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Updates: 

GEC Update 17, dated 2014-09-30, adds the names of the provinces in Haitian Creole.

Haiti observed daylight saving time off and on, starting in 1983. As of 2012, it's on again. Now it's off for 2016.

Nippes department was created in 2003. It was given its codes in FIPS 10-4 Change Notice 11, dated 2006-07-11, and the second edition of ISO 3166-2, dated 2007-12-15.

Country overview: 

Short name	HAITI
ISO code	HT
FIPS code	HA
Language	French (fr)
Time zone	-5
Capital	Port-au-Prince

 

Haiti has been an independent country for the whole of the 20th century, in theory. In actuality, it was under the control of U.S. marines from 1915 to 1934.

Other names of country: 

1. Danish: Haiti
2. Dutch: Haïti, Republiek Haïti (formal)
3. English: Republic of Haiti (formal), Hayti (obsolete)
4. Finnish: Haiti
5. French: Haïti, République f d'Haïti m (formal)
6. German: Haïti, Haiti n
7. Icelandic: Haítí
8. Italian: Haiti f
9. Norwegian: Haiti, Republikken Haiti (formal)
10. Portuguese: Haiti, República f do Haiti m (formal)
11. Russian: Республика Гаити (formal)
12. Spanish: Haití, República f de Haití (formal)
13. Swedish: Haiti
14. Turkish: Haiti, Haiti Cumhuriyeti (formal)

Origin of name: 

Carib, either haiti: mountainous land, or jhaiti: nest

Primary subdivisions: 

Haiti is divided into ten départements (departments).

Department	HASC	ISO	FIPS	Pc	Pop-2003	Pop-1982	Area(km.²)	Area(mi.²)	Capital	Formerly
L'Artibonite	HT.AR	AR	HA06	4	1,070,397	732,932	4,887	1,887	Gonaïves	L'Artibonite
Centre	HT.CE	CE	HA07	5	565,043	361,470	3,487	1,346	Hinche	L'Artibonite, Ouest, Nord
Grand' Anse	HT.GR	GA	HA14	7	337,516	489,957	1,912	738	Jérémie	Sud
Nippes	HT.NI	NI	HA15		266,379		1,267	489	Miragoâne	Sud
Nord	HT.ND	ND	HA09	1	773,546	564,002	2,115	817	Cap-Haïtien	Nord
Nord-Est	HT.NE	NE	HA10	2	300,493	189,573	1,623	627	Fort-Liberté	Nord
Nord-Ouest	HT.NO	NO	HA03	3	445,080	293,531	2,103	812	Port-de-Paix	Nord-Ouest
Ouest	HT.OU	OU	HA11	6	3,093,698	1,551,792	4,983	1,924	Port-au-Prince	Ouest
Sud	HT.SD	SD	HA12	8	627,311	502,624	2,653	1,024	Les Cayes	Sud
Sud-Est	HT.SE	SE	HA13	9	449,585	367,911	2,034	785	Jacmel	Ouest
10 departments					7,929,048	5,053,792	27,075	10,454
HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes. ISO: Department codes from ISO standard 3166-2. FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10-4, a U.S. government standard. Pc: First digit of postal code. Pop-2003: 2003-08-07 census (provisional) Pop-1982: 1982-08-30 census Formerly: Pre-1962 department(s) corresponding to each present-day department

Postal codes: 

Haiti uses four-digit postal codes, always prefixed with "HT". The first digit represents the department; the first two, the arrondissement; the first three, the commune.

Further subdivisions:

See the Arrondissements of Haiti page.

The departments are subdivided into arrondissements, which are further subdivided into communes, which in turn are divided into sections communales (communal sections).

Territorial extent: 

1. Grand' Anse includes Île Grande Cayemite.
2. Nord-Ouest includes Île de la Tortue (Tortuga Island).
3. Ouest includes Île de la Gonâve.
4. Sud includes Île à Vache.

The UN LOCODE page  for Haiti lists locations in the country, some of them with their latitudes and longitudes, some with their ISO 3166-2 codes for their subdivisions. This information can be put together to approximate the territorial extent of subdivisions.

Origins of names: 

1. L'Artibonite: for the Artibonite River
2. Grand' Anse: = big cove

Change history: 

1962: Haiti reorganized from five departments to nine. Apparently this reorganization was passed into law in 1962, but not implemented until around 1980. Here are data for the old departments:

Department	FIPS	Pop-1950	Pop-1971	Area(km.²)	Capital
L'Artibonite	HA01	567,221	765,228	6,800	Gonaïves
Nord	HA02	539,049	700,725	4,100	Cap-Haïtien
Nord-Ouest	HA03	168,279	217,489	2,750	Port-de-Paix
Ouest	HA04	1,083,069	1,670,140	7,900	Port-au-Prince
Sud	HA05	739,602	976,409	6,200	Les Cayes
5 departments		3,097,220	4,329,991	27,750
Pop-1950: 1950-08-07 census Pop-1971: 1971-08-31 census

 

2003-09-04: Nippes department split from Grand' Anse (former FIPS code HA08, HASC code HT.GA). It consists of the arrondissements of Miragoâne and l'Anse-à-Veau, and the new arrondissement of Baradères.

Other names of subdivisions: 

1. Centre: Département du Plateau Central (formal)
2. Grand' Anse: Grande Anse (variant)
3. L'Artibonite: Artibonite (variant)

Sources: 

1. [1] Demographic Yearbook , 7th Ed. Statistical Office of the United Nations, New York, 1955 (retrieved 2011-08-20).
2. [2] Profils des Modes de Vie en Haïti  (in French), dated 2005-09, retrieved 2006-06-13. Has maps showing Nippes department, and population data by commune from the 2003 census.
3. [3] Map of communes at http://wwwnotes.reliefweb.int/w/fullMaps_Am.nsf/0/C7DF7D7B653A6B9085256EBD004F1312/$File/unhcr_pop_hti100604.pdf?OpenElement (dead link, retrieved 2005-02-21). Includes a table of populations by department, but doesn't include Nippes in the list. When reconciling sources [2] and [3], one finds a discrepancy: the profile shows one person moved from Ouest department to Nippes.
4. [4] The electoral decree of 2005-02-03  (retrieved 2005-04-15). says that the department of Nippes was created by a law of 2003-09-04.
5. [5] A report on the 1995-06-25 elections says, "According to Haiti's electoral system, the country is divided into ten departments: the nine ordinary departments and the department of Nippes, the eastern part of the department of Grand' Anse" (my translation), suggesting that Nippes previously existed in some intermediate status. (http://www.upd.oas.org/lab/Documents/permanent_council/cp_doc_2703_96_add_1_fre.pdf, retrieved 2005-04-15).
6. [6] Masson, Jean-Louis. Provinces, Départements, Régions. Paris: Éditions Fernand Lanore, 1984.
7. [7] 1979 Demographic Yearbook , 31st Ed. Statistical Office, United Nations, New York, 1980 (retrieved 2011-12-28).