Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, with 80% of the population living in extreme poverty due to lack of education, job opportunities, corrupt government, and unsanitary conditions. The country’s history of slavery, corrupt regimes, and deadlocked trade relations have also contributed to its poverty. Infrastructure, access to clean water and electricity, and land degradation are additional factors.
Some of the reasons for poverty in the West Indian country of Haiti include lack of education and job opportunities. Haiti is commonly regarded as the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Although a small elite group of Haitians are extremely wealthy, an estimated 80% of the country lives in extreme poverty and relies on international food aid. Corrupt government, unsanitary conditions and land degradation have been common in Haiti for years. An earthquake that destroyed its capital, Port-au-Prince, on January 12, 2010, has amplified its poverty.
Although poverty has existed in Haiti for nearly two centuries, some may consider the country’s culture and history to be quite rich. While under French rule in the 1700s, Haiti accounted for about a quarter of France’s total gross national product. Historians sometimes argue that the devastation Haiti suffered during its war for independence from French slavery in 1804 still contributes to the country’s poverty today.
Haiti was the first country in the Americas to abolish slavery. However, the French government has required Haiti to pay 150 million francs before recognizing the country’s independence. Rather than risk a trading blockade from still slave-holding nations, including the United States, Haiti finally paid the indemnity in full in 1947. This payment, coupled with deadlocked trade relations with many countries, left Haiti deeply in debt with a extremely crippled economy.
After the revolution, the Haitian people decided to liberalize land ownership instead of returning to the French-run sugar plantation system. Though no longer slaves and now able to own land individually, small farmers had reduced earning power through inefficient operations. Some experts believe that this individualistic attitude, which persists today, could encourage the continuation of poverty in Haiti.
Over the years, corrupt regimes have ruled violently and plunged many Haitians into further poverty. Francois “Papa Doc” and his son, Jean-Claude “BaDoc” Duvalier, who ruled the country from 1957 to 1986, are estimated to have killed 30,000 Haitians, repressed the economy and probably forced many educated professionals out of Haiti. The Dualiers and their successor, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, may have made the country so politically and economically unstable that international investment became largely unavailable. In 2006, a United Nations force was sent to Haiti to maintain order, though drug trafficking, violent crime and deepening poverty remain.
The average Haitian worker earns less than US$70 (USD) a month, and most live on the equivalent of $1 or $2 a day. Life expectancy in Haiti is 52 years and about 10% of children born there die before age 4. More than half of the country is illiterate and skilled labor is often in short supply. Infrastructure, such as roads, technology and energy sources, which are typically needed to support economic development, are not widely established in Haiti.
Most Haitians may lack access to clean drinking water, sanitation, and electricity. Sources of safe water are available only to the wealthiest Haitians, and many of the poor die from water that is poisonous, laden with bacteria, and related diseases. Haiti is estimated to use less than 8% of its water resources from renewable sources and only about 13% of its citizens have access to electricity, which is needed to clean and move water across the country. Haiti has only three small thermal power plants and no refineries, so it has to rely on imported oil.
Forests, coral reefs and land degradation could also increase poverty in Haiti. The main source of energy in Haiti comes from cutting down trees so that the wood can be burned, resulting in the deforestation of the land. With the trees destroyed, the soil has become dangerously eroded and mudslides are typical. Some of the land spilled into the sea and damaged the coral reefs. The deforested land cannot withstand the tropical storms that often hit the country.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
