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Quick Facts
- Population:
- GDP (PPP):
- $36.1 billion
- -0.5% 5-year compound annual growth
- $3,032 per capita
- Unemployment:
- Inflation (CPI):
- FDI Inflow:
- Public Debt:
Haiti’s economic freedom score is 49.9, making its economy the 149th freest in the 2023 Index. Its score is 0.1 point lower than last year. Haiti is ranked 28th out of 32 countries in the Americas region, and its overall score is lower than the world and regional averages.
Progress in reforming the Haitian economy has been minimal. Reforms to improve the business climate have had little effect in light of the country’s pervasive corruption and inefficient judicial framework. Investment is deterred by bureaucracy and red tape, which are exacerbated by the weak rule of law.
Background
The Western Hemisphere’s poorest country and plagued by widespread corruption, gang violence, drug trafficking, and organized crime, Haiti is becoming a failed state and has yet to recover, either institutionally or in terms of security, from President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination in 2021. Armed violence has spiked, including in the capital of Port-au-Prince, as gangs clash for control of territory. Acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s promised provisional electoral council to schedule elections has been delayed indefinitely. More than 25 percent of Haitians live in extreme poverty, and record numbers have emigrated to the Dominican Republic, South America, and the United States.
Rule of Law
The overall rule of law is weak in Haiti. The country’s property rights score is below the world average; its judicial effectiveness score is below the world average; and its government integrity score is below the world average.
Government Size
The top individual and corporate tax rates are 30 percent. The tax burden equals 5.9 percent of GDP. Three-year government spending and budget balance averages are, respectively, 10.3 percent and –2.3 percent of GDP. Public debt equals 24.2 percent of GDP.
Regulatory Efficiency
Political uncertainty and unstable security continue to undermine the business environment, which has never been efficient or conducive to sustainable entrepreneurial activity. Haiti’s formal labor market is not fully developed. Labor laws are loosely enforced. The most recent available inflation rate is 15.9 percent.
Open Markets
The trade-weighted average tariff rate is 6.8 percent, and other barriers to trade freedom are extensive. Bureaucratic impediments, made worse by institutional shortcomings, discourage foreign investment. The strained financial infrastructure remains fragile. Many economic transactions are conducted outside of the formal banking sector.