HAITI
Country Report
Riviere Fougy
December 16, 2010
Haiti
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is an LEDC located in the Caribbean
alongside the U.S. and neighbors with the Dominican Republic.
Haiti is the first republic to gain its independence from
colonization, but like many that have broken free from
colonization, Haiti has been suffering for a considerable amount
of time, one of the factors being the human resources available.
Out of the approx. 9.5 million people living in Haiti,
only one-third of the population is in the workforce. Also,
according to the CIA World Factbook, approx. 66% of the
workforce works in agriculture, while the minority works in
industry and services. Furthermore there is a shortage of skilled
labor in the workforce, and thus this lack of skilled labor proves that Haiti is an LEDC, for it shows that because
of the lack of skilled labor, much of the workforce is allocated towards agriculture. The reason why there is not
much skilled labor in Haiti is mainly because of the poor education, with the total literacy rate being approx.
52.9%. Not only does the majority of the workforce work in agriculture, but the agricultural section only has 28%
of the GDP, further supporting the fact that Haiti is an LEDC.
Labor Force (by occupation)
GDP – Composition by Sector
Agriculture (66%)
Agriculture (28%)
Industry (9%)
Industry (20%)
Services (25%)
Services (52%)
Pg. 1
The diagrams above are population pyramids, which illustrate the populations of certain ages. The
population pyramid on the left-hand side shows us the population in Haiti in 2010. As we can see, the majority of
the population is relatively young, and since the pyramid is pointing upwards, we know that the population is
increasing. This increase is an advantage for the country, for as the population increases so does the workforce,
and an increasing workforce will fuel the country’s economy. On the right-hand side we see the predicted
population pyramid in 40 years time. The transition from the population pyramid from 2010 to 2050 is significant,
for we can see that the aging population is increasing. This estimated increase in the aging population indicates to
us that the life expectancy may increase, thus showing to us that the healthcare may improve.
The quality of Haiti’s capital resources also hints to us that the country is an LEDC. For example, the
airports reflect Haiti’s current condition; There are a total of 14 airports located in Haiti, but only 4 have paved
runways, leaving the remaining 10 unpaved. Because of this we can assume that Haiti is not prioritizing its
investment in its airports, probably because they have to invest in the reconstruction of capital resources such as
homes and buildings. Because of the recent Haiti earthquake in January 2010, many of Haiti’s capital resources
have been damaged, and now Haiti has to invest in its reconstruction.
Pg. 2
Ironically, this developing country has an abundance of natural resources, including bauxite, copper,
gold, marble, carbonate, calcium, and hydropower. But if Haiti has such natural resources in their grasp, how
come they cannot use them in order to stabilize their economy? There are many possibilities why they cannot do
this: one may be because of the lack of skilled labor and poor capital resources. Because of these factors, Haiti
cannot manufacture these resources properly, and thus they will not be able to export them to their full potential.
Although there is much financial aid being imported to Haiti, entrepreneurship should be more active
throughout the country. According to Entrepreneurship.org, “Haitians have received help from governments, the
private sector and the philanthropic community around the world to deal with the awful devastation, but the long
term goal of rebuilding a nation and constructing institutions from scratch will require sustained commitment to
the country.” Evidence that this developing country is dependent on other nation’s financial aid is that although
they export approx. $551 million per year, more than $2 billion is imported. Many Haitians have gone out of Haiti
in order to study and figure out how to rebuild their country. Thus, in order to internally restore Haiti’s economy
and state, it needs to undergo entrepreneurship.
Over the past year, Haiti has been experiencing many roadblocks that have prevented Haiti from
stabilizing its economic development, two of them being the Haiti Earthquake and the cholera outbreak.
On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti from its capital Port-au-Prince, and
obliterated a majority of the country, along with two resulting after shocks with a magnitude of 5.9 and 5.5.
Because of this catastrophe, many capital resources were destroyed and the results of the country’s workforce
were devastating; more than 150,000 were killed
from the earthquake in Port-au-Prince alone, and
more than approx. 300,000 were injured.
