Haiti :

Economic overview: In this poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, 80% of the population lives in abject poverty. Two-thirds 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. The economy grew 1.5% in 2005, the highest growth rate since 1999. Haiti suffers from rampant inflation, a lack of investment, and a severe trade deficit. In early 2005, Haiti paid its arrears to the World Bank, paving the way for reengagement with the Bank. The government is reliant on formal international economic assistance for fiscal sustainability. Remittances are the primary source of foreign exchange, equaling nearly a quarter of GDP
in 2005.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $12.85 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 1.5% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita: $1,600 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 28%
industry: 20%
services: 52% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line: 80% (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15.2% (2005 est.)

Labor force: 3.6 million note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1995)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 66%, industry: 9%, services: 25%

Unemployment rate: widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs (2002 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $400 million
expenditures: $600.8 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)

Industries: sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, light assembly industries based on imported parts

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - production: 546 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - consumption: 507.8 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2003)

Agriculture - products: coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood

Exports: $390.7 million f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities: manufactures, coffee, oils, cocoa, mangoes

Exports - partners: US 81.2%, Dominican Republic 7.3%, Canada 4.1% (2004)

Imports: $1.471 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities: food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials

Imports - partners: US 34.8%, Netherlands Antilles 18%, Malaysia 5.1%, Colombia 4.7% (2004)

Debt - external: $1.3 billion (2005 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $153 million (FY05 est.)

Currency: gourde (HTG)

Exchange rates: gourdes per US dollar - 40.449 (2005), 38.352 (2004), 42.367 (2003), 29.251 (2002), 24.429 (2001)

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September