Demographics of Haiti

Population of Haiti (in thousands) from 1961 to 2003

Although Haiti averages approximately 255 people per square kilometer (650 per sq. mi.), its population is concentrated most heavily in urban areas, coastal plains, and valleys. The nation is multi-ethnic, home to peoples of different races and ethnic groups. 95% of Haitians are of predominantly African descent.^[1] The remaining 5% of the population is primarily mulattoes, Europeans, Asians and Arabs. Hispanic residents in Haiti are mostly Cuban and Dominican. About two thirds of the Haitian population live in rural areas.

Although there was a national census taken in Haiti in 2003, much of that data has not been released to the public. Several demographic studies, including those by social work researcher Athena Kolbe, have shed light on the current status of urban residents. In 2006, households averaged 4.5 members. The median age was 25 years with a mean average age of 27 years. People aged 15 and younger counted for roughly a third of the population. Overall, 52.7 percent of the population was female.^[2]

Population

According to the 2012 revison of the World Population Prospects the total population was 9,896,000 in 2010, compared to 3,221,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 36.2%, 59.7% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 4.5% was 65 years or older .^[3]

	Total population (x 1000)	Proportion aged 0–14 (%)	Proportion aged 15–64 (%)	Proportion aged 65+ (%)
1950	3 221	39.6	56.7	3.7
1955	3 516	39.7	56.9	3.4
1960	3 869	40.3	56.5	3.2
1965	4 275	41.7	54.9	3.4
1970	4 713	41.8	54.5	3.7
1975	5 144	41.3	54.8	3.9
1980	5 692	41.1	54.9	4.0
1985	6 389	42.2	53.8	4.0
1990	7 110	43.1	52.9	4.0
1995	7 838	42.6	53.5	3.9
2000	8 578	40.3	55.7	4.0
2005	9 261	38.1	57.8	4.2
2010	9 896	36.2	59.7	4.5

Structure of the population ^[4]

Structure of the population (01.07.2010) (Estimates) :

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	4 993 731	5 091 483	10 085 214	100
0-4	644 550	618 772	1 263 322	12,53
5-9	608 495	586 984	1 195 479	11,85
10-14	588 618	569 860	1 158 478	11,49
15-19	551 467	540 897	1 092 364	10,83
20-24	509 042	510 547	1 019 589	10,11
25-29	454 123	465 513	919 636	9,12
30-34	340 518	362 078	702 596	6,97
35-39	261 157	286 847	548 004	5,43
40-44	235 182	253 300	488 482	4,84
45-49	204 077	219 300	423 377	4,20
50-54	166 418	176 495	342 913	3,40
55-59	136 034	148 697	284 731	2,82
60-64	95 939	110 896	206 835	2,05
65-69	81 854	94 044	175 898	1,74
70-74	58 181	71 255	129 436	1,28
75-79	35 538	45 360	80 898	0,80
80+	22 538	30 638	53 176	0,53

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	1 841 663	1 775 566	3 617 229	35,87
15-64	2 953 957	3 074 620	6 028 577	59,78
65+	198 111	241 297	439 408	4,36

Structure of the population (01.07.2011) (Estimates) :

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	5 075 517	5 172 789	10 248 306	100
0-4	647 465	621 432	1 268 897	12,38
5-9	611 472	589 690	1 201 161	11,72
10-14	591 018	572 066	1 163 085	11,35
15-19	556 085	544 798	1 100 883	10,74
20-24	514 235	514 898	1 029 132	10,04
25-29	465 396	475 451	940 847	9,18
30-34	358 927	379 066	737 993	7,20
35-39	270 574	296 362	566 936	5,53
40-44	237 754	257 273	495 026	4,83
45-49	208 671	224 746	433 416	4,23
50-54	171 468	182 332	353 800	3,45
55-59	140 392	152 742	293 134	2,86
60-64	99 846	114 973	214 819	2,10
65-69	82 201	94 868	177 069	1,73
70-74	59 833	72 957	132 790	1,30
75-79	36 751	47 083	83 834	0,82
80+	23 431	32 053	55 484	0,54

