Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada

1. Demographics

The Haitian population in 2018 was estimated to be approximately 11 million (UN n.d.a; US 21 Aug. 2019; World Bank n.d.). The population growth rate for the same year was approximately 1.3 or 1.4 percent (UN n.d.a; World Bank n.d.), with an estimated urban population growth rate of 3.3 percent (UN n.d.a). Sources indicate that Haiti's urban population in 2018 was 55.3 percent of the total population (UN n.d.a; US 21 Aug. 2019), with approximately 2.6 million in Port-au-Prince (US 21 Aug. 2019). The Bertelsmann Stiftung Transformation Index (BTI) 2018, which "assesses the transformation toward democracy and a market economy as well as the quality of political management in 129 countries" (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2018, 2), states that "[o]ne of Latin America's biggest slums is situated in Port-au-Prince, with an estimated 500,000 people living in dire conditions featuring high rates of criminality" (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2018, 16). According to the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), Haiti has an estimated population density of 403.2 persons per square kilometre (UN n.d.a).

2. Economic Growth

According to UNSD, Haiti had a gross domestic product (GDP) of US$7,647 million in 2016, with a GDP growth rate of 1.4 percent, corresponding to a GDP per capita of US$705 (UN n.d.a). Sources report that Haiti's GDP was approximately US$9 or 10 billion in 2018 (EIU 31 May 2019; World Bank n.d.), with a real GDP growth rate of 1.5 percent, and an average consumer price inflation of 14 percent (EIU 31 May 2019). Data from the Institut haïtien de statistique et d'informatique (IHSI) indicates that the consumer price index increased by 19.1 percent between July 2018 and July 2019 (Haiti [19 Aug.] 2019). The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) country report on Haiti for the 2nd quarter of 2019 states the following:

[w]e expect that economic activity will remain subdued throughout the forecast period [until 2020]. Following 1.5% real GDP growth in 2017/18, we forecast a marginal uptick to 1.6% in 2018/19 and then to 1.9% in 2019/20. These improvements will be driven largely by public investment (in infrastructure) and to a lesser extent, private investment (which will be concentrated in the export-oriented sectors). Private consumption will be bolstered by strong inflows of workers' remi[tt]ances from abroad. … However, households' purchasing power will remain weak owing to extremely elevated price pressures. The external sector will also act as a drag on growth, amid a lack of productivity-enhancing reforms in a relatively undiversified economy. (EIU 31 May 2019)

The BTI 2018explains that

[t]he Haitian economy was completely derailed following the 2010 earthquake. In 2010, per capita GDP fell by 6.6%, according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). In 2011, GDP grew by 5.5% due to the influx of foreign aid, but in 2012, the growth rate slowed down to 2.9%, reaching 4.3% in 2013 and an estimated 3.5% in 2014. (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2018, 23)

The same source further states that

[t]he Human Development Index 2015 ranked Haiti 163rd out of 187 countries, an improvement from 2014. Although Haiti has ascended five places, the country faces severe economic and social inequalities. This is due to the cholera epidemic, the still-insufficient recovery efforts to mitigate the effects of the 2010 earthquake and devastating Hurricane Matthew on October 4, 2016, which destroyed 80% of the country's economy in the south. (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2018, 16)

The BTI 2018adds that

Hurricane Ma[tt]hew … further contributed to the country's decline, since Haiti lost 25% of its GDP. It had one of the lowest foreign reserves of $1.4 billion in the region since 2006 after it benefited from the PetroCaribe program. Unemployment is over 40.6% and most of the employed population works primarily in three sectors: agriculture – 38.1%; industry (mostly assembly) – 11.5% and services – 50%. Inflation is estimated at 12.4%. The national currency has lost over 30% of its value since 2014. Every sector from manufacturing to agriculture has declined in the past three years. (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2018, 24)

The CIA World Factbooksimilarly notes an estimated inflation rate of 14.7 percent for consumer prices in 2017, as well as that the "depreciation of the national currency took a toll on investment and economic growth," and Hurricane Matthew created a "new humanitarian emergency," including "extensive damage to crops, houses, livestock, and infrastructure across Haiti's southern peninsula" (US 21 Aug. 2019).

