page_title: Haiti
section_title: Demographics
hierarchical_section_title: Haiti / Demographics
context_page_description: Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti formerly founded as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, to the east of Cuba and Jamaica and south of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island which it shares with the Dominican Republic. To its south-west lies the small island of Navassa Island, which is claimed by Haiti but is disputed as a United States territory under federal administration. Haiti is 27,750 square kilometers in size and has an estimated population of 11.1 million, making it the most populous country in the Caribbean Community and the second-most populous country in the Caribbean after Cuba.
  The island was originally inhabited by the indigenous Taíno people, who migrated from South America. The first Europeans arrived on 5 December 1492 during the first voyage of Christopher Columbus, who initially believed he had found India or China. Columbus subsequently founded the first European settlement in the Americas, La Navidad, on what is now the northeastern coast of Haiti.
context_section_description: Haiti's population is about 10,788,000 (July 2018 est.) with half of the population younger than age 20. In 1950, the first formal census gave a total population of 3.1 million. Haiti averages approximately 350 people per square kilometer (~900 per sq mi.), with its population concentrated most heavily in urban areas, coastal plains, and valleys.
  Most Haitians are descendants of former black African slaves, including Mulattoes who are mixed-race. The remainder are of European or Arab descent, the descendants of settlers (colonial remnants and contemporary immigration during World War I and World War II). Haitians of East Asian descent or East Indian origin number approximately more than 400.
  Millions of Haitians live abroad in the United States, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Canada (primarily Montreal), Bahamas, France, French Antilles, the Turks and Caicos, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Brazil, Suriname and French Guiana. There are an estimated 881,500 Haitians in the United States, 800,000 in the Dominican Republic, 300,000 in Cuba, 100,000 in Canada, 80,000 in France, and up to 80,000 in the Bahamas. There are also smaller Haitian communities in many other countries, including Chile, Switzerland, Japan and Australia.
  In 2017, the life expectancy at birth was 64 years.
caption: Haiti's population (1961–2003)
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