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6660: Jubilee 2000 in Haiti, background (fwd)
From: MKarshan@aol.com
Haiti In 1996, Haiti
paid out
$0.17 in debt
service for every
$1 received in
aid grants
Background
The Stats
Jubilee 2000 in Haiti
Country of the week home page
Background
Haiti is a severely indebted low income country (SILIC), and joins Nigeria as
one of only two countries in this World Bank classification which are not
eligible for the HIPC initiative. This is clearly a major error, as the
country has a debt to exports ratio of almost 300 per cent, far above what is
considered sustainable, even by the IMF and World Bank. Its debt was $302
million in 1980 and it has more than tripled since then. In 1997 it was $1.1
billion, almost 40 per cent of GNP.
Figures for debt service paid in 1996 show that more resources went in
repaying debt than were spent by the government on health. This despite the
fact that Haiti, with GNP per person at $355 in 1996, is the poorest country
in the western hemisphere.
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative
Haiti has never been considered a HIPC despite its severe debt problems. As a
result it is not currently eligible for any HIPC assistance. However, there
are some signs that the IMF and World Bank are waking up to the injustice of
keeping Haiti off the HIPC list. The changes recommended at the Cologne G-8
summit have increased the likelihood that Haiti might be added to the list.
The stats
Key indicators
Total debt 1996 (EDT) ($ million) 897
Total debt service 1996 (TDS) ($ million) 27
Debt per person 1996 ($) 122
Debt service per person 1996 ($) 4
GNP per person 1996 ($) 355
Debt to exports ratio 1996 (EDT/XGS) 468
Present value debt to exports ratio 94-96(PV/XGS) 297
Debt to GNP ratio 1996 (EDT/GNP) 34
Debt service to exports ratio 1996 (TDS/XGS) 14