Haiti Economy 1997

Economy - overview About 75% of the population lives in abject poverty. Nearly 70% of allHaitians depend on the agriculture sector, which consists mainly of small-scalesubsistence farming and employs about two-thirds of the economically activework force. The country has experienced little or no job creation since PresidentPREVAL took office in February 1996. Failure to reach agreements with internationalsponsors have denied Haiti badly needed budget and development assistance.Meeting aid conditions in 1997 will be especially challenging in the faceof mounting popular criticism of reforms.

GDP purchasing power parity - $6.8 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 2% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,000 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 34.8%
industry: 23%
services: 42.2% (1991 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 18% (1996)

Labor force
total: 2.3 million
by occupation: agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9%
note : shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1982)

Unemployment rate 60% (1996 est.)

Budget
revenues : $240 million (est.)
expenditures: $250 million including capital expenditures of $NA (FY94/95 est.)

Industries sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, tourism, light assemblyindustries based on imported parts

Industrial production growth rate 2.5% (1995 est.)

Electricity - capacity 216,500 kW (1995)

Electricity - production 379 million kWh (1995)

Electricity - consumption per capita 33 kWh (1995 est.)

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

Exports
total value: $123 million (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: light manufactures 65%, coffee 19%, other agriculture 8%, other 8%
partners: US 73.5%, EU 19.4% (1995)

Imports
total value : $666 million (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: machines and manufactures 34%, food and beverages 22%, petroleum products14%, chemicals 10%, fats and oils 9%
partners: US 65.0%, EU 13.9% (1995)

Debt - external $827 million (September 1995 est.)

Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency 1 gourde (G) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates gourdes (G) per US$1 (end of period) - 16.260 (January 1997), 15.093(1996), 16.160 (1995), 12.947 (1994), 12.805 (1993), 10.953 (1992)

Fiscal year 1 October - 30 September

NOTE: The information regarding Haiti on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Haiti Economy 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Haiti Economy 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.