Haiti’s economy has been shrinking since the early 1980s while the population has continued to grow. In 1999 Haiti’s per capita gross domestic product was $550. This placed Haiti among the world’s poorest nations. Agriculture employs 68 % of the labor force; manufacturing, services, and tourism are the next largest employers. About 25 to 50 % of the workforce is underemployed or unemployed. The international sanctions employed against Haiti’s military leaders from 1991 to 1994 further weakened the already crippled economy. Government revenue in 1996 was $228 million and spending was about $273 million. Haiti’s international debt is approaching $1 billion.

Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. The limited resource base has been depleted, first through intensive colonial exploitation and later through unplanned development and corruption. Both the private area and the state share responsibility for this state of affairs. A few multinational corporations are active in the nation. Gold and copper are found in the north of the nation. Extraction of bauxite by Reynolds Metals Company at Miragoâne in the southern peninsula was discontinued in 1983.Haiti is heavily dependent on energy imports. Hydroelectricity is not sufficient to satisfy current needs.

About 80% of the population lives in abject poverty. Nearly 70% of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, which consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming and employs about two-thirds of the economically active work force. The nation has experienced little job creation since the former President PREVAL took office in February 1996, although the informal economy is growing. Following legislative elections in May 2000, fraught with irregularities, international donors - including the US and EU - inactive almost all aid to Haiti. This destabilized the Haitian currency, the gourde, and, combined with a 40% fuel price hike in September, caused widespread price increases. Prices appear to have leveled off in January 2001.