Life in Haiti: Every Number That Shapes It (1800–2100)

To look at the data is to see a transformation in the texture of daily existence. Where once the challenge of survival defined the landscape, the rhythm of life has shifted toward stability. In the 1950s, child mortality reached 180 per 1,000 births; today, that figure is 16 per 1,000 births. With electricity at home rising from 40 to 97 % and internet access reaching 68 %, the infrastructure of connectivity has fundamentally reshaped how individuals engage with the world, moving from isolated struggle to a shared, modern integration.

The arc of the last seven decades reflects a profound demographic transition. Families have grown smaller, moving from 5.9 children per woman in the 1950s to 2 births today, while the urbanization of the population has climbed from 41 to 81 %. Simultaneously, the physical and educational markers of development have advanced: average male height has moved from 165 to 171 cm, and years of schooling have tripled from 3 to 9 years. Extreme poverty has retreated from 30 to 4.5 %, altering the baseline of what is possible.

For a child born in the 2020s, the world is markedly different than it was for previous generations. Life expectancy at birth has risen from 51 to 75 years, supported by an average income of 14,500 international dollars. While the homicide rate remains a concern at 20 per 100,000, the annual working hours have decreased from 2,300 to 1,950 hours/year. You can see your parallel life in Haiti by tracing these metrics across our interactive database to understand the influence of the birth lottery.