiti has two official languages: French and Creole (majority).
People also use Haitian Vodoun Culture Language for religion,
song and dance. This second language uses some Haitian creole
words, and others which may have African or aboriginal influence.
This is used as a second language only. To learn some Creole,
check out our “Words & Phrases”
section.
States
& Territories
Haiti also consists of the adjacent islands of La Gonâve,
la Tortue, l'Ile à Vâche, les Cayemites, La
Navase, la Grande Caye and the other islands of the Territorial
Sea;
Capital
Port-au-Prince (population approximately 1 million people)
Flag
Two
equal horizontal bands of blue (on 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).
The colours are taken from the French Tricolore and represent
the union of the black and mulatto populations.
Industry
& Agriculture
Haiti is an incredibly poor country and about 80% of the
population lives in utter 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.
The
major industries of Haiti include:
Sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement and light
assembly industries based on imported parts.
The
major agricultural products include:
Coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, and sorghum
Currency:
Gourde
One
Canadian dollar is worth about 31.5 Gourde. One American
dollar is worth about 40.4 Gourde.
