Country Guide

The Republic of Haiti occupies the western third of the large Caribbean island of Hispaniola; it has a land border with the Dominican Republic. With an area of 28,000 sq km/10,700 sq mi it is a little larger than Wales or the state of Maryland and lies east of Cuba and Jamaica in the central Caribbean.

The country is mountainous and there are many local variations in rainfall depending on relief and aspect; the north coast is wetter than the south. The table for Port au Prince is representative of the temperature and rainfall in the lower districts of the island.

Afternoon humidity is rather lower than is usual on the coast in the Caribbean. This may be caused by a föhn effect as the moist northeast trade winds are drawn across the mountains in the interior.