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Demographics of Haiti

Haiti is the eighty-fifth most populous country in the world, with an estimated population of 11,123,178 as of July 2018. However the last census done in Haiti was in 2003, and the population recorded was 8,812,245. According to population DNA tests, approximately 80% of the population of Haiti is Afro-Haitian. Within Black Haitian DNA according to a study, the composition is approximately 88% African, the rest are European or mixed European. This is evidenced in DNA ancestry read outs where the average Haitian consistently tests at nearly 100 percent SSA DNA. The remaining population of Haiti is primarily composed of Mulattoes, Europeans, Asians, and Arabs. Hispanic residents in Haiti are mostly Cuban and Dominican. About two-thirds of Haitian people live in rural areas.

Although a national census was taken in Haiti in 2003, much of that data has not been released. Several demographic studies, including those by social work researcher Athena Kolbe, have provided estimates the demographic information of urban residents. In 2006, each Haitian household had an average of 4.5 members.

Population of Haiti
According to the total population of Haiti in 2018 was, as compared to 3,221,000 in 1950. In 2015, the proportion of children below the age of 15 was 36.2%. 59.7% of the population was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 4.5% was 65 years or older. According to the World Bank, Haiti's dependency rate is 7.51 dependents per 100 working age persons.

Vital statistics
The registration of vital events in Haiti is incomplete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. Population estimates account for under numeration in population censuses.

While limited, some evidence suggests that large scale disasters can cause human populations to increase in the long term, rather than decrease. Accordingly, in Haiti's case, some sources reported that a tripled fertility rate was expected after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. However, data since then does not show a diversion from the pre-disaster trend of decreasing fertility rates.

Births and deaths
Number of births and deaths are calculated based on Crude Birth and Death Rates.

Fertility and births
The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):

Other sources of demographic statistics
Demographic statistics below are based on the 2022 World Population Review.

 * One birth every 2 minutes
 * One death every 5 minutes
 * One net migrant every 16 minutes
 * Net gain of one person every 4 minutes

Demographic statistics below are based on the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population

 * 11,334,637 (2022 est.)
 * 10,788,440 (July 2018 est.)

Ethnic composition
Black 95%, mixed and White 5%

Age structure
Haiti's population pyramid can be categorized as "expansive," indicating a growing population. However, it is categorized as being at stage 3 of demographic transition, as the birth and death rate are falling and net population is increasing at a slower rate.
 * 0-14 years: 31.21% (male 1,719,961/female 1,734,566)
 * 15-24 years: 20.71% (male 1,145,113/female 1,146,741)
 * 25-54 years: 38.45% (male 2,110,294/female 2,145,209)
 * 55-64 years: 5.3% (male 280,630/female 305,584)
 * 65 years and over: 4.33% (2020 est.) (male 210,451/female 269,228)

 * 0-14 years: 32.27% (male 1,733,920 / female 1,747,387)
 * 15-24 years: 21.11% (male 1,139,188 / female 1,137,754)
 * 25-54 years: 37.32% (male 1,997,816 / female 2,028,495)
 * 55-64 years: 5.1% (male 262,494 / female 287,515)
 * 65 years and over: 4.21% (male 199,617 / female 254,254) (2018 est.)

Birth rate

 * 21.12 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 65th
 * 22.6 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country ranking: 65/195

Death rate

 * 7.23 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 113rd
 * 7.5 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 111st

Total fertility rate

 * 2.43 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 72nd
 * 2.66 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 65th

Net migration rate

 * -1.88 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 169th
 * -2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 163rd

Population growth rate

 * 1.2% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 77th
 * 1.31% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 84th

Median age
total: 24.1 years. Country comparison to the world: 167th male: 23.8 years female: 24.3 years (2020 est.)

 * Total: 23.3 years. Country ranking: 172/195
 * Male: 23.1 years
 * Female: 23.6 years (2018 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

 * 22.8 years (2016/7 est.)
 * note: median age at first birth among women 25-29

Contraceptive prevalence rate

 * 34.3% (2016/17)

Dependency ratios

 * total dependency ratio: 62.3 (2015 est.)
 * youth dependency ratio: 54.8 (2015 est.)
 * elderly dependency ratio: 7.5 (2015 est.)
 * potential support ratio: 13.3 (2015 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

 * total population: 64.6 years
 * male: 61.9 years
 * female: 67.2 years (2018 est.)

Urbanization

 * urban population: 58.8% of total population (2022)
 * rate of urbanization: 2.47% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

 * urban population: 55.3% of total population (2018)
 * rate of urbanization: 2.9% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Religions

 * Catholic 55%, Protestant 29%, Vodou 2.1%, other 4.6%, none 10% (2018 est.)
 * note: 50-80% of Haitians incorporate some elements of Vodou culture or practice in addition to another religion, most often Roman Catholicism; Vodou was recognized as an official religion in 2003

Education expenditures

 * 1.7% of GDP (2018) Country comparison to the world: 183rd
 * 2.4% of GDP (2016) Country comparison to the world: 162nd

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)
 * total population: 61.7%
 * male: 65.3%
 * female: 58.3% (2016)

Major infectious diseases

 * degree of risk: very high (2020)
 * food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
 * vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria

Languages
Taíno was the major pre-Columbian language in the region of what is Haiti (or Ayti), a name referring to the entire island of Hispaniola. The phrase means "land of high mountains."

Today, the Republic of Haiti has two official languages, French and Haitian Creole. Haitian Creole is a French-based creole with 90% of its vocabulary derived from or influenced by Portuguese, Spanish, Taíno, and various West African languages. French is the primary written and administrative language (as well as the main language of the press) and is spoken by 42% of Haitians. The language is generally spoken by educated Haitians, is the medium of instruction in most schools, and is used in the business sector. It is also spoken in ceremonial events such as weddings, graduations, and church masses.

Haiti is one of two independent nations in the Americas (along with Canada) to designate French as an official language; other French-speaking areas are all overseas départements, or collectivités, of France. Haitian Creole, which was recently standardized, is spoken by virtually the entire population of Haiti. It is related to the other French creoles but most closely to the Antillean Creole and Louisiana Creole variants.

Spanish is spoken by some Haitians along the border with the Dominican Republic, as well as by some who have been deported from Spanish-speaking countries. English is used increasingly within the business sector, but only by a small proportion of the total population.

Religion
The most common religions in Haiti are Roman Catholicism, Pentecostalism and Baptist. The state religion is Roman Catholicism, which is professed by 55–60% of the population. 30–35% of Haitians practice Protestantism, mostly Pentecostalism, which arrived in Haiti in the 1970s. Almost 99% of Haitians claim to be a part of at least one religion, with a fraction of them practicing some part of Vodou along with another religion.

Vodou bears similarities to Cuban Santeria due to the large Cuban population in Haiti. The practice of Vodou revolves around family spirits called Lwa that protect children. To repay the spirits, children perform two ceremonies where the Lwa are given gifts like food and drinks. The timing of the ceremonies depends on the monetary status of the family performing them; poorer families try to save money, waiting until there is a need to perform the rituals. The practice of Vodou is rare among the urban elite.

Modern day Vodou has been shaped by both Protestant and Catholic Christianity. Under the rule of the Catholic French, the population was not allowed to practice Vodou. However, they were occasionally allowed to have dances on the weekends. These dances were actually disguised Vodou services. The underground practice of Vodou continued until Haiti gained its independence in 1804. Most Haitians see practicing both Vodou and Christianity as normal due to their significant similarities. The Catholic Church, however, was not always as accepting of Vodou. In 1941-42, a holy war was declared against Vodou, leading to the deaths of many high level religious officials in the Vodou religion. Persecution of the religion largely ended in 1950 when the Catholics gave up trying to prosecute those who practiced Vodou. Protestants, however, are still critical of the religion, often describing it as "devil worship".

