The Republic is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, bordering Cuba and Jamaica in the east, The Bahamas and the Turks in the south, and the Caicos Islands. The island covers three-eighths of the Hispaniola Island it shares with the Dominican Republic. On its southwest is Navassa Island claimed by the country but disputed as a United States territory under federal administration. The land mass is 27,750 square kilometers making it the third-largest territory in the Caribbean by size. It has a population of 11.4 million people; thus, it is the most populous Caribbean country. The capital city is Port-au-Prince. The republic is a part of the United Nations, the Organisation of American States (OAS), the Association of Caribbean States, and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie. It is also a member of CARICOM, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organisation, and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. Considered to be poor with an unstable democracy, it has the lowest Human Development Index in the Americas. Since the 21st century, it has suffered a coup d’état, prompting the intervention of the UN. Given its worsening economy and calls by the IMF to cut fuel subsidies, the state has been facing socioeconomic and political crises backed by riots, protests, famine, and increased gang crime.
if you are interested in knowing about the diplomatic relations of this republic, this article provides information on the foreign diplomatic relations of Haiti and other multilateral relations.
About the country
The territory has a highly regulated state-controlled economy, which ranks 145th out of 177 countries. Its per capita GDP was $1,800 and its GDP was $19.97 billion in 2017. Regardless of its tourism sector, this is one of the poorest countries in the Americas, with a high level of corruption, political instability, poor infrastructure, and lack of education. With the high rate of unemployment, many Haitians are looking to emigrate. The country once ranked 145th of 182 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index. After four years of recession, the economy finally grew by 1.5 percent in 2005. In 2009, it met the conditions of the IMF and World Bank’s Heavily Indebted Poor Countries program for the cancellation of its external debt.
Countries with diplomatic relations
Tourism is a source of income for the economy, though the country remains poor. Due to conflicts, US aid to the Haitian government was cut short from 2001 to 2004. It was however restored, and the Brazilian army led a United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti peacekeeping operation. Over 90 percent of the nation’s budget is from an agreement with Petrocaribe, a Venezuela-led oil alliance.
Bilateral relations of the country
It is a part of various international and regional organizations, including the United Nations, CARICOM, Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, International Monetary Fund, Organisation of American States, Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, OPANAL, and the World Trade Organisation. In 2012, it stated that it would seek to enhance its observer status to a full associate member of the African Union (AU). The AU was said to have been looking to upgrade its status from observer to associate at a summit in 2013, but the application was still not ratified by 2016. Remittances from Haitians residing abroad are the basic source of foreign exchange, amounting to 20 percent of the GDP and over five times the income earned from exports as of 2012. As a result of the relations between the country and the US, over 80 percent of college graduates in the country are migrating to work abroad.
