Making Poor Haitians Count: Poverty in Rural and Urban Haiti Based on the First Household Survey for Haiti

This paper analyzes poverty in Haiti based on the first Living Conditions Survey of 7,186 households, representative at the regional level. The analysis reveals that 49 percent of Haitian households live in absolute poverty using a US$1 a day extreme poverty line. Poverty is especially extensive in the northeastern and northwestern regions. Access to assets such as education and infrastructure services is highly unequal and strongly correlated with poverty. Domestic migration and education are key factors that reduce the likelihood of falling into poverty. Employment is essential to improve livelihoods, with both the farm and nonfarm sectors playing a key role.