A fictionalized version of Vodou, commonly called "voodoo", has been used in American movies and by authors such as H.P. Lovecraft. Vodou and voodoo are not the conceptually the same, although the idea of "voodoo" lives on in American pop culture.

Education
Although public education in Haiti at the primary level is free, private and parochial schools provide around 75% of educational programs offered to the public.

In recent years, several literacy campaigns launched by the Martelly administration have increased adult literacy in Haiti. UNESCO projects an overall literacy rate of 61.1% in Haiti by 2015.

As of December 2014, the World Bank has reported an increase in school enrollment from 78% to 90% in Haiti, close to the federal goal of universal child enrollment.

Labor
In 2004, approximately 300,000 children were restavecs, or indentured servants.

Emigration
Large-scale emigration, principally to the Dominican Republic, United States, and Canada (predominantly to Quebec) has created what Haitians refer to as the Eleventh Department or the Diaspora. Significant numbers of Haitians have also immigrated to Cuba, France and French Guiana, Spain, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Ireland, Venezuela, Brazil, Chile, the Bahamas and other Caribbean countries. Approximately one in every six Haitians lives abroad.

Immigration
45,000 Americans live in Haiti. They represent 0.4% of Haiti's total population.

title: Demographics of Haiti


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Politics of Haiti

The politics of Haiti takes place in the framework of a unitary semi-presidential republic, where the president is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government. The politics of Haiti are considered historically unstable due to various coups d'état, regime changes, military juntas and internal conflicts. After Jean-Bertrand Aristide was deposed, Haitian politics became relatively stable. According to the V-Dem Democracy indices Haiti is 2023 the 4th least electoral democratic country in Latin America.

Political corruption is widespread in Haiti and it has consistently ranked as one of the most corrupt nations according to the Corruption Perceptions Index, a measure of perceived political corruption. In 2006, Haiti was ranked as the most corrupt nation out of the 163 that were surveyed for the index. In 2020, Haiti was #170 out of 180. The International Red Cross reported that Haiti was 155th out of 159 countries in a similar survey of corrupt countries. In 2013, Haiti ranked #8 in the Fragile States Index.

History
Haiti overthrew French colonial rule in a successful slave revolt (Haitian Revolution) that ended in 1804. Under the Haitian Constitution, the President of Haiti is elected by popular vote for a five year term. The President cannot stand for two consecutive terms.

Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected overwhelmingly as President for a third time at the 2000 election held on 26 November 2000, an election boycotted by most opposition political parties, and sworn in on 4 February 2001. Aristide, a left wing president, was deposed in a coup d'état on 29 February 2004, led by the Group of 184, allegedly with assistance of the French and United States governments, on the basis that U.S. and French soldiers had recently arrived in Haiti, ostensibly to protect the U.S. embassy in Haiti. (See controversy regarding US involvement.)

The first election after the 2004 Haitian coup d'état for a new president was held on 8 February 2006 with the runoff election on 21 April. René Préval was declared the winner on 14 May 2006. The 2011 election was held on 28 November 2010 with the runoff election on 20 March 2011. Michel Martelly succeeded Préval when his term expired on 14 May 2011, the first time in Haitian history that an incumbent president peacefully transferred power to a member of the opposition. Martelly's presidency is rated by some as free and by some as authoritarian.

The 2015 presidential election was held on 25 October 2015, but before the runoff, it was criticised by the Haitian public and media as "not-free" and "controlled". According to an exit poll conducted by Haitian Sentinel, only 6% of voters voted for Jovenel Moïse. The other presidential runoff candidate, Jude Célestin, expressed his disapproval of the lack of transparency of the Conseil Electoral Provisoire (Provisional Electoral Council, CEP). Thirty other candidates commented the 2015 election was controlled disregarding public trust. Martelly resigned the presidency on 10 February 2016, amid allegations that the 2015 election was fraudulent, leaving the country without a government in place. The election result was annulled by the CEP.

The Parliament on 13-14 February 2016 elected Jocelerme Privert as provisional president for a period of 120 days, in place of the Council of Ministers. On 14 June 2016, Privert's presidential term expired, but he remained as de facto president as the National Assembly refused to meet to appoint a successor. On 7 February 2017, Privert was succeeded by Moïse who won the 2016 presidential election that was held in November 2016 with the runoff election on 29 January 2017. Since 2018, with no working parliament, Moïse ruled in Haiti by decree. On 7 July 2021, Moïse was assassinated, and Claude Joseph, the interim prime minister, assumed control as acting president. On 20 July 2021, Joseph yielded the presidency and prime ministership to prime minister-designate Ariel Henry.

Under the Haitian Constitution, the Prime Minister is appointed by the President and must be confirmed by the National Assembly. Yvon Neptune was appointed prime minister on 4 March 2002, but was replaced following the coup of February 2004 by Gérard Latortue, who became interim prime minister. Neptune was imprisoned in June 2004, accused of complicity in an alleged massacre in Saint-Marc. United Nations officials expressed skepticism of the evidence and called for either due process or his release. Neptune was formally charged on 20 September 2005, but was never sent to trial. Jacques-Édouard Alexis became prime minister on 9 June 2006, and Neptune was released on 28 July 2006. In April 2008, Parliament voted to dismiss Alexis following widespread rioting over food prices. His selected replacement was rejected by Parliament, throwing the country into a prolonged period without a government. Michèle Pierre-Louis received approval to become the next prime minister from both houses in July 2008. Moïse appointed seven different prime ministers during his time in office, the last of whom was Ariel Henry, who was appointed on 5 July 2021, but had not been sworn in by the time of Moïse's assassination on 7 July. At the time of Moïse's assassination, Claude Joseph was Haiti's interim prime minister, and took control of the presidency. On 19 July, Joseph relinquished the office of prime minister and Henry was sworn in on 20 July. Elections are expected in September.

Summary
The lack of voter turnout has been a major issue for Haitian elections, as only approximately 15% of eligible voters will vote in an election. CEP does not release data about turnout in elections, however, according to unofficial population clocks, official census data and electoral data, only 15.94% of Haitians voted in the election. Proper rejection of votes had been a problem lately, as 7.71% of all votes are rejected according to CEP.

Creole in politics and corruption
French has been the primary language in Haitian politics since the colonial era, with Haitian Creole being held in low regard by the nation's ruling class. Haitian Creole is a combination of basic French structures with significant loanwords from African languages, and major differences in grammar and spelling.

This original demotion of the Creole language created socioeconomic barriers for the country's majority which primarily spoke only Haitian Creole.

Today, Creole is spoken by everyone in the country. The upper class and educated people speak both French and Creole. Per the 1987 Constitution, both Creole and French are official languages of Haiti. However, French is still the main language taught in schools and used in politics. With only 2-5% speaking the language of the politics, Creole speakers are politically disenfranchised.

This disenfranchisement is further aggravated by the lack of a systematic educational system. Literacy programs failed in the 1980s, and French is still the language being used to instruct students. Haitian linguist, Yves Dejean, recalls warnings posted in the principal's office forbidding the use of Creole. In the 1970s, only 1% of the children who entered kindergarten stayed on track to obtain state certificate at the end of the sixth grade. Even after the literacy programs of the 1980s, 90% of the teachers ten years after the decree were still not able to fully integrate the Creole language into the education system. The language handicap makes education and furthermore, political enfranchisement almost impossible.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Politics of Haiti


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Economy of Haiti

Haiti is a free market economy  with low labor costs. A republic, it was a French colony before gaining independence in an uprising by its enslaved people. It faced embargoes and isolation after its independence as well as political crises punctuated by foreign interventions and devastating natural disasters. Haiti's estimated population in 2018 was 11,439,646. The Economist reported in 2010: "Long known as the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, Haiti has stumbled from one crisis to another since the Duvalier (François Duvalier) years."

