Article Outline
Haiti’s road network was built by U.S. Marines during the U.S. occupation of Haiti from 1915 to 1934. Of the 4,160 km (2,585 mi) of roads, only 24 percent are paved. Even main roads are in poor condition, and many bridges have become unusable. The country has one international airport in Port-au-Prince and nearly a dozen smaller airstrips throughout the nation. Domestic air service is provided by a government-owned airline.
Most of Haiti’s communications network is clustered in Port-au-Prince. International communications tend to be better than domestic. In 2000 there were 6 television sets and in 199753 radios in use for every 1,000 residents. Haiti had 17 telephone mainlines per 1,000 people in 2004. There were 4 daily newspapers in 1996, with an average circulation of about 20,000, or about 3 papers per 1,000 inhabitants. Most of the newspapers and broadcast stations are in Port-au-Prince, and these cater to the capital’s wealthier inhabitants.
Tourism has been an important source of revenue for Haiti in the past. In the mid-1980s stories about AIDS on the island scared away many potential tourists. In the 1990s and early 2000s Haiti’s unstable political scene deterred travelers from visiting the island. Yet tourist attractions abound, from the country’s beautiful beaches to its vibrant culture and colorful towns and cities. In 2005, some 112,000 tourists visited Haiti.
The labor force consists of 3.7 million mostly unskilled workers. Women outnumber men as factory workers. A few labor unions exist, but poverty and years of dictatorship have prevented labor groups from organizing, although they are legal. Industrial wages of less than $2 per day are the lowest in the Caribbean.
Since the overthrow of the dictatorship of Jean Claude Duvalier in 1986, Haiti has had a series of governments. Haitian constitutions have been modified to suit individual rulers throughout the nation’s history. Local government has traditionally been left to appointed supporters of the regime in power and has often been characterized by violence. The 1987 constitution, currently in effect, was modeled on those of the United States and France.
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