Haiti - Country Profile

The Health in the Americas+¹ country profiles are based on the interagency indicators available as of the dates referenced. The sources are referenced in this table. In some cases, the values of the indicators may differ from the most recent data available in the country.

Environmental and social determinants of health

Although great strides have been made over the past two decades in terms of life expectancy at birth, the country's social and health situation continues to present high levels of precariousness, aggravated by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, political instability, and natural disasters such as earthquakes and droughts in the context of climate change. 

In 2000 the total population of Haiti was 8 303 151 inhabitants; by 2024 this figure had risen to 11 772 557, representing a 41.8% increase. Regarding the country’s demographic profile, in 2024 people over 65 years of age accounted for 4.7% of the total population, an increase of 1.1 percentage points compared to the year 2000. In 2024, there were 102.1 women per 100 men and 15.1 older people (65 years or older) per 100 children under 15 years of age, as can be seen in the country’s population pyramids, distributed by age group and sex (Figure 1). Considering the population between 15 and 64 years of age to be potentially active (i.e., potential participants in the labor force), this group represented 64.1% of the total population of the country in 2024 (7 546 932 people). When we add these figures to the potentially passive population (3 671 701 under 15 years of age and 553 925 over 65 years of age), the result is a dependency ratio of 56.0 potentially passive people per 100 potentially active people. This ratio was 78.6 in 2000. 

Life expectancy at birth in 2024 was 65.1 years, lower than the average for the Region of the Americas and 6.9 years higher that in 2000 (58.2).

Figure 1. Population pyramids of Haiti, years 2000 and 2024

The unemployment rate in 2023 was 14.9%. Disaggregated by sex, the rate was 18.0% for women and 12.0% for men. The literacy rate was 83.0% in 2016. In men, this figure was 82.6%; in women, 83.4%. In addition, 58.5% of the population were below the national poverty line in 2012, a decrease from 48.0% in 2000.

During the period 2000-2022, the country improved its score on the Human Development Index, with an increase of 13.8% (from a score of 0.485 to a score of 0.552); during the same period, the index rose 14.6% internationally and 11.2% in Latin America (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Human Development Index in the Region of the Americas, 2022

In 2021, public expenditure on health accounted for 0.43% of gross domestic product (GDP) (Figure 3) and 3.92% of total public expenditure, while out-of-pocket spending on health accounted for 43.53% of total health expenditure.

Figure 3. Domestic general government health expenditure as percentage of gross domestic product, 2021

Digital coverage

The development of access to connectivity will continue to progress, and while coverage currently reaches only about a third of the population, recent progress has been significant. 

In 2021, 38.9% of the population had an internet connection, representing a considerable increase from 2000, when 0.2% of the population had an internet connection.

Health situation

Maternal and child health

In the area of children's health, health indicators should gradually improve. Despite this, the relative burden of mortality from acute diarrheal diseases and acute respiratory infections in children under 5 years of age remains disproportionate. Poor living conditions and malnutrition play a major role, and structural problems of sanitation and drinking water supply will need to be addressed to reduce these factors as causes of mortality. Strengthening strategies to optimize immunization coverage of the child population will also have great benefits for children's health. 

Between 2000 and 2017, infant mortality in Haiti decreased from 80.3 to 59 deaths per 1000 live births, a decrease of 26.5% (Figure 4). The percentage of low-weight births (less than 2500 g) increased from 9.6% to 11.2% between 2012 and 2021, while exclusive breastfeeding in the child population up to 6 months of age was 23.7% in 2000 and rose to 39.9% in 2017 (latest data available).

Regarding the immunization strategy, measles vaccination coverage was 76.0% in 2022, a decrease of 4.0 percentage points from 2000.

Figure 4. Infant mortality per 1000 live births, 2000–2017

The maternal mortality ratio in 2020 was estimated at 350.4 deaths per 100 000 live births, representing a 12.3% reduction compared to the estimated value in 2000 (Figure 5). In relation to fertility, it is estimated that in 2024 women had an average of 2.6 children throughout their reproductive lives. In the specific case of adolescent fertility, there was a 35.3% decrease, from 76.1 live births per 1000 women aged 15 to 19 years in 2000 to 49.3 in 2024. In 2018, 65.1% of births were attended by skilled birth personnel. The maternal mortality ratio, at very high levels and with an upward trend, is a dramatic health reality, and the occurrence of preventable deaths should be placed at the highest priority for government management. The importance of accelerating the local production of blood products, necessary for emergency obstetric care, is equally critical.

