Haiti occupies the western one-third of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, with the Dominican Republican occupying the east. Though rich in history, French-speaking Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, hampering its ability to recover from natural disasters. The numbers tell a story:
A map showing the epicentre of the Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake. (CBC)80
Percentage of the population living below the poverty line
54
Percentage of the population living in abject poverty
9
Haiti’s population as of July 2009 was just over nine million
346.4
Population density per square kilometre
20
Median age
61
Life expectancy at birth
3.81
Fertility rate
80 out of 1,000
Children die before the age of five
120,000
Haitians were living with AIDS in 2007
7,200
Haitians died of AIDS in 2007
53 per cent
Literacy rate
47 per cent
Urban population
Four
Number of tropical storms in 2008 that severely damaged the transportation infrastructure and agricultural sector
Two-thirds
Proportion of the population that depends on the agricultural sector, mainly small-scale subsistence farming