2.1 Industries

According to the UNSD, the major sectors of the Haitian economy in 2016, and their share of the Gross Value Added (GVA), consisted of "[s]ervices and other activity" at 45.3 percent, "[i]ndustry" at 38 percent and "[a]griculture" at 16.7 percent (UN n.d.a). According to the EIU report, the sources of GDP in the Haitian economy for 2016/17 consisted of commerce, hotels and restaurants (30.8 percent), agriculture and fisheries (22.1 percent), government services (12.3 percent), and manufacturing (8.8 percent) (EIU 31 May 2019). The EIU projects growth in manufacturing, noting that the textile industry is one of Haiti's more competitive industries as it is "highly labour intensive," but "recurrent strikes, related to demands for a higher daily wage" have "in the past led to work stoppages and could deter future investment in the sector," as this trend is expected to continue (EIU 31 May 2019). The same source notes, regarding attempts to revive the tourism sector, that "a significant return of visitors is unlikely until Haiti's economic and political situation becomes more stable" (EIU 31 May 2019).

The BTI 2018states that there are "heavy and complicated administrative procedures required to register an enterprise," explaining that, according to the [World Economic Forum's] Global Competitiveness Report for 2015-2016, the process takes 97 days, ranking Haiti 138th out of 140 countries for the duration of the process (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2018, 22). Further information on enterprise creation and registration could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. The BTI 2018also notes that "most" of the national economy belongs to "approximately 15 large families" and that there are high levels of corruption and political interference (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2018, 18).

2.2 Remittances

According to the EIU assessment, remittances represent an "extremely high" share of the Haitian GDP and are expected to "remain" at such a level; the source projects an annual average of 38.5 percent in 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 (EIU 31 May 2019). The World Bank states that remittances in 2018 reached nearly US$3 billion, or 30.9 percent of Haiti's GDP (World Bank n.d.).

A 2015 discussion paper on remittances and their effect on Haiti, published by the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn, an independent non-profit international research centre that is associated with the University of Bonn, and citing other academic publications, states that

nearly 90 per cent of all remittances come from North America, with the majority of these flows stemming from the USA. The rest come from the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region (6%) and Europe (4%).

… Remittances have been found to have important distributive effects in Haiti. They allow some households to escape poverty (Lamaute-Brisson, 2003) and are a vehicle for social inclusion, as they allow participation in the market process through the higher demand capacity that remittances bestow upon the deprived recipient households (Orozco, 2006). Notwithstanding this, they do not necessarily reduce inequality, as remittances accrue more to the top deciles of the income distribution (Lamaute-Brisson, 2003; Jadotte, 2006). (Jadotte and Ramos Dec. 2015, 4, parenthetical references in original)

Citing data from the Haiti Living Condition Survey (Enquête sur les conditions de vie en Haïti , ECVH-2001), the same source also indicates that "approximately two thirds of [Haitian households] receive remittances that make up more than 40 per cent of their income" (Jadotte and Ramos Dec. 2015, 14). Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3. Employment

