Haiti - Essentials Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic, a Spanish-speaking country, was invaded and occupied at various times in the 19th century by Haiti. Belize and Honduras are on the mainland of Central America, while Dominica is an island situated between Martinique and Guadeloupe.

Answer: Cuba and Puerto Rico

If you had problems with this question it's worth spending some time with a good map of the Caribbean - it's a very complex series of groups of islands.

Answer: Port-au-Prince

Port-au-Prince has a population of over one million and the three other cities each have over 500,000 inhabitants. It was severely damaged by an earthquake in January 2010.

Answer: French

It is one of the very few Caribbean countries where the official language is French.

Answer: Subsistence farming

About 30-35% of the land in Haiti has degraded soil - for example, eroded topsoil. This means that in many cases even subsistence farming is very difficult. There is some coffee cultivation and also some copper mining. In the 1960s and 1970s tourism was a significant and growing industry, but it was undermined by renewed political instability and violence in the 1980s. It has grown somewhat again since about 2014.

The main source of foreign currency for Haiti is money sent home to the island by Haitians working abroad.

Answer: Textiles

Many sources, such as the "World Factbook", 2001 ed., compiled and published by the CIA, give narcotics as a major unofficial export. Since the late 1990s there has been some growth in the textiles industry - largely as the result of very low labour costs. Another key foreign currency 'earner' for Haiti is the money sent back to Haiti by Haitians working abroad.

Answer: France

France obtained Haiti from Spain in 1697.

Answer: 1804

Independence was gained following a slaves' revolt, led by Toussaint L'Ouverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines. The revolt lasted (with interruptions) from 1791-1803. It was the second country in the Americas to gain independence. Soon after gaining independence, Dessalines proclaimed himself Emperor(!) of Haiti.

The country has been beset by political turmoil and violence for much of its history.

Answer: 9.0 million

This figure is a United Nations estimate made in 2009. With an area of only 10,641 square miles, Haiti is densely populated.

Answer: True

A 2009 estimate quoted in Wikipedia gives a an average annual per capita income of US$1,338 adjusted for purchasing power. The CIA "Word Factbook", 2001 ed., stated that 80% of the population 'live in abject poverty'. The island was already desperately poor before the devastating earthquake of January 2010.