Haiti has an agricultural economy. Over half of the world's vetiver oil (an essential oil used in high-end perfumes) comes from Haiti. Bananas, cocoa, and mangoes are important export crops. Haiti has also moved to expand to higher-end manufacturing, producing Android-based tablets and current sensors and transformers. Its major trading partner is the United States (US), which provides the country with preferential trade access to the US market through the Haiti Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) and the Haiti Economic Lift Program Encouragement Acts (HELP) legislation.

Vulnerability to natural disasters, as well as poverty and limited access to education are among Haiti's most serious disadvantages. Two-fifths of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, mainly small-scale subsistence farming, and remain vulnerable to damage from frequent natural disasters, exacerbated by the country's widespread deforestation. Haiti suffers from a severe trade deficit, which it is working to address by moving into higher-end manufacturing and more value-added products in the agriculture sector. Remittances are the primary source of foreign exchange, equaling nearly 20% of GDP. Haiti's economy was severely impacted by the 2010 Haiti earthquake which occurred on 12 January 2010.

Economic history
Before the people enslaved in Haiti to work its plantations revolted against French colonization in 1804, Haiti ranked as the world's richest and most productive colony. In the formative years of independence, Haiti suffered from isolation on the international stage, as evidenced by the early lack of diplomatic recognition accorded to it by Europe and the United States (which did not recognize it until 1862); this had a negative impact on investment in Haiti. Another economic obstacle in Haiti's early independence was its payment of 150 million francs to France beginning in 1825; this did much to drain the country of its capital stock. France forced Haiti to pay for its independence and freedom from colonization. According to a 2014 study, the Haitian economy stagnated due to a combination of weak state power and adverse international relations. The authors write: "For the newborn 'Negro republic', it was hard to become recognised as a sovereign nation state, it was difficult to form strategic alliances, to get access to foreign loans, and to safeguard trade interests, and it was overloaded with debt under threat of external violence (the French indemnity). Self-chosen isolation, for instance by prohibiting foreign landownership, further reduced the choice set of successive Haitian administrations. When opportunities for export-led growth opened up in the late 19th century, the odds were stacked against Haiti."

The United States invaded and occupied Haiti from 1915 to 1934.

In the aftermath of the 1994 restoration of constitutional governance, Haitian officials have indicated their commitment to economic reform through the implementation of sound fiscal and monetary policies and the enactment of legislation mandating the modernization of state-owned enterprises. A council to guide the modernization program (CMEP) was established and a timetable was drawn up to modernize nine key parastatals. Although the state-owned flour-mill and cement plants have been transferred to private owners, progress on the other seven parastatals has stalled. The modernization of Haiti's state-enterprises remains a controversial political issue in Haiti.

Under President René Préval (1996–2001, 2006 – 14 May 2011), the country's economic agenda included trade and tariff liberalization, measures to control government expenditure and increase tax revenues, civil-service downsizing, financial-sector reform, the privatization of state-owned enterprises, and the provision of private sector management contracts, or joint public-private investment. Structural adjustment agreements with the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and other international financial institutions aiming at creating necessary conditions for private sector growth, have proved only partly successful.

Comparative social and economic indicators show Haiti falling behind other low-income developing countries (particularly in the Western hemisphere) since the 1980s. Haiti's economic stagnation results from earlier inappropriate economic policies, political instability, a shortage of good arable land, environmental deterioration, continued use of traditional technologies, under-capitalization and lack of public investment in human resources, migration of large portions of the skilled population, and a weak national savings rate.

Haiti continues to suffer the consequences of the 1991 coup. The irresponsible economic and financial policies of de facto authorities greatly accelerated Haiti's economic decline. Following the coup, the United States adopted mandatory sanctions, and the OAS instituted voluntary sanctions aimed at restoring constitutional government. International sanctions culminated in the May 1994 United Nations embargo of all goods entering Haiti except humanitarian supplies, such as food and medicine. The assembly sector, heavily dependent on U.S. markets for its products, employed nearly 80,000 workers in the mid-1980s. During the embargo, employment fell from 33,000 workers in 1991 to 400 in October 1995. Private, domestic and foreign investment has been slow to return to Haiti. Since the return of constitutional rule, assembly sector employment has gradually recovered with over 20,000 now employed, but further growth has been stalled by investor concerns over safety and supply reliability.

Remittances from abroad have consistently constituted a significant source of financial support for many Haitian households.

The Haitian Ministry of Economy and Finance designed the Haiti economic reforms of 1996 to rebuild the economy of Haiti after significant downturns suffered in the previous years. The primary reforms centered around the Emergency Economic Recovery Plan (EERP) and were followed by budget reforms.

Haiti's real GDP growth turned negative in FY 2001 after six years of growth. Real GDP fell by 1.1% in FY 2001 and 0.9% in FY 2002. Macroeconomic stability was adversely affected by political uncertainty, the collapse of informal banking cooperatives, high budget deficits, low investment, and reduced international capital flows, including suspension of IFI lending as Haiti fell into arrears with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and World Bank.

Haiti's economy stabilized in 2003. Although FY 2003 began with the rapid decline of the gourde due to rumors that U.S. dollar deposit accounts would be nationalized and due to the withdrawal of fuel subsidies, the government successfully stabilized the gourde as it took the politically difficult decisions to float fuel prices freely according to world market prices and to raise interest rates. Government agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a staff monitored program (SMP), followed by its payment of its $32 million arrears to the IDB in July, paved the way for renewed IDB lending. The IDB disbursed $35 million of a $50 million policy-based loan in July and began disbursing four previously approved project loans totaling $146 million. The IDB, IMF, and World Bank also discussed new lending with the government. Much of this would be contingent on government adherence to fiscal and monetary targets and policy reforms, such as those begun under the SMP, and Haiti's payment of its World Bank arrears ($30 million at 9/30/03).

The IMF estimated that real GDP was flat in FY 2003 and projected 1% real GDP growth for FY 2004. However, GDP per capita – amounting to $425 in FY 2002 – will continue to decline as population growth is estimated at 1.3% p.a. While implementation of governance reforms and peaceful resolution of the political stalemate are key to long-term growth, external support remains critical in avoiding economic collapse. The major element is foreign remittances, reported as $931 million in 2002, primarily from the U.S. Foreign assistance, meanwhile, was $130 million in FY 2002. Overall foreign assistance levels have declined since FY 1995, the year elected government was restored to power under a United Nations mandate, when the international community provided over $600 million in aid.

A legal minimum wage of 36 gourdes a day (about U.S. $1.80) was set in 1995, and applies to most workers in the formal sector. It was later raised to 70 gourdes per day. This minimum is 200 gourdes a day (about U.S. $4.80). 39.175 gourds= a U.S dollar.

Haiti's economy suffered a severe setback in January 2010 when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake destroyed much of its capital city, Port-au-Prince, and neighboring areas. Already the poorest country in the Americas with 80% of the population living under the poverty line and 54% in abject poverty, the earthquake inflicted $7.8 billion in damage and caused the country's GDP to contract 5.4% in 2010. Following the earthquake, Haiti received $4.59 billion in international pledges for reconstruction, which has proceeded slowly. US economic engagement under the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) Act, passed in December 2006, has boosted apparel exports and investment by providing duty-free access to the US. Congress voted in 2010 to extend the legislation until 2020 under the HELP Act; the apparel sector accounts for about 90% of Haitian exports and nearly one-tenth of GDP. Remittances are the primary source of foreign exchange, equaling nearly 20% of GDP and more than twice the earnings from exports. Haiti suffers from a lack of investment, partly because of limited infrastructure and a lack of security. In 2005, Haiti paid its arrears to the World Bank, paving the way for reengagement with the Bank. Haiti received debt forgiveness for over $1 billion through the Highly-Indebted Poor Country initiative in mid-2009. The remainder of its outstanding external debt was cancelled by donor countries following the 2010 earthquake but has since risen to over $600 million. The government relies on formal international economic assistance for fiscal sustainability, with over half of its annual budget coming from outside sources. The Michel Martelly administration in 2011 launched a campaign aimed at drawing foreign investment into Haiti as a means for sustainable development.