According to the UNDP's Human Development Reports on Haiti, unemployment [in 2017] was 14 percent, with youth unemployment (ages 15-24) at 36 percent (UN [2018]). However, the French Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères' country file on Haiti indicates an official unemployment rate of 27 percent, and notes that two-thirds of Haitians are affected by unemployment or underemployment (France 7 Jan. 2019). According to a report on the findings of the Haiti Living Conditions Survey After the Earthquake (Enquête sur les conditions de vie des ménages en Haïti après le séisme , ECVMAS), conducted in 2012 by the IHSI in partnership with the research lab Développement, institutions, mondialisation (DIAL) of the French Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD) and the World Bank (Herrera, et al. June 2014, 5), Haiti had an unemployment rate (as defined by the ILO) of 14.1 percent, with a rural unemployment rate of 7.3 percent, metropolitan area [Port-au-Prince] rate of 25.6 percent, and [translation] "[o]ther urban" rate of 20.1 percent (Herrera, et al. June 2014, 118). The same source also considers the taux de chômage élargi , [which includes those available for work but not actively looking (Herrera, et al. June 2014, 168)], giving a rural unemployment rate of 20.1 percent, metropolitan rate of 40.2 percent, and other urban at 38.1 percent (Herrera, et al. June 2014, 120).

According to the UNSD, 2018 estimates indicate that among the total number of employed individuals, 46.8 percent are employed in the services sector, 40.6 percent are employed in agriculture, and 12.6 percent are employed in industry (UN n.d.a). The BTI 2018notes that the "majority of the population works in the informal economic sector, and most recent estimates by the World Bank and the Office of the Special U.N. Envoy for Haiti suggest that more than 90% of private employment in Haiti is in the informal sector" (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2018, 17). The ECVMAS (2012) data, which was collected by the IHSI with the collaboration of DIAL and the World Bank, indicates that, in rural areas, 70.9 percent of jobs were in [agriculture (Herrera, et al. June 2014, 169)]; the informal sector was the source of 77.1 percent of jobs in the [Port-au-Prince] metropolitan area, 69.5 percent of employment in other urban areas, and 26.7 percent in rural areas (Herrera, et al. June 2014, 125). In a telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the Director of Programs and Partnerships at a microfinance institution serving disadvantaged women in rural Haiti similarly stated that, while employment opportunities in rural Haiti are "virtually non-existent," agriculture is a major sector, along with informal income generation at local markets (Director of Programs and Partnerships 13 Sept. 2019). According to ECVMAS (2012) data, for the country as a whole, 4.5 percent of total employment was in the formal private sector and 3.4 percent was in the public sector (Herrera, et al. 2014, 125). The ECVMAS data also indicates that average monthly income in rural areas was 2,320 Haitian gourdes (HTG) [C$32.19] compared to 11,230 HTG [C$155.84] in the [Port-au-Prince] metropolitan area (Herrera, et al. June 2014, 131). The same source indicates that in 2012, underemployment affected 81.6 percent of the active labour force, especially in rural regions, including 95.5 percent of those in the agricultural sector and 75.6 percent of those in the informal sector (Herrera, et al. 2014, 142). The Director of Programs and Partnerships similarly noted that agricultural employment in rural areas consists of informal day labour hired by farmers, and noted that said employment is "not reliable" (Director of Programs and Partnerships 13 Sept. 2019).

A report by the Interuniversity Institute for Research and Development (INURED), a research institute in Haiti (INURED n.d.), and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), explains that there are no government employment agencies in Haiti and, according to a survey conducted by the OECD and INURED in 2014 that collected data from approximately 1,200 households and 6,000 individuals in Haiti (OECD and INURED 2017, 25), 69 percent of the time finding employment is done through friends or family (OECD and INURED 2017, 112-113). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

4. Poverty and Food Security

According to the UNDP Human Development Reports on Haiti, 50.7 percent of the population is "working poor" at a purchasing power parity (PPP) of [US]$3.10 a day, and 23.5 percent of the population lives below the income poverty line of PPP [US]$1.90 per day (UN [2018]). According to the ECVMAS (2012) data, in the [Port-au-Prince] metropolitan area, 21.1 percent of residents were affected by [translation] "objective poverty," compared to 33.5 percent in other urban areas, and 50.6 percent in rural areas (Herrera, et al. June 2014, 74).

