An analysis of the evolution of Haiti’s economic growth rate between 1970 and 2025 reveals an unforgiving reality: over the past 55 years, the country has never managed to establish a dynamic of sustainable and lasting economic growth capable of initiating its process of economic development. Over the last 40 years, from 1986 to 2026, the average economic growth rate stood at only 0.45%. Meanwhile, the population increased from 6.3 million in 1986 to 11.9 million in 2024—nearly doubling—resulting in a very sharp decline in gross domestic product per capita and in the population’s living conditions.

The graphical representation of the economic growth rate over this period shows an economy constantly weighed down by political crises, natural disasters, and institutional instability. Periods of positive economic growth appear as fragile interludes, quickly wiped out by successive shocks that prevent any long-term consolidation. The sharp fluctuations, alternating between brief rebounds and deep recessions, illustrate the country’s structural inability to stabilize its political and macroeconomic environment.