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Gaza Strip. Ballpoint Pens, Rollerball Pens,Cartridges, Fountain Pens.
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England Description Gaza Strip
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The native Taino Amerindians - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by COLUMBUS in 1492 - were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola. In 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island, which later became Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean but only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'OUVERTURE. After a prolonged struggle, Haiti became the first black republic to declare independence in 1804. The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. After an armed rebellion led to the forced resignation and exile of President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE in February 2004, an interim government took office to organize new elections under the auspices of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Continued violence and technical delays prompted repeated postponements, but Haiti finally did inaugurate a democratically elected president and parliament in May of 2006. A massive magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010 with an epicenter about 15 km southwest of the capital, Port-au-Prince. An estimated 2 million people live within the zone of heavy to moderate structural damage. The earthquake is assessed as the worst in this region over the last 200 years and massive international assistance will be required to help the country recover.
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Location
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Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic
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Geographic Coordinates
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19 00 N, 72 25 W
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Area - comparative
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slightly smaller than Maryland
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Coast line
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1,771 km
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Climate
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tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds
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Terrain Gaza Strip
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mostly rough and mountainous
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Natural Resources Gaza Strip
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bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower
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Irrigated land
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920 sq km (2003)
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Total Renewable Water Resources
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14 cu km (2000)
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Natural Hazards
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lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts
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Environment Currentissues
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extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water
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Geography Note
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shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic)
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Population Gaza Strip
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9,203,083
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Population growth rate
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1.84% (2010 est.)
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Birth Rate
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28.7 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)
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Death Rate
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8.39 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)
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Netmigration Rate
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-1.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)
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Total Fertility Rate
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3.72 children born/woman (2010 est.)
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Hiv/Aids Adult Prevalence Rate
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2.2% (2007 est.)
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Hiv/Aids People living with hiv/aids
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120,000 (2007 est.)
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Hiv/Aids Deaths
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black 95%, mulatto and white 5%
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Religions
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Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3%
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Languages
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French (official), Creole (official)
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Education Expenditures
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1.4% of GDP (1991)
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Government Type
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republic
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Administrative Divisions
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10 departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand 'Anse, Nippes, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est
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Independence
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1 January 1804 (from France)
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National Holiday
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Independence Day, 1 January (1804)
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Constitution
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approved March 1987
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Legal System
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based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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Suffrage
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18 years of age; universal
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Legislative Branch
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bicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale consists of the Senate (30 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies (99 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); note - in reestablishing the Senate, the candidate in each department receiving the most votes in the last election serves six years, the candidate with the second most votes serves four years, and the candidate with the third most votes serves two years
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Political Partie Sand Leaders
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Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation
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Political Pressure Group Sand Leaders
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Autonomous Organizations of Haitian Workers or CATH [Fignole ST-CYR]; Confederation of Haitian Workers or CTH; Federation of Workers Trade Unions or FOS; General Organization of Independent Haitian Workers [Patrick NUMAS]; Grand-Anse Resistance Committee, or KOREGA; National Popular Assembly or APN; Papaye Peasants Movement or MPP [Chavannes JEAN-BAPTISTE]; Popular Organizations Gathering Power or PROP; Protestant Federation of Haiti; Roman Catholic Church
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International Organization Participation
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ACP, AOSIS, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OIF, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, PetroCaribe, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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Flag Description
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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
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Economy Overview
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Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with 80% of the population living under the poverty line and 54% in abject poverty. Two-thirds of all Haitians depend on the agricultural sector, mainly small-scale subsistence farming, and remain vulnerable to damage from frequent natural disasters, exacerbated by the country's widespread deforestation. While the economy has recovered in recent years, registering positive growth since 2005, four tropical storms in 2008 severely damaged the transportation infrastructure and agricultural sector. US economic engagement under the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) Act, passed in December 2006, has boosted apparel exports and investment by providing tariff-free access to the US. A second version of the legislation, passed in October 2008 and dubbed HOPE II, has further improved the export environment for the apparel sector by extending preferences to 2018; the apparel sector accounts for two-thirds of Haitian exports and nearly one-tenth of GDP. Remittances are the primary source of foreign exchange, equaling nearly a quarter of GDP and more than twice the earnings from exports. Haiti suffers from a lack of investment because of insecurity and limited infrastructure, and a severe trade deficit. In 2005, Haiti paid its arrears to the World Bank, paving the way for reengagement with the Bank. Haiti received debt forgiveness for about $525 million of its debt through the Highly-Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative in 2009. The government relies on formal international economic assistance for fiscal sustainability.
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GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)
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$11.9 billion (2009 est.)
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GDP (Official Exchange Rate)
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$6.989 billion (2009 est.)
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GDP Real Growth Rate
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2% (2009 est.)
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GDP Per Capita (PPP)
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$1,300 (2009 est.)
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Labor Force
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3.643 million
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Unemployment Rate
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NA% est.)
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Population Below Poverty Line
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80% (2003 est.)
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Distribution Of Family Income
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59.2 (2001)
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Unvestment Gross Fixed
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28.9% of GDP (2008 est.)
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Inflation Rrate
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0.4% (2009 est.)
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Central Bank Discount Rate
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17.81% (31 December 2008)
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Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate
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$NA (31 December 2008)
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Stock Of Money
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$NA (31 December 2008)
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Stock Of Quasi Money
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$NA (31 December 2008)
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Stock Of Domestic Credit
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$NA
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Market Value Of Publicly Traded Shares
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coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood
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Agriculture - Products
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sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, light assembly based on imported parts
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Industries
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-2% (2009 est.)
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Industrial Production Growth Rate
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448 million kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity Production
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273 million kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity Consumption
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0 kWh (2008 est.)
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Electricity Exports
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0 kWh (2008 est.)
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Electricity Imports
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0 bbl/day (2008 est.)
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Oil Production
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12,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
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Oil Consumption
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0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil Exports
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12,280 bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil Imports
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0 bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
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Oil Proved Reserves
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0 cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural Gas Production
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0 cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural Gas Consumption
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0 cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural Gas Exports
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0 cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural Gas Imports
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0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
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Natural Gas Proved Reserves
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-$566 million (2009 est.)
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Current Account Balance
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$524 million (2009 est.)
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Exports
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apparel, manufactures, oils, cocoa, mangoes, coffee
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Exports Commodities
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US 70%, Dominican Republic 8.8%, Canada 3% (2008)
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Exports Partners
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$2.023 billion (2009 est.)
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Imports
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food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials
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Imports Commodities
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US 34.2%, Dominican Republic 23.3%, Netherlands Antilles 10.6%, China 4.5% (2008)
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Imports Partners
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$734 million (31 December 2009 est.)
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Reserves Of Foreign Exchange and Gold
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$428 million (31 December 2009 est.)
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Debt - External
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gourdes (HTG) per US dollar - 41.366 (2009), 39.216 (2008), 37.138 (2007), 40.232 (2006), 40.449 (2005)
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Radio Broadcast Stations
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3.2 million (2008)
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Television Broadcast Stations
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AM 41, FM 53, shortwave 0 (2009)
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Internet Country Code
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2 (plus a cable TV service) (1997)
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Airports
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1 million (2008)
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Military Service Age and Obligation
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since 2004, about 8,000 peacekeepers from the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) maintain civil order in Haiti; despite efforts to control illegal migration, Haitians cross into the Dominican Republic and sail to neighboring countries; Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island
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