Major Cities: Port-au-Prince (917,112 inhabitants), Carrefour (306,074), Delmas (257,247), and Cap-Haïtien (107,026) are Haiti’s only cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants.

Independence: January 1, 1804, from France. Haiti was the first modern state governed by people of African descent and the second nation in the Western Hemisphere to achieve independence.

Public Holidays: Haiti celebrates the following public holidays: Independence Day (January 1), Ancestors’ Day (January 2), Carnival Monday (variable date in February or March), Mardi Gras (variable date in February or March), Ash Wednesday (variable date in February or March), Good Friday (variable date in March or April, Friday before Easter), Easter (variable date in March or April), Flag Day (May 18), Ascension Day (variable date in May or June), Corpus Christi Day (variable date in May or June), Assumption Day (August 15), Dessalines Day (October 17), All Saints’ Day (November 1), All Souls’ Day (November 2), and Christmas Day (December 25).

Flag: Haiti’s flag consists of two equal horizontal bands, the top blue and

the bottom red. Centered is a white rectangle that bears Haiti’s coat of arms,

which consists of a palm tree and two cannons underscored by the motto

“L’UNION FAIT LA FORCE” (Union Makes Strength).

RECENT NEWS ARTICLES

Haiti in Extremis  -  24 Oct 2006
American Enterprise Institute,It is without question that Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere , plagued by disease and poverty and riddled with gang violence. ...

US Missionary's Wife Pays $5,000 for Husband's Release in Haiti  -  24 Oct 2006
Christian PostFAYETTEVILLE, NC â€“ The wife of a US missionary kidnapped in Haiti paid $5,000 for her husband's release, his mother said. The Rev. ...

Ron Daniels: US owes Haiti 'special debt'  -  24 Oct 2006
Frost Illustrated,CAP-HAITIEN, Haiti (NNPA)-The year 2004 was supposed to be spectacular for Ron Daniels, founder of the Haiti Support Project. He ...

Haiti represents more than chronic poverty  -  24 Oct 2006
FinalCall.com,MILOT, Haiti - When Ron Daniels invited me to join his recent Haiti Support Projectâ€™s pilgrimage to the cities of Milot, Cap-Haitien and Port-au-Prince, I ...

Locally Coordinated Anti-War Protests from Coast to Coast  -  24 Oct 2006
Party for Socialism and LiberationUS Out of Iraq Now! Say NO to Colonial Occupation - Iraq, Palestine , Afghanistan, Haiti & Everywhere! Money for people's needs, not for war! ...

over 4,000 Sewing Machines to Missionary Group  -  24 Oct 2006
Business Wire (press release),...has partnered with Missionary Flights International (MFI), Fort Pierce, Fla., to deliver the machines to missionary families living in Haiti, the Dominican ...

What Future for Haiti? An Interview with Patrick Elie  -  Oct 23, 2006
Upside Down World,In February 2004, US Marines whisked away then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from Haiti amid an armed rebellion led by disgruntled former soldiers and ...

The time bomb in our backyard  -  Oct 23, 2006
New York Daily News,We recently visited Haiti as members of the ongoing US commission to "Help Enhance the Livelihood of People" and render advice on US foreign assistance. ...

Speed the key to U-20s cup hopes  -  Oct 23, 2006
Royal Gazette,...left Toronto yesterday â€“ after having discussions with United Soccer League (USL) officials â€“ to join Bermudaâ€™s delegation in Haiti and finalise ...

Caricom offers Haiti help  -  Oct 20, 2006
Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation,Renewed clashes between armed gangs and UN peacekeepers in Haiti as a disarmament programme runs into trouble. Caricom says it stands ready to help in Haiti. ...

Haiti Recalls Dessalines, Request Unity  -  Oct 22, 2006
Prensa Latina,Himler Rebu, leader of the Grand Gathering for Haiti's Evolution Party, supported the call, after considering it an "essential condition to favor the national ...

Denouncement of UNSMH Violence in Haiti  -  Oct 20, 2006
Prensa Latina,Four people died and several were wounded in the capital neighborhood of Cite Soleil by soldiers from the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (UNSMH), denounced ...

Internal And External Strife Has Plagued Haiti  -  Oct 20, 2006
Atlanta Daily World,In 1697, the countries struck a deal whereby France would control the western third of the island, now known as Haiti, and Spain would retain the eastern ...

Children growing up without deported mom  -  Oct 21, 2006
Palm Beach Post,WEST PALM BEACH â€” They are ages 5 and 3. Twin boys and a dainty girl too young to know about the impoverished country of Haiti, too young to be told that ...

Caribbean leaders: Haiti not ready to join regional trade bloc  -  Oct 18, 2006
International Herald Tribune,AP. PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti A high-level Caribbean delegation promised to support Haiti as it returns to democratic rule but said Wednesday that the troubled and ...

American missionary kidnapped in Haiti  -  Oct 17, 2006
USA TodayPORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) â€” Kidnappers seized a US missionary as he left his church in northern Haiti and demanded a $5,000 ransom for his release, UN ...

US missionary kidnapped in Haiti  -  Oct 17, 2006
San Jose Mercury News,PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Kidnappers seized a US missionary as he left his church in northern Haiti and are demanding a ransom for his release, UN officials and ...

