Economy of Haiti

Economy of Haiti
	Port-au-Prince, the financial centre of Haiti
Currency	Haitian gourde (HTG)
Fiscal year	1 October – 30 September
Trade organizations	CARICOM, WTO
Country group	Least Developed; Lower-middle income economy;
Statistics
GDP	$8.347 billion (nominal, 2020); $19.704 billion (PPP, 2020);
GDP rank	145th (nominal, 2020); 143rd (PPP, 2020);
GDP growth	1.5% (2018) −0.9% (2019e); −3.5% (2020f) 1.0% (2021f);
GDP per capita	$732 (nominal, 2020 est.); $1,728 (PPP, 2020 est.);
GDP per capita rank	172nd (nominal, 2020); 174th (PPP, 2020);
GDP by sector	Agriculture 21.9% ; industry 20.8% ; services 57.3% (2017 est.)
Inflation (CPI)	12.885% (2018)
Population below poverty line	58.5% (2012 est.)
Gini coefficient	41.1 medium (2012)
Human Development Index	0.510 low (2019) (170th); 0.303 low IHDI (2019);
Labor force	4.594 million
Labor force by occupation	Agriculture 38.1% ; industry 11.5% ; services 50.4% (2010 est.)
Unemployment	13.2%
Main industries	Sugar refining, flour milling, textile, cement, light assembly, industries based on imported parts
External
Exports	$960.1 million (2017 est.)
Export goods	apparel, manufactures, essential oils (Vetiver), cocoa, mangoes, coffee, bitter oranges (Grand Marnier)
Main export partners	United States 84.2% (2022);
Imports	$3.621 billion (2017 est.)
Import goods	food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials
Main import partners	United States 30.8%; Dominican Republic 26.1%; China 16% (2022);
FDI stock	$1.46 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
Gross external debt	$2.607 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
Public finances
Government debt	31.1% of GDP (2017 est.)
Revenues	$1.58 billion (2017 est.)
Expenses	$2.251 billion (2017 est.)
Economic aid	$600 million (FY04 est.)
Foreign reserves	$2.044 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
	Main data source: CIA World Fact Book ; All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

Haiti is a free market economy with low labor costs. A republic, it was a French colony before gaining independence in an uprising by its enslaved people. It faced embargoes and isolation after its independence as well as political crises punctuated by foreign interventions and devastating natural disasters. Haiti's estimated population in 2018 was 11,439,646. The Economist reported in 2010: "Long known as the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, Haiti has stumbled from one crisis to another since the Duvalier (François Duvalier) years."

Haiti has an agricultural economy. Over half of the world's vetiver oil (an essential oil used in high-end perfumes) comes from Haiti. Bananas, cocoa, and mangoes are important export crops. Haiti has also moved to expand to higher-end manufacturing, producing Android-based tablets and current sensors and transformers. Its major trading partner is the United States (US), which provides the country with preferential trade access to the US market through the Haiti Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) and the Haiti Economic Lift Program Encouragement Acts (HELP) legislation.

Vulnerability to natural disasters, as well as poverty and limited access to education are among Haiti's most serious disadvantages. Two-fifths 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. Haiti suffers from a severe trade deficit, which it is working to address by moving into higher-end manufacturing and more value-added products in the agriculture sector. Remittances are the primary source of foreign exchange, equaling nearly 20% of GDP. Haiti's economy was severely impacted by the 2010 Haiti earthquake which occurred on 12 January 2010.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.