Debt cancellation
In 2005 Haiti's total external debt reached an estimated US$1.3 billion, which corresponds to debt per capita of US$169, in contrast to the debt per capita of the United States which is US$102,000. Following the democratic election of Aristide in December 1990, many international creditors responded by cancelling significant amounts of Haiti's debt, bringing the total down to US$777 million in 1991. However, new borrowing during the 1990s swelled the debt to more than US$1 billion.

At peak, Haiti's total external debt was estimated at 1.8 billion dollars, including half a billion dollars to the Inter-American Development Bank, Haiti's largest creditor. In September 2009, Haiti met the conditions set out by the IMF and World Bank's Heavily Indebted Poor Countries program, qualifying it for cancellation of some of its external debt. This amounted to a cancellation of $1.2 billion. Despite this as of 2010 calls for cancellation of its remaining $1 billion debts came strongly from civil society groups such as the Jubilee Debt Campaign in reaction to the effects of the earthquake that hit the country.

Primary industries
Primary industries are crucial to maintaining Haiti's economic diversity and relevance internationally.

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
Although many Haitians make their living through subsistence farming, Haiti also has an agricultural export sector. Agriculture, together with forestry and fishing, accounts for about one-quarter (28% in 2004) of Haiti's annual gross domestic product and employs about two-thirds (66% in 2004) of the labor force. However, expansion has been difficult because mountains cover much of the countryside and limit the land available for cultivation. Of the total arable land of 550,000 hectares, 125,000 hectares are suited for irrigation, and of those only 75,000 hectares actually have been improved with irrigation. Haiti's dominant cash crops include coffee, mangoes, and cocoa. Haiti has decreased its production of sugarcane, traditionally an important cash crop, because of declining prices and fierce international competition. Because Haiti's forests have thinned dramatically, timber exports have declined. Roundwood removals annually total about 1,000 kilograms. Haiti also has a small fishing industry. Annual catches in recent years have totaled about 5,000 tons.

Mining and minerals
Haiti has a mining industry which extracted minerals worth approximately US$13 million in 2013. Bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, and marble were the most extensively extracted minerals in Haiti. Lime and aggregates and to a lesser extent marble are extracted. Gold was mined by the Spanish in early colonial times. Bauxite was mined for a number of years in recent times at a site near Miragoâne on the Southern peninsula. Operating from 1960 to 1972 International Halliwell Mines, Ltd. ("Halliwell"), a Canadian corporation, through its wholly owned Haitian subsidiary, La Societe d'Exploitation et de Developpement Economique et Natural d'Haiti ("Sedren") mined copper near Gonaïves.

0.5 million tons of ore were exported. The copper ore was valued at about $83.5 million. The government of Haiti received about $3 million. As of 2012 there was promise of gold and copper mining in northern Haiti.

Gold
In 2012, it was reported that confidential agreements and negotiations had been entered into by the Haitian government granting licenses for exploration or mining of gold and associated metals such as copper for over 1000 mi2 in the mineralized zone stretching from east to west across northern Haiti. Estimates for the value of the gold which might be extracted through open-pit mining are as high as US$20 billion. Eurasian Minerals and Newmont Mining Corporation are two of the firms involved. According to Alex Dupuy, Chair of African American Studies and John E. Andrus Professor of Sociology at Wesleyan University the ability of Haiti to adequately manage the mining operations or to obtain and use funds obtained from the operations for the benefit of its people is untested and seriously questioned. Lakwèv, where earth dug from hand-made tunnels is washed for specks of free gold by local residents, is one of the locations. In the same mineralized zone in the Dominican Republic Barrick Gold and Goldcorp are planning on reopening the Pueblo Viejo mine.

Secondary industries
Secondary industries in Haiti are beset by a variety of problems, while having some austerity measures to counteract them.

Manufacturing
The leading industries in Haiti produce beverages, butter, cement, detergent, edible oils, flour, refined sugar, soap, and textiles. Growth in both manufacturing and industry as a whole has been slowed by a lack of capital investment. Grants from the United States and other countries have targeted this problem, but without much success. Private home building and construction appear to be one subsector with positive prospects for growth.

In 2004 industry accounted for about 20 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), and less than 10 percent of the labor force worked in industrial production. As a portion of the GDP, the manufacturing sector has contracted since the 1980s. The United Nations embargo of 1994 put out of work most of the 80,000 workers in the assembly sector. Additionally, the years of military rule following the presidential coup in 1991 resulted in the closure of most of Haiti's offshore assembly plants in the free zones surrounding Port-au-Prince. When President Aristide returned to Haiti, some improvements did occur in the manufacturing sector.

Haiti's cheaper labor brought some textile and garment assembly work back to the island in the late 1990s. Although these gains were undercut by international competition, the apparel sector in 2008 made up two-thirds of Haiti's annual 490 million US dollars exports. USA economic engagement under the HOPE Act, from December 2006, increased apparel exports and investment by providing tariff-free access to the USA. HOPE II, in October 2008, further improved the situation by extending preferences to 2018.

Energy
Haiti uses very little energy, the equivalent of approximately 250 kilograms of oil per head per year. In 2003, Haiti produced 546 million kilowatt-hours of electricity while consuming 508 million kilowatt-hours. In 2013, it stood 135th out of 135 countries in net total consumption of electricity.

Most of the country's energy comes from the burning of wood. Haiti imports oil, consuming about 11800 oilbbl/d, as of 2003. The Péligre Dam, the country's largest, provides the capital city of Port-au-Prince with energy. Thermal plants provide electricity to the rest of the country. Even with the country's low level of demand for energy, the supply of electricity traditionally has been sporadic and prone to shortages. Mismanagement by the state has offset more than US$100 million in foreign investment targeted at improving Haiti's energy infrastructure. Businesses have resorted to securing back-up power sources to deal with the regular outages. The potential for greater hydropower exists, should Haiti have the desire and means to develop it. The government controls oil and gas prices, to an extent insulating Haitians from international price fluctuations.

Tertiary industries
Haiti relies significantly on tertiary industries for its economy.

Services
Haiti's services sector made up 52 percent of the country's gross domestic product in 2004 and employed 25 percent of the labor force. According to World Bank statistics, the services sector is one of the few sectors of Haiti's economy that sustained steady, if modest, growth throughout the 1990s.

Banking
Lack of a stable and trustworthy banking system has impeded Haiti's economic development. Banks in Haiti have collapsed on a regular basis. Most Haitians do not have access to loans of any sort. When reelected in 2000, President Aristide promised to remedy this situation but instead introduced a non-sustainable plan of "cooperatives" that guaranteed investors a 10 percent rate of return. By 2000, the cooperatives had crumbled and Haitians had collectively lost more than US$200 million in savings.

Haiti's central bank, the Bank of the Republic of Haiti, oversees 10 commercial banks and two foreign banks operating in the country. Most banking takes place in the capital city of Port-au-Prince. The United Nations and the International Monetary Fund have led efforts to diversify and expand the finance sector, making credit more available to rural populations. In 2002, the Canadian International Development Agency led a training program for Haitian Credit Unions. Haiti has no stock exchange.

Tourism
Tourism in Haiti has suffered from the country's political upheaval. Inadequate infrastructure also has limited visitors to the island. In the 1970s and 1980s, however, tourism was an important industry, drawing an average of 150,000 visitors annually. Since the 1991 coup, tourism has recovered slowly. The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) has joined the Haitian government in an effort to restore the island's image as a tourist destination. In 2001, 141,000 foreigners visited Haiti. Most came from the United States. To make tourism a major industry for Haiti, further improvements in hotels, restaurants and other infrastructure still are needed.

