Haiti: Economic Outline
Haiti is among the poorest countries in the world. Its economy, essentially based on agriculture, is very vulnerable to climatic hazards. Two-fifths of Haitians depend on the agricultural sector, mainly small-scale subsistence farming. The country is also highly dependent on international aid and remittances from the diaspora. Growth has been further hampered by a persistent political crisis and escalating gang violence, further eroding the already low human capital and institutional capacity, and Haiti has become highly unsafe. Political instability worsened and gang violence escalated after Prime Minister Gary Conille was dismissed by the Transitional Presidential Council in November 2024. His successor, Prime Minister Fils-Aimé, was tasked with restoring security and preparing elections. These developments further weakened investor confidence, contributing to a 4.2% GDP contraction in 2024. Agriculture saw the steepest decline (-5.6%), disproportionately affecting the poor, while industry shrank by 4.7% amid worsening business conditions and textile sector layoffs. Services declined by 3.9%, driven by drops in trade and real estate. GDP is projected to contract by another 2.2% in 2025, with investment and consumption dampened by ongoing insecurity and inflation. A modest recovery is expected in 2026, assuming political and security conditions improve (World Bank data).
In terms of public finances, tax revenues fell from 6.3% of GDP in 2023 to 5.2% in 2024 due to the economic downturn. Nonetheless, reductions in capital spending and non-essential current expenditures helped narrow the fiscal deficit from 2.1% to 0.1% of GDP. Revenue collection is expected to improve gradually with the implementation of a new general tax code, but the fiscal deficit is projected to widen to 1.2% in 2025 due to increased spending on security and elections (World Bank data). On the other hand, public debt stood at 14.6% of GDP as of end-September 2024, the lowest in the Latin America and Caribbean region. This reflects the January 2024 settlement of the Petrocaribe debt, which accounted for roughly 6.5% of GDP. Consumer price inflation dropped from an average of 44.2% in 2023 to 25.8% in 2024. However, food inflation remained high at 34.7%, disproportionately impacting the poor, who allocate a larger share of their income to food. Inflationary pressures are expected to persist in 2025 due to higher pre-election spending and weak agricultural output, but should ease over the medium term as security conditions improve (World Bank data).
The unemployment rate stood at 15.1% as of 2024, up from 14.6% one year earlier (World Bank). Due to supply chain disruptions, fuel shortages, and gang-related violence, the textile industry’s workforce shrank by over 45% between September 2023 and March 2024, dropping to 32,000 employees. Furthermore, the share of Haitians living on less than US$2.15 per day (2017 PPP) is estimated to have risen to 36.2% in 2024, up from 31.1% in 2021. Economic mobility is constrained by a weak labour market, characterised by low-quality, poorly paid jobs, particularly for women. The IMF estimated the country’s GDP per capita (PPP) at only USD 3,033 in 2024.
| Main Indicators | 2024 (E) | 2025 (E) | 2026 (E) | 2027 (E) | 2028 (E) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP (billions USD) | 26.23 | 33.55 | 37.48 | 38.55 | 39.67 |
| GDP (Constant Prices, Annual % Change) | -4.2 | -1.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| GDP per Capita (USD) | 2,117 | 2,672 | 2,945 | 2,989 | 3,035 |
| General Government Gross Debt (in % of GDP) | 14.9 | 11.8 | 10.3 | 10.3 | 10.3 |
| Inflation Rate (%) | 25.8 | 27.2 | 22.7 | 15.8 | 12.6 |
| Current Account (billions USD) | -0.15 | 0.15 | -0.08 | -0.19 | -0.20 |
| Current Account (in % of GDP) | -0.6 | 0.4 | -0.2 | -0.5 | -0.5 |
Source: IMF – World Economic Outlook Database - Latest data available.
Note: (e) Estimated Data
| Monetary Indicators | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haitian Gourde (HTG) - Average Annual Exchange Rate For 1 GBP | 119.88 | 122.72 | 142.52 | 175.30 | 168.47 |
Source: World Bank - Latest available data.
| Breakdown of Economic Activity By Sector | Agriculture | Industry | Services |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment By Sector (in % of Total Employment) | 44.7 | 12.5 | 42.9 |
| Value Added (in % of GDP) | 15.9 | 33.4 | 48.3 |
| Value Added (Annual % Change) | -5.6 | -4.7 | -3.9 |
Source: World Bank - Latest available data.
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Force | 5,044,201 | 5,152,876 | 4,972,457 |
Source: International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT database
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total activity rate | 68.42% | 68.68% | 68.93% |
| Men activity rate | 72.30% | 72.50% | 72.86% |
| Women activity rate | 64.70% | 65.01% | 65.16% |
Source: International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT database
The Economic freedom index measure ten components of economic freedom, grouped into four broad categories or pillars of economic freedom: Rule of Law (property rights, freedom from corruption); Limited Government (fiscal freedom, government spending); Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labour freedom, monetary freedom); and Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom). Each of the freedoms within these four broad categories is individually scored on a scale of 0 to 100. A country’s overall economic freedom score is a simple average of its scores on the 10 individual freedoms.
Economic freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Index of Economic Freedom, Heritage Foundation
See the country risk analysis provided by Coface.
The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.
Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House
The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).
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Latest Update: October 2025
