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In theadministrative divisions of Haiti, thedepartment (French:département d'Haïti,pronounced[depaʁtəmɑ̃d‿aiti];Haitian Creole:depatman Ayiti) is the first of four levels of government. Haiti is divided administratively into ten departments, which are further subdivided into 42arrondissements, 145communes, and 571communal sections.[1][2][3]
In 2014, there was a proposal by theChamber of Deputies to increase the number of departments from 10 to 14 —perhaps as high as 16.[4]
Eachdepartement has adepartmental council (conseil départemental) compound of three members elected by the departmental assembly for a 4-yearterm. The departmental council is led by apresident (président). The council is the executive organ of the department.
Each department has adepartmental assembly who assists the council in its work. The departmental assembly is the deliberative organ of the department. The members of the departmental assembly are also elected for 4 years. The departmental assembly is led by a president.
Three Departments have roots in the former French colony ofSaint-Domingue, namely: theNord,Sud, andOuest. In 1801, under Governor-GeneralToussaint Louverture, the "provinces," became known asdepartments.[5][6] The departement of l'Artibonite was known as departement ofLouverture.
Under the administration ofDessalines the country was administrated bymilitary divisions.
In 1821,Artibonite was created and in 1844,Nord-Ouest, both derived out of the Nord and Ouest departments.[7][8] In 1962 during the reign of"Papa Doc" Duvalier, four new departments were created out of a territorial redistribution. These departments were:Centre,Grand'Anse,Nord-Ouest andSud-Est. In 2003, a tenth department was created out of Grand'Anse, calledNippes.[8]
In the 1990s, before the creation of Nippes, thedixième département was a phrase commonly used in regards to theHaitian diaspora. Since then, the phraseonzième département was soon adopted to describe the diaspora.[8]
Data based on 2015 estimates from the Haitian government.[9]
| Map | Department | Capital | Area (km2) | Population | Density (Pop./km2) | Planning Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Artibonite | Gonaïves | 4,987 | 1,727,524 | 350 | Central |
| 2 | Centre | Hinche | 3,487 | 746,236 | 210 | Central |
| 3 | Grand'Anse | Jérémie | 1,912 | 468,301 | 240 | South |
| 4 | Nippes | Miragoâne | 1,268 | 342,525 | 270 | South |
| 5 | Nord | Cap-Haïtien | 2,115 | 1,067,177 | 500 | North |
| 6 | Nord-Est | Fort-Liberté | 1,623 | 393,967 | 240 | North |
| 7 | Nord-Ouest | Port-de-Paix | 2,103 | 728,807 | 350 | Central |
| 8 | Ouest | Port-au-Prince | 4,983 | 4,029,705 | 810 | West |
| 9 | Sud-Est | Jacmel | 2,034 | 632,601 | 310 | West |
| 10 | Sud | Les Cayes | 2,654 | 774,976 | 290 | South |
