Haiti At A Glance

From Maimi Herald 5/18/06

Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world. The U.N. Human Development Index ranks it 153 of 177 nations.

Poverty and Income Distribution:

• 75-80 percent of Haiti's 8.3 million people live on less than $2 per day.

• The poorest half of the country survives on average on $0.44 per day.

• The wealthiest 20 percent take in 68 percent of the nation's income.

Health:

• Half the population has no access to safe drinking water.

• Life Expectancy at birth is between 49 and 51 years

• More than 5 percent is estimated to have HIV/AIDS.

• 23 percent of children suffer from malnutrition, 13 percent from acute malnutrition.

• Under-five mortality rate is more than 12 percent.

Education

• Half the population is illiterate.

• An estimated 500,000 children do not have access to primary education.

• Less than 60 percent of children are in primary school.

• Only half of Haiti's 45,000 teachers have a 9th grade education

Infrastructure

• Only 10 percent of the population has electricity, often for just part of the day.

• In a 10,667-square-mile territory, there are only 380 miles of paved roads, most in terrible condition.

• In the capital, only 20 percent of households have piped water.

• Only 20 percent of the capital's inhabitants have telephones, much less in the countryside.

Economy and Land

• Only 45 percent of adults are employed, two thirds of them in informal jobs.

• Nearly 25 percent of household income comes from remittances from Haitians living abroad.

• 97 percent of the country's forests have been cut down.

• 80 percent of farmers -- half the country's working population -- cannot satisfy the basic needs of their family.

Government and Justice.

• 80 percent of prisoners in Haiti have not been charged with a crime.

• 4,500 under-equipped, under-trained police officers patrol a country with the population of New York City.

• The national police chief has estimated 25 perce