40 Interesting & Unknown Haiti Facts
Haiti is the only country in the world to grow out of a successful revolution by an enslaved population. Haiti has a long way to go before it can achieve peace and stability, but the country still has much to offer. Learn more Haiti facts on this list.
1. In 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered Haiti and he originally called Haiti,‘La Isla Espanola’ which means ‘The Spanish Isle’.
2. On January 1, 1804, Haiti gained its independence from France.
3. It is compulsory to be educated at Primary school in Haiti.
4. Approximately 80% of the population of Haiti lives in extreme poverty.
5. People often use ‘Taptap’ buses as a method of transport as there are also no railroads in Haiti.
6. There were 280,000 people in 2004 living with Aids in Haiti.
7. Haiti led the Western Hemisphere as being its first country to abolish slavery.
8. The Western Hemisphere’s largest fortress is situated in northern Haiti.
9. Sadly, due to very poor health and extreme poverty over 10% of children in Haiti die before they are five years old.
10. Vodou is recognized as an official religion in Haiti.
11. Haiti was occupied by the USA between 1915 and 1934.
12. Cockfighting is still considered a popular sport in Haiti.
13. Haiti is 27,750 square kilometers in size.
14. One of the most popular musical tradition in Haiti is “Compa.”
15. Haiti’s national sport is Association Football.
16. The Haitian city of Jacmel became the first place in the Caribbean to have electric power.
17. The Haitian national anthem is called La Dessalinienne.
18. Eight thousand people were killed by Hurricane Flora, which hit the country in 1963.
19. Haiti has one of the highest levels of biodiversity in the Caribbean.
20. 69% of Haiti’s exported goods are t-shirts, sweatshirts, and pullovers.
21. Haiti’s national flower is the Hibiscus.
22. Haiti is the second oldest independent nation in the Western Hemisphere after the United States.
23. Haiti is the most mountainous nation in the Caribbean.
24. The annual Haitian Carnival is one of the most popular in the Caribbean.
25. The highest peak in Haiti is the “Pic la Selle” at 8,793 feet.
26. The largest mountaintop fortress in the Western Hemisphere is also in northern Haiti – the Citadel.
27. Haiti is also one of the most deforested nations of the world.
28. 50% of the nation’s wealth is owned by approximately 1% of Haitians.
29. There is just one public university in Haiti: the University of Haiti in Port-au-Prince, founded in 1944.
30. Smallpox, the deadly disease, was detected for the first time in Haiti in 1507.
31. Haiti had more than 430,000 orphans in the region before the 2010 earthquake.
32. Gourde, Haiti’s currency, is named after a plant called ‘gourd’.
33. There are five National Parks located in Haiti.
34. Tourism is one of the largest industries in Haiti, with nearly a million visitors arriving by cruise ship.
35. Only approximately 50% of Haiti’s people can read or write.
36. Citadel is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Haiti.
37. The life expectancy for Haitian is 50 years for men and 53 years for women.
38. Jean-Bertrand Aristide won Haiti’s first free election in December 1990.
39. Hurricane Gordon in November 1994 killed an estimated 1,122 people.