Television
International television companies have earned subscriber bases in the tens of thousands, and Canal+ sees significant room to develop the pay TV industry in Haiti, having earned over 100,000 subscribers in the country as of 2021.

Macro-Economic
The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980–2017.

External links and further reading

 * 'Haiti’s Grim History of Being "Open for Business"'
 * "CHRONOLOGIE DU SECTEUR MINIER HAITIEN (de 1492 à 2000")
 * Google translation of "CHRONOLOGY OF MINING HAITIAN (From 1492 to 2000)"

title: Economy of Haiti


text:
Telecommunications in Haiti

Telecommunications in Haiti Internet, radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones.

Internet Access
There are 4 Internet service providers serving the country – NATCOM, Access Haiti, Hainet., and Digicel Haiti. The Haitian telecommunications authority, CONATEL, decided in October 2010 to allow the introduction of 3G services by the mobile telephone service providers. This will enable them to deploy faster mobile internet access speeds throughout their networks than what is currently available with GPRS/EDGE.

NATCOM is the leading internet company in Haiti with a wide range of internet connectivity solutions. From 4G LTE, Fiber to the home and to the business, Wireless point to point and point to multi point solutions. NATCOM offers guaranteed SLA's thanks to its robust local network and exclusive 4 international links to the global undersea fiber networks.

Pricing
As of September 2017, Taxes are included.

Fiber Optic Consumer Pricing

Pricing per month by download speed and provider

Local Taxes are not Included in the prices Above

Internet censorship and surveillance
There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitors e-mail or Internet chat rooms without judicial oversight.

The law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the government and elected officials generally respect these rights in practice. The independent media are active and express a wide variety of views without restriction. However, there have been incidents of local officials harassing or threatening journalists and others who criticized the government. Journalists complain about defamation lawsuits that the government threatens or files against the press for statements made about public officials or private figures in the public arena.

Defamation carries both criminal and civil penalties. Some journalists practice self-censorship on stories related to drug trafficking or allegations of business and political corruption, likely due to past patterns of retribution against activists and journalists engaged in investigative reporting. The law prohibits arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, but the government does not always respect these prohibitions in practice.

Radio and television

 * Radio stations: Government-owned radio network; more than 250 private and community radio stations with about 50 FM stations in Port-au-Prince alone (2007).
 * Television stations: Several TV stations, including one government-owned; cable TV subscription service is available (2007).
 * Television sets: 38,120 (1997).
 * Radio and TV stations in Haiti in 2010:
 * {| class="wikitable"

! Department !! AM !! FM !! VHF !! UHF !! Cable !! Satellite
 * + Number of radio and television stations
 * align=left| Ouest || 4 || 66 || 7 || 30 || 3 || *
 * align=left| Sud-EsT || 3 || 18 || 1 || 3 || *|| *
 * align=left| Nippes || 0 || 5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
 * align=left| Sud || 3 || 19 || 9 || 2 || 2|| *
 * align=left| Grande-Anse || 5 || 12 || 2 || 0 || - || -
 * align=left| Centre || 2 || 10 || 3 || 0 || - || -
 * align=left| Artibonite || 6 || 42 || 6 || 1 || - || -
 * align=left| Nord-Est || 1 || 9 || 9 || 9 || - || -
 * align=left| Nord || 7 || 30 || 8 || 2 || - || -
 * align=left| Nord-Ouest || 3 || 15 || 2 || 1 || * || *
 * align=left| Total|| 34 || 226 || 36 || 38 || - || -
 * }
 * align=left| Artibonite || 6 || 42 || 6 || 1 || - || -
 * align=left| Nord-Est || 1 || 9 || 9 || 9 || - || -
 * align=left| Nord || 7 || 30 || 8 || 2 || - || -
 * align=left| Nord-Ouest || 3 || 15 || 2 || 1 || * || *
 * align=left| Total|| 34 || 226 || 36 || 38 || - || -
 * }
 * align=left| Nord-Ouest || 3 || 15 || 2 || 1 || * || *
 * align=left| Total|| 34 || 226 || 36 || 38 || - || -
 * }
 * align=left| Total|| 34 || 226 || 36 || 38 || - || -
 * }

Tele Haiti is a television broadcasting network providing paid television services with over 140 local and international channels on its network TeleHaiti.

Telephones

 * Calling code: +509
 * International Call Prefix: 00

 * Land lines

In 2012, there were 50,000 main lines in use ranking Haiti 163rd in the world.

Natcom, the result of the privatization of Télécommunications d'Haiti S.A.M. (Teleco) in 2010, has a monopoly on the provision of landline services throughout the country. The Vietnamese company Viettel bought a 60% share, with the Haitian government keeping the remaining 40% of the company.

Teleco was constantly hobbled by political interference which affected its performance. A net generator of revenues for the government in the 1970s and early 1980s, Teleco's fortunes then began to decline.

 * Mobile cellular:

Despite wide-ranging poverty, Haiti increased its mobile phone coverage rate from 6% to 30% in one year (May 2006 to May 2007). Haiti is now the driving force in mobile phone growth in the Caribbean, while radio remains the primary information medium for most Haitians.

 * 6.1 million mobile lines (102nd in the world) covering 61.6% of the population (2012).
 * There were two major cell phone providers: Comcel/Voila, Haitel until 2006 when Digicel, a Denis O'Brien company, begun servicing the Haitian network. Later, Natcom purchased 60% of Teleco (the main landline company in Haiti for about 4 decades) in 2011, then it became a direct competitor to Digicel.
 * Comcel, a subsidiary of Trilogy International Partners, LLC, was a TDMA company which launched its service in September 1999.
 * Digicel Haiti, an affiliate of the pan-Caribbean Digicel Group won Haiti's first GSM license in June 2005 and launched service in early 2006.
 * Haitel, an independent company founded by Franck Ciné, a Haitian-American and former MCI Inc executive, adopted CDMA technology.

In May 2006, Comcel and Haitel had a total of about 500,000 subscribers - a cell phone coverage rate of 6% for a population of 8.2 million. Digicel entered the market in May 2006. After one year of operations, May 2006-May 2007, Digicel went from zero to 1.4 million subscribers. The other two cell phone providers, Comcel and Haitel, responded by cutting their prices and offering new services such as Voilà, a GSM service by Comcel, and CDMA 2000 by Haitel. As a result, Comcel and Haitel increased their subscribers from 500,000 to 1 million. As of April 2012, Digicel has about 3.5 million cell phone subscribers in Haiti. In May 2007, Digicel started offering two BlackBerry services with Internet, one for enterprises and one for individuals. On March 30, 2012, Digicel completed the acquisition of Comcel / Voila, its main competitor in the Haitian market.
 * System

 * Haiti's telecommunications infrastructure is among the least developed in Latin America and the Caribbean (2010).
 * Domestic facilities are barely adequate.
 * Mobile-cellular telephone services are expanding rapidly due, in part, to the introduction of low-cost GSM phones (2010).
 * Mobile-cellular teledensity exceeds 40 per 100 persons (2010).
 * Coaxial cable and microwave radio relay trunk service.
 * International facilities are slightly better.
 * Satellite earth stations: 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2010).