The BTI 2018notes that

More than 71% of the population live below the poverty line, while approximately 60% live on less than $1.25 per day. Gender inequality is still high, reflected in a Gender Inequality Index score of 0.596, which means that women are in disadvantage with regards to reproductive health, empowerment and the labor market. Women are also not integrated in all the country's social and political structures. Only three women are represented in the current parliament out of 149 representatives. Very few women hold high executive positions in the private sector and public administration.

The Haiti Gini index was 60.8 in 2015. The country has the highest level of income inequality in the Western Hemisphere. Income disparity has a major impact on the rural population, since 42% of the population is severely affected. … Land resources are limited and traditional methods of farming are not producing sufficient food to ensure national food security. Levels of income inequality are among the highest in the Americas. Nearly half of the national income goes to the richest 10% of the population. (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2018, 16)

According to the same source, over one-third of the population "lacks sufficient food" (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2018, 16). The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) indicates that, based on 2016-2018 averages, 5.4 million people, or 49.3 percent of the population are undernourished (UN n.d.b), while the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) adds that Haiti has "one of the highest levels of chronic food insecurity in the world with more than half of its total population chronically food insecure and 22 percent of children chronically malnourished" (UN July 2019).

Further information, including information on poverty in rural areas, could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

5. Infrastructure

The BTI 2018notes that

[t]he state as a provider of basic services is nearly nonexistent … local officials have little or no resources for providing basic services such as sanitation, clean water, health care, good education and housing. (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2018, 8)

According to the UNSD, in 2015, 64.9 percent of Haiti's urban population and 47.6 percent of the rural population had access to "improved drinking water," and 33.6 percent of the urban population and 19.2 percent of the rural population of Haiti had access to "improved sanitation facilities" [1] (UN n.d.a). The BTI 2018reports that eight million Haitians live without electricity (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2018, 8). The UNDP's Human Development Reports indicate that 0.5 percent of the rural population has access to electricity (UN [2018]). The UNSD notes that estimates for 2016 indicate that there were 12.2 individuals per 100 inhabitants with Internet access (UN n.d.a). The Director of Programs and Partnerships emphasized the "inadequacy" of health clinics in rural Haiti, explaining that health clinics can be understaffed and poorly equipped, that workers are not paid properly, and that there are "regular" issues with insufficient stocks of medication (Director of Programs and Partnerships 13 Sept. 2019). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

6. Education

According to the UNDP Human Development Reports on Haiti, the adult literacy rate is 48.7 percent, with a mean of 5.3 years of schooling completed, out of an expected 9.3 years of school (UN [2018]). The BTI 2018similarly notes that five million Haitians cannot read or write (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2018, 8). According to the Human Rights Watch World Report 2019,

[i]lliteracy is a major problem in Haiti. According to the [UNDP], approximately one-half of all Haitians age 15 and older are illiterate. The quality of education is generally low, and 85 percent of schools are run by private entities that charge school fees that can be prohibitively expensive for low income families. At least 350,000 children and youth remain out of primary and secondary school throughout the country. (Human Rights Watch 17 Jan. 2019)

7. Welfare System and Support Networks

Information on the welfare system and availability of support networks was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

The BTI 2018notes that a

welfare regime is nearly absent in Haiti. The state provides a very basic health and pension insurance scheme, but as only 10% of the population is formally employed, only a few citizens benefit from this rudimentary system. Public expenditure on health in 2015 to 2017 was about 1.6% of GDP, life expectancy at 62 years.

Family networks function as the only reliable safety net. The most important contribution to social welfare comes from the large Haitian diaspora. Remittances are reported to constitute 20% of the overall GDP. International NGOs partially provide some of the most basic services, but cannot replace the state. (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2018, 22)

Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Note

[1] A World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF report on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene provides the following definition: "[i]mproved water sources include piped water, boreholes or tubewells, protected dug wells, protected springs, rainwater, and packaged or delivered water" (UN 2019, 49). According to the same source, "[i]mproved sanitation facilities are those designed to hygienically separate human excreta from human contact. These include wet sanitation technologies, such as flush and pour-flush toilets connecting to sewers, septic tanks or pit latrines, and dry sanitation technologies, such as dry pit latrines with slabs and composting toilets" (UN 2019, 62).

