Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti is an island nation located within the island Hispaniola to the east of Cuba within the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea. It covers an area of 27,750 square kilometers. Explore some amazing Facts About Haiti below and get to know about it more!
Haiti occupies the west three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. The island was first home to native Taino people. Haiti was explored by Christopher Columbus. Port-au-Prince is the capital and its largest city.
French, as well as Haitian Creole, are its official languages. Its official currency is the Haitian gourde (HTG). Its sole land border lies with the Dominican Republic, which lies to its east. The Bahamas, Colombia, Cuba as well as Jamaica have a marine border with it.
38 Facts About Haiti
1. Haiti is the most deprived country in the Western Hemisphere, and it is also the third-largest nation in the Caribbean.
2. In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on the island and christened it Hispaniola. A monument to Christopher Columbus stands on the central square in the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, which is the home of 20% of Haiti’s population.
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3. Columbus’ first sight of Haiti provided him with the impression that he had found India in Asia.
4. Haiti is the second-oldest independent nation in the Western Hemisphere after The United States. It gained freedom in 1804 after the fall of France in the year 1804.
5. It was run by seventy different dictators between 1804 and 1915.
Flag of Haiti
Description: two equal horizontal bands of blue (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 colors are taken from the French Tricolor and represent the union of blacks and mulattoes. Image source – CIA.
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Facts about Haiti’s culture, sports mountains, and much more.
6. Soccer is Haiti’s national sport. The first time they played was at the World Cup in 1974.
7. The majority of Haitians like to bet. They are known to ask gods to reveal winners’ lottery numbers in Voodoo rituals.
8. Co*kfighting is also loved in Haiti. The winner earns $67, which is about the amount of a month’s wage for someone. Hot pepper and raw meat mixed with rum are fed to the co*ks, making them strong and aggressive.
9. Haiti is also one of the least forest-rich nations in all of. Poor practices in agriculture and overgrazing, high charcoal consumption, and a shortage of land are the main factors.
10. The largest fortress on the mountaintop within the Western Hemisphere is also in the northern part of Haiti, The Citadel.
11. Haiti’s highest summit is Pic La Selle which stands at 879 feet (2,680 meters) above sea level.
12. Haiti has the highest mountain ranges than any other Caribbean nation.
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Information about Haiti’s earthquake in 2010 Quality of life, and much more…
13. Illegal labor practice is widespread across the country, which is why the vast majority of the population is unemployed. Road conditions that are not in good shape have had devastating effects on farmers who have severe difficulties in transporting their products to the markets and cities.
14. Literacy: In Haiti, there is only 60.7 percent of the population is able to read and write.
15. Haiti is at the bottom of the list of North American countries in the World Economic Forum’s Network Readiness Index (NRI). This is a measure that determines the nation’s technology and information advancement. Mobile phones, as well as internet connectivity, are restricted to those with wealth and for companies with a stake located in the capital.
16. Sanitation and water supply are two of the biggest challenges to Haitians. Pollution caused by human waste and other substances is a major issue in the majority of areas of Haitian rivers. Infections like typhoid and hookworm are prevalent in the region.
17. One in 50 people living in Haiti is affected by HIV/AIDS.
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Haiti on the map
18. The sixth-largest death toll in the history of mankind was recorded in Haiti in 1963 when the hurricane Flora came through with a devastating force, killing nearly 8000 people.
19. Haiti is also recognized for its illicit drug trade and its clients scattered across Central as well as South America, Europe, and the United States. Human trafficking, particularly that of kids, is common. (Read more interesting information regarding South American countries, including Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, and Peru)
20. 50percent of Haiti’s wealth is held by around one percent of Haitians.
21. The threat of corruption is also a risk for the country and its citizens. It’s ranked as the place 159th out of the 176 countries ranked in Transparency International. Somalia has been ranked as the worst corrupt nation in the world and is ranked in the 176th position.
22. Anemia is a common problem among children aged between six months to five years old. Check out the full report here.
23. Smallpox was discovered first on the island of Haiti around 1507. At the time, Haiti was known as Hispaniola.
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24. There is one university that is public in Haiti that is the University of Haiti in Port-au-Prince, which was established in 1944. Students who are wealthy prefer to attend overseas universities and educational institutions.
25. A cholera outbreak in the country in 2010 resulted in the deaths of over 8,900 people. It also affected 7333,000 more, which lasted until 2015.
26. Haitian children are at risk of dying due to the fact that greater than 10 percent die before they reach their fifth birthday. Half of the children in Haiti are not vaccinated.
27. Only 40 percent of the population has access to basic health services. This is the most population-rich nation in the Western Hemisphere, with 747 inhabitants for every square mile.
28. The average per-capita salary in Haiti is extremely small. It is $480 annually, with 80% of the population living in poverty.
29. Haiti had more than 430,000 orphans in the region prior to the earthquake in 2010. The huge number of orphans can also be attributed to the violence of the region as well as AIDS.
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Long-running history that includes Pirates of the Caribbean, slavery, the burial of Columbus, and much more…
30. The majority of Haitians’ income is consumed by food. Access to other amenities of life isn’t readily available, or they’re able to financially be able. The rural areas of Haiti comprise 79% of the population.
31. Out of the 14 airports in Haiti, only four runways are paved. The coffee crop is Haiti’s principal product of export.
32. Haiti is the only other country in the Americas that has French as its principal language. Are you wondering what the other country is? It is Canada.
33. Haiti was once the safe haven for pirates across the Caribbean. Haiti was home to gold mines and simple escape routes for pirates. They (Haitians) also worked as local workers for work in the mining industry and plantations by the pirates.
34. Gourde is Haiti’s national currency and is named for the plant that is known as the “gourd.’
35. French and Haitian Creole are the official language of Haiti.
36. Christopher Columbus is also a burial site in Haiti at Santa Maria Cathedral. Cathedral of Santa Maria.
37. Slaves were traded through Haiti to other nations, which gave them a wealth of prosperity at the time.
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38. The 2010 earthquake caused destruction to the degree that, according to experts, the damage could take years to reconstruct the infrastructure that was destroyed to provide support for the health of the population, good governance, agriculture as well as security. The earthquake also killed more than 200 000 Haitians.
The destruction caused by natural catastrophes becomes impossible to contain because it is impossible to contain the flooding and block their floors. Also, the land becomes infertile because of the loss of the top layer. Devastation within Haiti has had serious consequences in the past and is continuing to threaten the current population unless effective procedures are implemented and followed.
