Haiti's history, and statistics on the country

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.

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