References

Bertelsmann Stiftung . 2018. "Haiti Country Report." Bertelsmann Stiftung's Transformation Index (BTI) 2018 . [Accessed 9 Aug. 2019]

Director of Programs and Partnerships. 13 September 2019. Telephone interview with the Research Directorate.

Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). 31 May 2019. "Haiti." Country Report. [Accessed 10 July 2019]

France. 7 January 2019. Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères . "Présentation de Haïti ." [Accessed 20 July 2019]

Haiti. [19 August] 2019. Institut Haïtien de statistique et d'informatique (IHSI). L'indice des prix à la consommation en juillet 2019 . [Accessed 26 Aug. 2019]

Herrera, Javier, et al. June 2014. L'évolution des conditions de vie en Haïti entre 2007 et 2012. La réplique sociale du séisme . Institut haïtien de statistique et d'informatique (IHSI) and Développement, institutions, mondialisation (DIAL). [Accessed 11 Sept. 2019]

Human Rights Watch. 17 January 2019. "Haiti." World Report 2019: Events of 2018 . [Accessed 15 Aug. 2019]

Interuniversity Institute for Research and Development (INURED). N.d. "Mission." [Accessed 9 Sept. 2019]

Jadotte, Evans and Xavier Ramos. December 2015. The Effect of Remittances on Labour Supply in the Republic of Haiti . Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). Discussion Paper No. 9541. [Accessed 23 Aug. 2019]

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Interuniversity Institute for Research and Development (INURED). 2017. Interactions entre politiques publiques, migrations et développement en Haïti . [Accessed 21 Aug. 2019]

United Nations (UN). July 2019. World Food Programme (WFP). WFP Haiti Country Brief . [Accessed 20 Aug. 2019]

United Nations (UN). 2019. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO). Progress on Household Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene 2000-2017: Special Focus on Inequalities . [Accessed 11 Sept. 2019]

United Nations (UN). [2018]. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). "Haiti." Human Development Reports. [Accessed 21 Aug. 2019]

United Nations (UN). N.d.a. United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). "Haiti." [Accessed 21 Aug. 2019]

United Nations (UN). N.d.b. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). "Haiti." FAOSTAT. [Accessed 28 Aug. 2019]

United States (US). 21 August 2019. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). "Haiti." The World Factbook . [Accessed 23 Aug. 2019]

World Bank. N.d. "Haiti." [Accessed 29 Aug. 2019]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources:Academic in Haiti who conducts research on sustainable development; entrepreneurial and economic civil society organizations in Haiti; Interuniversity Institute for Research and Development (INURED).

Internet sites, including:Association des entrepreneurs actifs d'Haïti ; Canada – International Development Research Centre; Centre d'étude et de coopération international ; CIVICUS; Coordination Europe-Haiti; Council on Foreign Relations; Le Devoir ; ecoi.net; The Economist; Factiva; France – Agence française de développement , embassy in Port-au-Prince, Office français de protection des réfugiés et apatrides ; The Guardian; Haiti – Banque de la République d'Haïti, Bureau de l'ordonnateur national du fonds européen de développement, Ministère de l'Économie et des Finances ; Haiti Business; HaïtiLibre ; The Haitian Times; Initiative de la société civile ; Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti; International Monetary Fund; Médecins sans frontières ; Le Nouvelliste ; OECD – Social Institutions and Gender Index; Oxfam; Pew Research Center; Québec – Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie; Radio-Canada; Radio France internationale ; RTI International; St. Luke Foundation for Haiti; US – embassy in Port-au-Prince, USAID; UN – Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, International Labour Organization, ReliefWeb, World Bank; Refworld; University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.