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	1 849 955	1 783 188	3 633 143	35,45
15-64	3 023 346	3 142 640	6 165 986	60,17
65+	202 216	246 961	449 177	4,38

Structure of the population (DHS 2012) (Males 28 122, Females 29 844 = 57 966) :

Age Group	Male (%)	Female (%)	Total (%)
0-4	12,9	11,7	12,3
5-9	12,1	10,9	11,5
10-14	12,9	11,7	12,3
15-19	11,6	11,7	11,6
20-24	9,5	10,0	9,8
25-29	7,7	8,4	8,1
30-34	6,0	6,3	6,2
35-39	5,2	5,2	5,2
40-44	4,3	4,2	4,3
45-49	3,6	4,0	3,8
50-54	3,3	4,1	3,7
55-59	2,8	3,4	3,1
60-64	2,5	2,6	2,5
65-69	2,0	1,8	1,9
70-74	1,6	1,4	1,5
75-79	0,8	0,9	0,9
80+	1,1	1,5	1,3

Age group	Male (%)	Female (%)	Total (%)
0-14	37,9	34,3	36,1
15-64	56,6	60,1	58,3
65+	5,5	5,6	5,6

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events is in Haiti not complete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. ^[3]

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR*	CDR*	NC*	TFR*	IMR*	Life expectancy total	Life expectancy males	Life expectancy females
1950–1955	154 000	89 000	65 000	45.7	26.5	19.2	6.30	220	37.6	36.3	38.9
1955–1960	165 000	87 000	78 000	44.6	23.6	21.0	6.30	194	40.7	39.4	42.0
1960–1965	177 000	86 000	91 000	43.5	21.1	22.4	6.30	171	43.6	42.3	44.9
1965–1970	183 000	84 000	99 000	40.7	18.6	22.1	6.00	150	46.3	44.9	57.6
1970–1975	188 000	85 000	104 000	38.2	17.2	21.1	5.60	135	48.0	46.8	49.3
1975–1980	217 000	87 000	129 000	40.0	16.1	23.9	5.80	131	50.0	48.5	51.5
1980–1985	259 000	94 000	164 000	42.8	15.6	27.2	6.21	122	51.5	50.2	52.9
1985–1990	264 000	94 000	170 000	39.1	13.9	25.3	5.70	100	53.6	52.2	55.0
1990–1995	265 000	93 000	172 000	35.5	12.5	23.1	5.15	85	55.3	53.7	56.8
1995–2000	268 000	93 000	175 000	32.7	11.3	21.3	4.62	70	56.9	55.2	58.7
2000–2005	265 000	95 000	171 000	29.7	10.6	19.1	4.00	56	58.1	56.4	59.9
2005–2010	265 000	90 000	175 000	27.7	9.4	18.3	3.55	49	60.7	59.0	62.4
* CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Disasters often cause human populations to increase long term, rather than decrease, by way of increased fertility exceeding the deaths caused by the initial disaster, as shell-shocked mothers replace every lost child with more than needed. In Haiti's case, the fertility rate nearly tripled after the quake, and is likely to remain elevated (above pre-quake levels) for long after.^[5]

Births and deaths ^[6]

Year	Population	Live births	Deaths	Natural increase	Crude birth rate	Crude death rate	Rate of natural increase	TFR
2005	9 292 282	~258 325	~87 347	~170 978	27.8	9.4	18.4	3.5
2006	9 445 412	~258 804	~87 842	~170 962	27.4	9.3	18.2	3.4
2007	9 602 305	~260 222	~87 381	~172 841	27.1	9.1	18.0	3.4
2008	9 761 929	~260 644	~87 857	~172 787	26.7	9.0	17.7	3.3
2009	9 923 243	~261 874	~87 325	~174 549	26.4	8.8	17.6	3.3
2010	10 085 216	~262 216	~87 741	~174 475	26.0	8.7	17.3	3.2
2011	10 248 306	~265 431	~88 135	~177 296	25.9	8.6	17.3
2012	10 413 211	~267 620	~88 512	~179 108	25.7	8.5	17.2	3.2

Number of births and deaths are calculated - based on Crude Birth and Death Rates.