Internet

 * Haiti's country code top-level domain is .ht and is managed by NIC.ht Consortium FDS/RDDH. As of March 2009, it had 1155 domain names registered.
 * Internet users: 1.3 million, 165th in the world; 12.2% of the population, 168th in the world (2015).
 * Fixed broadband: unknown (2012).
 * Mobile broadband: 15,781 subscriptions, 137th in the world; 0.2% of the population, 144th in the world (2012).
 * Internet hosts: 555 hosts, 181st in the world (2012).
 * IPv4: 124,160 addresses allocated, less than 0.05% of the world's total, 13 per 1000 people.

title: Telecommunications in Haiti


text:
Transport in Haiti

All of the major transportation systems in Haiti are located near or run through the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Roads
Haiti's network of roads consists of National Roads, Department Roads, and county roads. The hub of the road network is located at the old airport (at the intersection of Boulevard Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Autoroute de Delmas). From this intersection, Route Nationale #1 and Route Nationale #2 commence.

 * Route Nationale #1 (RN1) heads north, passing through Saint-Marc and Gonaïves to its terminus at Rue 22 in Cap-Haïtien.
 * Route Nationale #2 (RN2) is commonly known as “Boulevard Jean-Jacques Dessalines” within Port-au-Prince and as “Route du Sud” outside the capital region.  After heading south through downtown Port-au-Prince, it travels west through the capital's western boroughs and then through Petit-Goâve and Aquin to its terminus at Avenue des Quatre Chemins in Les Cayes. (However, its “extension” continues southwest almost to the sea south of Port Salut.)
 * Route Nationale #3 (RN3) begins where RN1 heads northwest from Bon Repos, not far north of the road network's hub. RN3 travels northeast, traversing the Plateau Centrale via Mirebalais and Hinche before finally re-joining RN1 in Cap-Haïtien.
 * Route Nationale #4 (RN4) branches off from RN2 at Carrefour du Fort Léogâne, not far south of Léogâne. Commonly known as “Route de l’Amitié”, RN4 climbs and descends the Chaîne de la Selle mountain range on its meandering southward course to its terminus in the centre of Jacmel.
 * Route Nationale #5 (RN5) breaks off from RN1 on the northeast edge of Gonaïves, heading north and then northwest through Gros Morne before terminating near the airport outside Port-de-Paix.
 * Route Nationale #6 (RN6) branches off from RN3 just as it is about to enter Cap-Haïtien from the south. RN6 heads southeast toward the Dominican border through Terrier Rouge en route to Ouanaminthe. Its terminus is the bridge over the Massacre River.
 * Route Nationale #7 (RN7) commences from the aforementioned Avenue des Quatre Chemins in Les Cayes, going northwest across Haiti's southern arm to the outskirts of Jérémie.
 * Route Nationale #8 (RN8) is by far the shortest of the National Roads. It breaks off RN1 at Carrefour Shada in Croix-des-Missions.  Heading east, it passes through Croix-des-Bouquets, skirts the southern shore of Étang Saumâtre, and terminates at the Malpasse border crossing with the Dominican Republic.

Maintenance for RN1 and RN2 lapsed after the 1991 coup, prompting the World Bank to loan US$50 million that was designated for road repairs. The project was cancelled in January 1999. The World Bank, who reasoned that the cancellation of those projects would ruin Haiti's road infrastructure progress created the FER (Fond d’Entretien Routier) in 2003. This was a way to cut down corruption, get local companies involved, and in restraining any stopping of these projects because of political instability or protests. President Rene Preval, on his campaign for his second term, vowed on his Maillages Routiers to rebuild the majority of these roads that had disintegrated rapidly and build new ones that would enable the country to move forward. When he wasn't able to get the funds from the World Bank, he pleaded to the international donors for assistance, which was heavily criticized by many politicians in the media, but was greatly embraced by a population desperate to see road infrastructure development come to their towns. Therefore, the European Union pledged to help build RN6, then RN3. In the meantime, the World Bank loaned Haiti US$200 Million to rebuild RN2, from River Froide, which is the starting point of RN2, all the way to Aquin and repair RN1 from Titanyen to Cap-Haïtien. The hurricane season of 2008 was a major setback in development, since many bridges in multiple areas had either collapse or suffered extensive damage and was in immediate need of repair. Most of those work on RN1 and RN2, that were already halted, suffered a major setback during the earthquake of January 12, 2010. For the construction of RN7, Canada pledged US$75 million and the IDB US$31 million for the construction of RN7, which started in 2009. It, too, suffered major setbacks because of the January 12 earthquake.

Statistics

 * Total highways: 6,045 km
 * Paved highways: 2,971 km
 * Unpaved highways: 3,071 km (2011 est

Public transportation
The public transportation is mostly privately owned in Haiti, previously it was an individual business, with the new generation of entrepreneurs, it is mainly association. The most common form of public transportation in Haiti is the use of brightly painted pickup trucks as taxis called "tap-taps". They are named this because when a passenger needs to be let off they use their coin money to tap the side of the vehicle and the driver usually stops. Most tap-taps are fairly priced at around 10-15 gourdes per ride within a city. The catch to the price is that the driver will often fill a truck to maximum capacity, which is nearly 20-30 people. The Government in an effort to structure the public transportation has attempted several time to bring BUS, in around 1979, It was the BUS called CONATRA a contract between the government and association of driver which quickly failed because of sabotage from different factor and poor maintenance. In 1998, another attempt was made with the Service Plus and Dignite for student and teacher. Sabotage, poor maintenance and the overthrow of Aristide in 2004 had severely undermined the effort, in 2006 at the return of Preval in power another effort was made to recover the majority of the bus left, and a Gift of 300 new bus from Taiwan an effort to bring back Service Plus in association of the drivers. Mini-vans are frequently used to cover towns close to Port-au-Prince, such as Pétion-Ville, Jacmel, Leogane and others. Today throughout the island, motorcycles are widely used as a form of taxi. also from planes.

Water transport
The port at Port-au-Prince, Port international de Port-au-Prince, has more registered shipping than any of the over one dozen other ports in the country. Its facilities include cranes, large berths, and warehouses, but these facilities are in universally poor shape. The port is under-used, possibly due to the substantially higher port fees compared to ports in the Dominican Republic.

The port of Saint-Marc is currently the preferred port of entry for consumer goods entering Haiti. Reasons for this may include its location away from volatile and congested Port-au-Prince, as well as its central location relative to a large number of Haitian cities, including Cap-Haïtien, Carrefour, Delmas, Desarmes, Fonds-Parisien, Fort-Liberté, Gonaïves, Hinche, Artibonite, Limbe, Pétion-Ville, Port-de-Paix, and Verrettes. These cities, together with their surrounding areas, contain about six million of Haiti's eight million people.

The islands of Île-à-Vâche, Île de la Tortue, Petite and Grand Cayemite, Grosse Caye, and Île de la Gonâve are reachable only by ferry or small sailing boat (except for Île de la Gonâve, which has an airstrip that is rarely used). The majority of towns near the coast of Haiti are also accessible primarily by small sailing boats. Such boats are usually cheaper and more available than is public ground transportation, which is commonly limited to trucks loaded with merchandise and passengers on market days.

Haiti has 150 km of navigable waterways.

Ports and harbors
Cap-Haïtien, Gonaïves, Jacmel, Jérémie, Les Cayes, Miragoâne, Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix, Saint-Marc, Fort-Liberté

History
Haiti has one of the oldest maritime histories in the Americas. The Panama Canal Railway Company ran a shipping line with three ocean liners that traveled between New York City (US) — Port-au-Prince (Haiti) — Cristobal (Panama). The company had facilities in Port-au-Prince and their ocean liners stopped there. The three ocean liners were SS Panama (maiden voyage 26 April 1939), SS Ancon (maiden voyage 22 June 1939) and SS Cristobal (maiden voyage 17 August 1939).

Aviation
International flights fly from Toussaint Louverture International Airport (formerly known as Port-au-Prince International Airport), which opened in 1965 (as François Duvalier International Airport), and is located 10 km north/north east of Port-au-Prince. It is Haiti's only jetway, and as such, handles the vast majority of the country's international flights. Air Haïti, Tropical Airways and a handful of major airlines from Europe, the Caribbean, and the Americas serve the airport.

