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Haiti Statistics

Poverty

  • Gross national income per capita is US$520, about half the total for Nicaragua, the second poorest country in the Americas [1]
  • 78% of Haitians are poor (less than US$2 a day), and more than half (54%) live in extreme poverty (less than US$1 a day). [2]
  • In rural areas, poverty and extreme poverty rates are estimated to be 84% and 69% respectively. [3]
  • Over two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs. [4]
  • Life expectancy is 61 years. [5]
  • Half of children under 5 are malnourished. [6]
  • Over 7% of children die at birth. [7]
  • For every 100,000 births, 523 women died in Haiti, compared to eight maternal deaths for every 100,000 births in Europe. [8]
  • 80 out of 1,000 Haitian children never see their first birthday. [9]

Education

Enrollment:

  • 50% of primary school age children are not enrolled in school. [10]
  • One-third of girls over six never go to school. [11]
  • More than 50% of children attending school are overaged. [12]

Retention:

  • Approximately 30% of children attending primary school will not make it to third grade; 60% will abandon school before sixth grade. [13]

Quality:

  • Less than 40% of non-public schools are accredited. [14]
  • Only 15% of teachers at the primary level have basic teacher qualifications (including university degrees), and nearly 25% have never even attended secondary school. [15]
  • Approximately 75% of all teachers lack adequate training; many have just a 9th grade or 12th grade education, with no teacher training at all. [16]
  • Less than 20% of schools have electricity; 39% have potable water; 15% have a library. [17]

Cost:

  • Public education represents less than 20% of enrollment, and less than 10% of schools, at the primary level. [18]
  • Estimated annual school costs average US$131 per child (including uniform, books/materials and transportation). [19]

Literacy:

  • 37.9% of the population is unable to read or write, [20] as compared to only 12% illiteracy in the rest of Latin America. [21]

Country Info

Population: 9.7 million (2007) [22]

Age structure: [23]

  • 0-14 years: 38.1% (male 1,735,917/female 1,704,383)
  • 15-64 years: 58.5% (male 2,621,059/female 2,665,447)
  • 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 120,040/female 188,690) (2009 est.)
  • Median Age: 20.2 years

__________________________________________________________

[1]   World Bank website 2009 (worldbank.org)

[2]    Institut Haïtien de Statistique et D’Informatique et al., 2001

[3]    Institut Haïtien de Statistique et D’Informatique et al., 2001

[4]   CIA World Factbook

[5]   Human Development Report 2009 & World Bank website 2009 (worldbank.org)

[6]   UNDP Human Development Report 2004

[7]   CIA World Factbook

[8]   Doctors Without Borders 2006

[9]   USAID 2004

[10]  UNICEF website 2009 (unicef.org)

[11]  Haiti Interim Cooperation Framework Report, 2004; HICF is a project of Haitian Government in collaboration with 26 donor countries

[12]  UNICEF Humanitarian Action Report 2008 (unicef.org)

[13]  UNICEF Humanitarian Action Report 2008 (unicef.org)

[14]  2002-3 School Census

[15]  World Bank 2007 Project Appraisal Document for Education for All Program

[16]  World Bank 2007 Project Appraisal Document for Education for All Program

[17]  HICF Report 2004

[18]  World Bank website 2009 (worldbank.org)

[19]  UNICEF 2006

[20]  Human Development Report 2009

[21]  UNDP Haïti Rapport National Sur Le Developpment Humain, 2002

[22]  World Bank website 2009 (worldbank.org)

[23]  CIA World Factbook