Fertility and births

The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):^[7]

Year	CBR (Total)	TFR (Total)	CBR (Urban)	TFR (Urban)	CBR (Rural)	TFR (Rural)
1994–95	34	4,8 (3,0)	31	3,3 (2,2)	35	5,9 (3,7)
2000	32,6	4,7 (2,7)	29,4	3,3 (2,0)	34,0	5,8 (3,4)
2005–2006	28,7	4,0 (2,4)	26,2	2,8 (1,8)	30,1	5,0 (2,9)
2012	27,8	3,5 (2,2)	24,4	2,6 (1,9)	29,4	4,4 (2,6)

Languages

Taíno was the major pre-Columbian language in the region now known as Haiti. One of the country's official languages is Haitian Creole, a French-based creole with African, Spanish, Portuguese, English and Taíno influences. French is the other official language. Spanish, though not official, is spoken by a growing amount of the population, and is spoken more frequently near the border with the Dominican Republic. English is increasingly spoken among the young and in the business sector.

Religion

The state religion is Roman Catholicism which 80–85% of the population professes. 15–20% of Haitians practice Protestantism. Only a very small percentage of the population practice Vodou, mostly along with another religion.^[8]

Education

Although public education at the primary level is now free, private and parochial schools provide around 75% of educational programs offered.

In recent years, several annual literacy campaigns launched in by the Martelly administration has increased overall literacy among adults in Haiti.^[9] UNESCO projects an overall literacy rate of 61.1% in Haiti by 2015.^[10] As of December 2014, World bank has reported that school enrollment has increased from 78% to 90% in Haiti, very close to the goal of universal child enrollment.^[11]

Labor

In 2004, 300,000 children were restavecs, which are somewhat like indentured service for minors. This was done by their parents in order that the children would be fed.^[12]

Emigration

Large-scale emigration, principally to the Dominican Republic, United States, and Canada (predominantly to Quebec, with other areas of the country) – but also to Cuba, other areas of Europe and the Americas (like Argentina) such as France (with French Guiana), Spain, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Ireland; and Venezuela, Brazil, the Bahamas and other Caribbean neighbors – has created what Haitians refer to as the Eleventh Department or the Diaspora. About one of every six Haitians live abroad.

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook (as of June 22, 2014).^[13] Population: 9,996,731 (2014 est.)^†

Nationality:

Noun: Haitian(s)

Adjective: Haitian

Ethnic groups: Black 95%, Mulatto and White 5%

Religions: Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (Islam, Bahá'í Faith, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism).

Languages: French (official), Haitian Creole (official), Spanish (non-official)

Literacy: (2015 est.)

Definition: Age 15 and over that can read and write

Total population: 60.7%

Male: 64.3%

Female: 57.3%

References

1. CIA – The World Factbook – Haiti
2. Kolbe, Athena R.; Royce A. Hutson (August 31, 2006). "Human rights abuse and other criminal violations in Port-au-Prince, Haiti: a random survey of households" (PDF). The Lancet. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69211-8. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
3. Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision
4. http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2.htm
5. Haiti's Rate Of Fertility Tripled – Report
6. http://www.caricomstats.org/Files/Databases/Demography/HT.pdf
7. Worldbank – Microdata: Haiti
8. The World Factbook
9. "Haiti – Social : The fight against illiteracy, one of the Government's priorities". September 9, 2014.
10. ""Literacy Statistics trends 1985–2015"" (PDF).
11. "Extreme poverty drops in Haiti. Is it sustainable?". 4 December 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
12. Cohen, Gigi (2004-03-24). "Haiti's Dark secret:The Restavecs". National Public Radio.
13. "Haiti". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 2011-03-03.
    ^† note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected
    ^‡ note: the preliminary 2011 numbers differ significantly from those of 2010, which were strongly influenced by the demographic effect of the January 2010 earthquake; the latest figures more closely correspond to those of 2009