Domestic flights are available through Sunrise Airways which is Haiti's largest airline for the general public offering scheduled, as well as, charter flights. Another domestic company is, Mission Aviation Fellowship catering to non-Catholic registered Christians.

Statistics

 * Airports
 * 14 (2007 est.)

 * Airports - with paved runways
 * total: 5
 * 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
 * 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2009 est.)

 * Airports - with unpaved runways
 * total: 10
 * 914 to 1,523 m: 1
 * under 914 m: 8 (2007 est.)

Railroads
Railroads ran in Haiti Between 1876 and 1991. Haiti was the first country in the Caribbean with a railway system, in the urban area of Port-au-Prince and later a project that was supposed to be run by The McDonald company from Port-au-Prince to Cap-Haïtien, and from Port-au-Prince to Les Cayes, however it was not completed. Most of the disoperation of the railroad in Haiti is due to bankruptcy and closure of the company who supported the construction of the railroad.

title: Transport in Haiti


text:
Heard Island and McDonald Islands

The Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI; ISO 3166 region code: HMD, HM, 334; ) is an Australian external territory comprising a volcanic group of mostly barren Antarctic islands, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica. The group's overall land area is 372 km2 and it has 101.9 km of coastline. Discovered in the mid-19th century, the islands lie on the Kerguelen Plateau in the Indian Ocean and have been an Australian territory since 1947.

Heard Island and McDonald Islands contain Australia's only two active volcanoes. The summit of one, Mawson Peak, is higher than any mountain in all other Australian states, territories or claimed territories, except Dome Argus, Mount McClintock and Mount Menzies in the Australian Antarctic Territory. This Antarctic territory is a land claim unrecognised by most other countries, meaning that Mawson Peak is the highest mountain over which Australia has true sovereignty.

The islands are among the most remote places on Earth: They are located about 4100 km southwest of Perth, 3,850 km southwest of Cape Leeuwin, Australia, 4,200 km southeast of South Africa, 3,830 km southeast of Madagascar, 1,630 km north of Antarctica, and 450 km southeast of the Kerguelen Islands (part of French Southern and Antarctic Lands). The islands, which are uninhabited, can be reached only by sea, which from Australia takes two weeks in the vessels normally used to access them.

History
Neither island cluster had recorded visitors until the mid-1850s.

An American sailor, John Heard, on the ship Oriental, sighted Heard Island on 25 November 1853, en route from Boston to Melbourne. He reported the discovery one month later and had the island named after him. His wife Fidelia Heard provided the first written description and drawings of the island. William McDonald aboard the Samarang discovered the nearby McDonald Islands six weeks later, on 4 January 1854.

No landing took place on the islands until March 1855, when sealers from the Corinthian, led by Erasmus Darwin Rogers, went ashore at a place called Oil Barrel Point. From 1855 to 1882 a number of American sealers spent a year or more on the island, living in appalling conditions in dark smelly huts, also at Oil Barrel Point. At its peak the community consisted of 200 people. By 1880, sealers had wiped out most of the seal population and then left the island. In all, the islands furnished more than 100,000 barrels of elephant seal oil during this period.

A number of wrecks have occurred in the vicinity of the islands. There is also a discarded building left from John Heard's sealing station that is situated near Atlas Cove.

The islands were formally claimed by the United Kingdom in 1910 and transferred to Australia on 26 December 1947. The transfer was confirmed in letters exchanged on 19 December 1950. The archipelago became a World Heritage Site in 1997.

The first recorded aircraft landing on McDonald Island was made by Australian scientists Grahame Budd and Hugh Thelander on 12 February 1971, using a helicopter.

There were at least five private expeditions to Heard Island between 1965 and 2000. Several amateur radio operators have visited Heard, often associated with scientific expeditions. The first activity there was in 1947 by Alan Campbell-Drury. Two amateur radio DXpeditions to the island took place in 1983 using the callsigns VK0HI (the Anaconda expedition) and VK0JS and VK0NL (the Cheynes II expedition), with a further operation in January 1997 (VK0IR). The DXpedition in March 2016 (VK0EK) was organised by Cordell Expeditions, and made over 75,000 radio contacts.

Mawson Peak, atop Big Ben, was first climbed on 25 January 1965 by five members of the Southern Indian Ocean Expedition to Heard Island (sometimes referred to as the Patanela expedition). The second ascent was made by five members of the Heard Island Expedition 1983 (sometimes referred to as the Anaconda expedition). A helicopter landing was made at the summit by an ANARE team on 21 December 1986. An Australian Army team was successful in making the third ascent in 2000.

In 1991, the islands were the location for the Heard Island feasibility test, an experiment in very long-distance transmission of low frequency sound through the ocean. The US Navy vessels MV Cory Chouest and MV Amy Chouest were used to transmit signals which could be detected as far away as both ocean coasts of the US and Canada.

Geography
Heard Island, by far the largest of the group, is a 368 km2 mountainous island covered by 41 glaciers (the island is 80% covered with ice ) and dominated by the Big Ben massif. It has a maximum elevation of 2745 m at Mawson Peak, the historically active volcanic summit of Big Ben, to which the average ascent from shore is steeper than that for any island of comparable size or larger; only seven smaller islands are steeper. A July 2000 satellite image from the University of Hawaii's Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP) Thermal Alert Team showed an active 2 km and 50- to 90-metre-wide (164–295 ft) lava flow trending south-west from the summit of Big Ben.

The much smaller and rocky McDonald Islands are located 44 km to the west of Heard Island. They consist of McDonald Island (186 m high), Flat Island (55 m high) and Meyer Rock (170 m high). They total approximately 2.5 km2 in area, where McDonald Island is 1.13 km2. There is a small group of islets and rocks about 10 km north of Heard Island, consisting of Shag Islet, Sail Rock, Morgan Island and Black Rock. They total about 1.1 km2 in area.

Mawson Peak and McDonald Island are the only two active volcanoes in Australian territory. Mawson Peak is also one of the highest Australian mountains (higher than Mount Kosciuszko). It is surpassed by Dome Argus, Mount McClintock and Mount Menzies in the Australian Antarctic Territory, a territorial claim unrecognised by most other countries, meaning that Mawson Peak is the highest mountain over which Australia has true sovereignty. Mawson Peak has erupted several times in the last decade and as recently as May 2023. An earlier eruption was filmed on 2 February 2016. The volcano on McDonald Island, after being dormant for 75,000 years, became active in 1992 and has erupted several times since, the most recently in 2005.

Heard Island and the McDonald Islands have no ports or harbours; ships must anchor offshore. The coastline is 101.9 km in extent, and a 12 nmi territorial sea and 200 nmi exclusive fishing zone are claimed.

Wetlands
Heard Island has a number of small wetland sites scattered around its coastal perimeter, including areas of wetland vegetation, lagoons or lagoon complexes, rocky shores and sandy shores, including the Elephant Spit. Many of these wetland areas are separated by active glaciers. There are also several short glacier-fed streams and glacial pools. Some wetland areas have been recorded on McDonald Island but, due to substantial volcanic activity since the last landing was made in 1980, their present extent is unknown.

The HIMI wetland is listed on the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia and, in a recent analysis of Commonwealth-managed wetlands, was ranked highest for nomination under the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention) as an internationally important wetland.

Six wetland types have been identified from HIMI covering approximately 1860 ha: coastal 'pool complex' (237 ha); inland 'pool complex' (105 ha); vegetated seeps mostly on recent glaciated areas (18 ha); glacial lagoons (1103 ha); non-glacial lagoons (97ha); Elephant Spit (300 ha) plus some coastal areas. On Heard Island, the majority of these types suites are found below 150 m asl. The wetland vegetation occurs in the 'wet mixed herbfield' and 'coastal biotic vegetation' communities described above.

