Haiti's history, and statistics on the country
Photo credit: Newsday / J. Conrad Williams Jr. | A young man tries out crutches after losing his lower leg. He was being treated at General Hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, some two weeks after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastated the country. (Jan. 26, 2010)
Haiti Doctors
Haiti Doctors
Haiti Earthquake Coverage
LI medical professionals helping in Haiti
Earthquake hits Haiti
Photos: Charles Eckert in Haiti for Newsday
Population: 9 million
Median age: 20.2 years
Life expectancy: 61 years
Religion: 80 percent Roman Catholic, but half the population also practices voodoo.
Literacy rate: 53 percent
Living under the poverty line: 80 percent
$1,300: Average person’s annual purchasing power
Sources: United Nations;
CIA World Factbook
Haiti is the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. It occupies one third of the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean and is about 700 miles from Miami.
Discovered by Columbus in 1492, Haiti eventually became a colony of France and grew wealthy through the sugarcane trade and the importation of African slaves. In 1804, the slaves revolted and established an independent nation.
Haiti’s political history has been defined by violence. An armed rebellion led to the forced resignation and exile in 2004 of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Two years later, Haiti inaugurated a democratically elected president and legislature.
PHOTOS: LI doctors in Haiti
VIDEOS: Relief efforts in Haiti and on LI
LIVE: Latest Twitter coverage of Haiti and the reaction worldwide
MORE: Stories and photos of the Haiti quake and aftermath | How to help