American Missionary Kidnapped in Haiti  -  Oct 17, 2006
Forbes,Kidnappers seized a US missionary as he left his church in northern Haiti and are demanding a ransom for his release, UN officials and relatives said Tuesday. ...

Kidnappers free US missionary in Haiti  -  Oct 17, 2006
International Herald Tribune,AP. PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti A US missionary kidnapped as he left his church in northern Haiti was freed unharmed, his family said early Wednesday. The Rev. ...

At least three said killed in clash in Haiti slum  -  Oct 19, 2006
Reuters.uk,PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Reuters) - At least three people were killed in Haiti's largest and most dangerous slum on Thursday when a protest over the alleged ...

Kidnappers free US missionary in Haiti  -  Oct 18, 2006
Boston Herald,By AP. A US missionary was kidnapped as he left his church in northern Haiti and later freed unharmed, his family said early today. The Rev. ...

US missionary kidnapped in Haiti  -  Oct 17, 2006
International Herald Tribune,AP. PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti Kidnappers seized a US missionary as he left his church in northern Haiti and are demanding a ransom for his release, UN officials and ...

US missionary kidnapped in Haiti  -  Oct 17, 2006
Monsters and Critics.com,PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (UPI) -- A US missionary has been kidnapped in northern Haiti, UN officials in the troubled Caribbean nation said Tuesday. The Rev. ...

Witnesses say 2 civilians killed in Haiti clash with UN troops  -  Oct 19, 2006
International Herald Tribune,AP. PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti A gunbattle broke out Thursday between UN troops and gunmen after peacekeepers bulldozed debris from a road in a volatile slum, and ...

Kidnapped US Missionary Released in Haiti  -  Oct 18, 2006
Voice of AmericaBy VOA News. Parents of a US missionary kidnapped in Haiti say he has been released after two days in captivity. Pritchard Adams ...

Statistics and damn lies  -  Oct 21, 2006
Trinidad & Tobago Express,Let me hasten to add that the UN numbers, spouted so easily by those who would have our country look like Haiti, do not define the true poverty line. ...

Housekeeper who found $12,500 decides against clean getaway  -  Oct 22, 2006
Chicago Sun-Times,For Marie Toussaint, it was a no-brainer. ''The money didn't belong to me, and I wasn't supposed to take it,'' the 50-year-old Haiti native said. ...

Douglas leads Caricom delegation to Haiti  -  Oct 18, 2006
Sun St.Kitts/Nevis,Chairman of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), Prime Minister, Dr. Denzil Douglas is leading a delegation of the Bureau of Heads of government to Haiti today. ...

Ron Daniels: The US Owes Haiti a â€˜Special Debtâ€™  -  Oct 17, 2006
The Wilmington Journal,...by George E. Curry. CAP-HAITIEN, Haiti (NNPA) â€“ The year 2004 was supposed to be spectacular for Ron Daniels, founder of the Haiti Support Project. ...

CARICOM Prime Ministerial Mission to Haiti will assess countryâ€™s ...  -  Oct 18, 2006
Communication's Unit Of The St. Kitts Prime Minister,Dr. Denzil L. Douglas said the Prime Ministerial Mission to Haiti on Wednesday is aimed at consolidating that countryâ€™s re-entry into the integration ...

CARICOM mission will assess Haitiâ€™s re-entry into integration ...  -  Oct 18, 2006
Caribbean Net News,...and Nevis Prime Minister and current Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Dr Denzil Douglas, said the Prime Ministerial Mission to Haiti on Wednesday ...

Local Ministry Sending Cribs To Haiti  -  Oct 19, 2006
KKTV 11 News,...garage. But once they learned the cribs were for an orphanage in Haiti, Kohn says many who gawked, stopped to lend a hand. "Weather ...

American missionary kidnapped while leaving his church in northern ...  -  Oct 18, 2006
abc13.com,...(10/18/06 - PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti) - Kidnappers seized a US missionary as he left his church in northern Haiti and demanded a $5,000 ransom for his release, UN ...

Photojournalist, students, share thoughts on Haiti  -  Oct 18, 2006
Tallahassee Democrat,...for a dinner hosted by the club Tuesday night and to hear Miami Herald photographer Carl Juste speak about his experiences as a Haitian in Haiti in 2004, when ...

U-20s have no fear of Jamaica or Haiti  -  Oct 20, 2006
Bermuda Sun,The young stars head to Haiti this weekend for the second phase of qualifying where they will take on the powerhouses of the Caribbean in a four-team group. ...

CARICOM delegation visits Haiti to gather data that will enable it ...  -  Oct 16, 2006
Haiti Action Committee,Port-au-Prince - AHP â€” A CARICOM technical mission has been working in Haiti since Sunday in an effort to follow through on promises made by the regional ...

Church minister is taken in Haiti  -  Oct 16, 2006
Fayetteville Online,By Andrew C. Martel. A missionary with ties to Fayetteville was kidnapped in Haiti on Sunday, according to his family. Pritchard ...

This series of profiles of foreign nations is part of the Country Studies Program, formerly the Army Area Handbook Program. The profiles offer brief, summarized information on a country’s historical background, geography, society, economy, transportation and telecommunications, government and politics, and national security. In addition to being featured in the front matter of published Country Studies, they are now being prepared as stand-alone reference aides for all countries in the series, as well as for a number of additional countries of interest. The profiles offer reasonably current country information independent of the existence of a recently published Country Study and will be updated annually or more frequently as events warrant.