Figure 5. Maternal mortality per 100 000 live births, 2000–2020

Communicable diseases

Regarding communicable diseases, Haiti has one of the highest incidences of tuberculosis in the region, the transmission of which continues to be facilitated by housing conditions and overcrowding. Health services based on primary health care, with a supply of essential medicines available to the population and active community outreach, will play a central role in the fight against tuberculosis and other common problems such as HIV, malaria, and dengue fever. 

In 2022, there were 96 new cases of tuberculosis per 100 000 population in Haiti. In 2019, the overall tuberculosis mortality rate (age-adjusted and per 100 000 population) was 9.2 (7.9 in women and 10.5 in men). The age-adjusted mortality rate for HIV was 28.3 per 100 000 population in 2019. It should be noted that during the 2000-2019 period this indicator decreased by 82.8%.

Zoonotic diseases such as rabies are common in the country.  Between 2019 and 2021, a total of 6 cases of human rabies were reported in Haiti: 2 in 2019, 1 in 2020 and 3 in 2021. Timely supply of human rabies vaccines in adequate quantity and capacity for early detection and case management need to be improved.

Noncommunicable diseases and risk factors

The communicable diseases described above coexist with other chronic health conditions, such as hypertension, obesity, and diabetes, whose upward trends are already representing an additional challenge for a health system with limited resources and high demand for service delivery.

In Haiti in 2023, the prevalence of tobacco use among people aged 15 and older was 7.2%. In the same age group, the prevalence of overweight and obesity was 54.9% In the same age group, the prevalence of overweight and obesity was 29.9% in 2022.

In 2015, the reported prevalence of arterial hypertension (high blood pressure) was 24.5% a decrease of 1.6 percentage points compared to 2000 (26.1%). The prevalence of diabetes mellitus, which stood at 5.7% in 2000, increased to 8.7% in 2014.

Mortality

In 2019, the adjusted rate of potentially avoidable premature mortality in Haiti was 606,5 deaths per 100 000 population, a decrease of 30,9% from a rate of 877,8 in 2000. This meant that, in 2019, the rate in the country was 167.5% higher than the average rate reported for the Region of the Americas as a whole. Among potentially avoidable premature mortality, the rate for preventable causes was 314,2 per 100 000 population in 2019, which is 129.2% higher than the regional average rate; and the rate for treatable causes was 292,3 per 100 000 population, above the regional average of 89,6.

The overall age-adjusted mortality rate was 11,5 per 1000 population in 2019, a decrease of 23,7% compared to 2000 (15,1 deaths per 1000 population).

When deaths are categorized into three main groups, it is observed that, in 2019, the age-adjusted mortality rate from communicable diseases was 218,1 per 100 000 population (221,9 per 100 000 in men and 214,7 per 100 000 in women), while the age-adjusted mortality rate from noncommunicable diseases was 838,7 per 100 000 population (829 per 100 000 in men and 848,5 per 100 000 in women). The rate of age-adjusted mortality from external causes was 97,7 per 100 000 population (141,8 per 100 000 in men and 56,8 per 100 000 in women), including road traffic accidents (19,9 per 100 000 population), homicides (20 per 100 000 population) and suicides (11,2 per 100 000 population). In 2000, the percentage distribution of causes was 46,7% for noncommunicable diseases, 44,1% for communicable diseases, and 9,3% for external causes; in 2019, the percentages were 64,7%, 24,7%, and 10,6%, respectively (Figure 4).

Figure 6. Proportional mortality in Haiti, 2000 and 2019

Cancer mortality

Regarding cancer mortality from tumors, in 2019, the adjusted mortality rate from prostate cancer was 49,1 per 100 000 men; lung cancer, 6,5 per 100 000; and colorectal cancer, 8,8 per 100 000. In women, these values were 16,9 deaths per 100 000 for breast cancer, 7,2 per 100 000 for lung cancer, and 10,1 per 100 000 for colorectal cancer.

The sources of the interagency indicators used in this profile can be found in this table.

For the latest data on health indicators for the Region of the Americas, be sure to visit the PAHO Core Indicators portal.

Additional indicators provided by Haiti