Furthermore, more than 300,000 buildings had
been destroyed, including schools, commercial
buildings, factories, hospitals, and more. Also,
although many governments across the globe
have promised Haiti to donate money in order to
restore the infrastructure and help the injured,
many have not done so. “The United States
pledged $1.15 billion. It has paid nothing…
Pg. 3
Venezuela promised even more -- $1.32 billion. It has also paid nothing, although it has written off some of Haiti's
debt.” (CNN.com). Indeed, Because of this major setback, Haiti’s human and capital resources have been
mutilated, and it may take years for it to recover from its current status.
Not only did the Haiti earthquake affect Haiti’s economic development,
but also the following cholera
Pg. 3
outbreak from late October 2010. By November 22, approx. 1,350 people have been killed due to the deadly
disease, and have infected more than 57,000. And because of the poor healthcare in Haiti and the shortage of
hospitals due to the Haiti Earthquake, the spread of the cholera disease seems inevitable. In addition, similar to the
lack of support towards the damage from the Haiti earthquake, “the United Nations announced it had received less
than 10 percent of the emergency $164 million it requested to battle the epidemic.” (CNN.com). Because of the
Haiti earthquake along with the cholera outbreak, and with only little financial aid from other nations, one cannot
determine how long it will take for this LEDC to stabilize and economically develop.
Indeed, all the information obtained for this country report is relevant in order to show Haiti’s economic
development and factors production. Firstly, the reason I included the population, workforce, labor force by
occupation, and GDP – composition by sector were because I wanted to illustrate how large the workforce is and
their role in the country’s society, as well as how they show that the country is an LEDC. Also, the reason why I
added the natural and capital resources were to justify Haiti’s current condition as an LEDC. The entrepreneurship
is in Haiti is also in the report in order to show us that it is not the financial aid from other nations that will help
Haiti become more economically more developed, but rather an internal entrepreneurship that will help stabilize
its economy. In addition, the reason why I decided to add the current news (Haiti earthquake and Cholera
outbreak) into the country report was because I wanted to show the different roadblocks Haiti is facing and how it
is not letting them economically develop.
Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the modern world, suffering from several unfortunate incidents
and struggling with its economy. The supply of human resources is relatively low along with an inexperienced
workforce, and the natural resources cannot be used to their full potential in order to help Haiti’s economy. And
with the Haiti earthquake and cholera outbreak, it seems as though the country is in an inescapable situation.
Hopefully in the near future, entrepreneurship will become more active in the country, and Haiti will soon become
more economically firm and will, with much determination, prosper.
Pg. 4
References
Haiti. (2010, December 7). CIA – the world factbook. Retrieved December 14, 2010 from
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html#top
A Role for Entrepreneurs in Haiti. (n.d). Entrepreneuship.org. Retrieved December 16,
2010 from http://www.entrepreneurship.org/en/policy-forum/ a-role-for
-entrepreneurs-in-haiti.aspx
Johns, J., Fox, M. (2010, July 15). Most countries fail to deliver on Haiti aid pledges,
CNN.com. Retrieved December 17, 2010 from http://edition.cnn.com/2010/
WORLD/americas/07/14/haiti.donations/index.html
No Author (2010, January 13). Haiti devastated by massive earthquake. Retrieved
December 16, 2010 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8455629.stm
2010 Haiti earthquake (2010). Wikipedia.com [image]. Retrieved December 15, 2010 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Haiti_earthquake
Haiti Age Distribution (2010). NationMaster.com [graph]. Retrieved December 13, 2010
from http://www.nationmaster.com/country/ha/Age_distribution
Watson, I. (2010, November 22). Death toll in Haiti cholera outbreak rises to 1,344,
CNN.com. Retrieved December 15, 2010 from http://articles.cnn.com/2010-11-22
world/haiti.cholera.alert_1_cholera-outbreak-cholera-epidemic-rehydration-salts?
_s=PM:WORLD