HAITI

Haiti has one of the smallest economies in the world, and is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The most recently reported Gross Domestic Product was in 2023 with an amount of 19.85 billion dollars. The Dominican Republic has a Gross Domestic Product of nine times more than Haiti. When this amount was divided by the population in Haiti, there was a total of 1800 dollars. The GDP can give people a sense of the country’s overall economic health and allow economists to gauge whether their country is growing or shrinking but due to many factors, it changes often for Haiti.

 

Haiti engages in imports and exports to access goods and services that they cannot produce efficiently or at all. Some major imports that Haiti needs for their community is  refined petroleum, rice, and cotton fabrics but some major exports include bedding, tropical fruits, and scrap iron. Haiti engages in imports and exports to access goods and services that they cannot produce efficiently or at all. These imports also contribute to the major companies that are currently thriving. Bank of the Republic of Haiti, Banque de l’Union Haïtienne, and Brasserie de la Couronne are the top three companies in Haiti. There is not a wide variety of jobs and careers in Haiti and the ones that they do have are all a bit related.

 

The significant industries in Haiti are agriculture, manufacturing, and construction. In addition, these industries are very helpful to the island and to the United states, as many things made and produced are sent over to help the states produce what they need. Recently, the economy has been struggling and is currently experiencing a severe contraction due to widespread gang violence, political instability, and natural disasters, leading to a significant decline in GDP, high inflation, widespread poverty, and food insecurity. Overall, Haiti has a free market economy with low labor costs.