The wetlands provide important breeding and feeding habitat for a number of Antarctic and subantarctic wetland animals. These include the southern elephant seal and macaroni, gentoo, king and eastern rockhopper penguins, considered to be wetland species under the Ramsar Convention. Non-wetland vegetated parts of the islands also support penguin and other seabird colonies.

Climate
The islands have an Antarctic climate, or Tundra climate (ET) under the Köppen climate classification, tempered by their maritime setting. The weather is marked by low seasonal and daily temperature ranges; persistent and generally low cloud cover; frequent precipitation and strong winds. Snowfall occurs throughout the year. Monthly average temperatures at Atlas Cove (at the northwestern end of Heard Island) range from 0.0 to 4.2 °C, with an average daily range of 3.7 to 5.2 °C in summer and -0.8 to 0.3 °C in winter. The winds are predominantly westerly and persistently strong. At Atlas Cove, monthly average wind speeds range between around 26 and 33.5 km/h. Gusts in excess of 180 km/h have been recorded.

Annual precipitation at sea level on Heard Island is in the order of 1300 to 1900 mm; rain or snow falls on about 3 out of 4 days. According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Heard Island (Atlas Cove) receives an average of 96.8 snowy days annually.

Meteorological records at Heard Island are incomplete.

Constraints
The islands are part of the Southern Indian Ocean Islands tundra ecoregion that includes several subantarctic islands. In this cold climate, plant life is mainly limited to grasses, lichens, and mosses. Low plant diversity reflects the islands' isolation, small size, severe climate, the short, cool growing season and, for Heard Island, substantial permanent ice cover. The main environmental determinants of vegetation on subantarctic islands are wind exposure, water availability, parent soil composition, salt spray exposure, nutrient availability, disturbance by trampling (from seabirds and seals) and, possibly, altitude. At Heard Island, exposure to salt spray and the presence of breeding and moulting seabirds and seals is a particularly strong influence on vegetation composition and structure in coastal areas.

History
Evidence from microfossil records indicates that ferns and woody plants were present on Heard Island during the Tertiary (a period with a cool and moist climate). Neither group of plants is present today, although potential Tertiary survivors include the vascular plant Pringlea antiscorbutica and six moss species. Volcanic activity has altered the distribution and abundance of the vegetation. The vascular flora covers a range of environments and, although only six species are currently widespread, glacial retreat and the consequent connection of previously separate ice-free areas is providing opportunities for further distribution of vegetation into adjacent areas.

Flowering plants and ferns
Low-growing herbaceous flowering plants and bryophytes are the major vegetation components. The vascular flora comprises the smallest number of species of any major subantarctic island group, reflecting its isolation, small ice-free area and severe climate. Twelve vascular species are known from Heard Island, of which five have also been recorded on McDonald Island. None of the vascular species are endemic, although Pringlea antiscorbutica, Colobanthus kerguelensis, and Poa kerguelensis occur only on subantarctic islands in the southern Indian Ocean.

The plants are typically subantarctic, but with a higher abundance of the cushion-forming Azorella selago than other subantarctic islands. Heard Island is the largest subantarctic island with no confirmed human-introduced plants. Areas available for plant colonisation on Heard Island are generally the result of retreating glaciers or new ice-free land created by lava flows. Today, substantial vegetation covers over 20 km2 of Heard Island, and is best developed on coastal areas at elevations below 250 m.

Mosses and liverworts
Bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) contribute substantially to the overall biodiversity of Heard Island, with 43 mosses and 19 liverworts being recorded, often occupying habitats unsuitable for vascular plants, such as cliff faces. Bryophytes are present in most of the major vegetation communities including several soil and moss-inhabiting species. A 1980 survey of McDonald Island found lower diversity than that on Heard Island; four mosses and a number of algal species are recorded from there.

Algae
At least 100 species of terrestrial algae are known from Heard Island, commonly in permanently moist and ephemeral habitats. Forests of the giant Antarctic kelp Durvillaea antarctica occur at a number of sites around Heard Island and at least 17 other species of seaweed are known, with more to be added following the identification of recent collections. Low seaweed diversity is due to the island's isolation from other land masses, unsuitable beach habitat, constant abrasion by waves, tides and small stones, and the extension of glaciers into the sea in many areas.

Vegetation communities
Heard Island has a range of terrestrial environments in which vegetation occurs. Seven general vegetation communities are currently recognised, although vegetation composition is considered more of a continuum than discrete units:
 * Subantarctic vegetation is minimal and includes small types of shrubbery, including mosses and liverworts.
 * Open cushionfield vegetation is the most widespread and abundant vegetation type on Heard Island. It is characterised by Azorella selago cushions interspersed with bryophytes, small vascular species and bare ground with 20–75% cover, and found mainly at altitudes between 30 and 70 m asl.
 * Fellfield describes vegetation with abundant bare ground and less than 50% plant cover. Fellfield may occur as a result of harsh climatic or edaphic factors, or recent deglaciation which has exposed bare ground.
 * Mossy fellfield is a community with high species richness and consists of bryophytes and small Azorella selago cushions. It is found at altitudes between 30 and 150 m in areas with intermediate exposure.
 * Wet mixed herbfield occurs on moist substrate, mostly on moraines and moist lee slopes (often in association with burrowing petrels colonies) at low altitude (< 40 m) where the water table is at or close to the surface. Species richness is highest here of all the communities, with dominant species being Poa cookii, Azorella selago, Pringlea antiscorbutica, Acaena magellanica, and Deschampsia antarctica.
 * Coastal biotic vegetation is dominated by Poa cookii and Azorella selago, occurring mainly on coastal sites of moderate exposure and in areas subject to significant influence from seals and seabirds.
 * Saltspray vegetation is dominated by the salt-tolerant moss Muelleriella crassifolia and limited in extent, being found at low elevations on lavas in exposed coastal sites.
 * Closed cushionfield is found on moraines and sand at altitudes mostly below 60 m, and is dominated almost entirely by Azorella selago cushions that often grow together to form continuous carpets which can be subject to burrowing by seabirds.

Outlook
One of the most rapidly changing physical settings in the subantarctic has been produced on Heard Island by a combination of rapid glacial recession and climate warming. The consequent increase in habitat available for plant colonisation, plus the coalescing of previously discrete ice-free areas, has led to marked changes in the vegetation of Heard Island in the last 20 years or so. Other species and vegetation communities found on subantarctic islands north of the Antarctic Convergence now absent from the Heard Island flora may colonise the island if climate change produces more favourable conditions.

Some plant species are spreading and modifying the structure and composition of communities, some of which are also increasing in distribution. It is likely that further changes will occur, and possibly at an accelerated rate. Changes in population numbers of seal and seabird species are also expected to affect the vegetation by changing nutrient availability and disturbance through trampling.

One plant species on Heard Island, Poa annua, a cosmopolitan grass native to Europe, was possibly introduced by humans, though is more likely to have arrived naturally, probably by skuas from the Kerguelen Islands where it is widespread. It was initially recorded in 1987 in two deglaciated areas of Heard Island not previously exposed to human visitors, while being absent from known sites of past human habitation. Since 1987 Poa annua populations have increased in density and abundance within the original areas and have expanded beyond them. Expeditioner boot traffic during the Australian Antarctic program expedition in 1987 may be at least partly responsible for the spread, but it is probably mainly due to dispersal by wind and the movement of seabirds and seals around the island.

The potential for introducing plant species (including invasive species not previously found on subantarctic islands) by both natural and human-induced means is high. This is due to the combination of low species diversity and climatic amelioration. During the 2003/04 summer a new plant species, Cotula plumosa, was recorded. Only one small specimen was found growing on a coastal river terrace that had experienced substantial development and expansion of vegetation over the past decade. The species has a circumantarctic distribution and occurs on many subantarctic islands.

Fungi
71 species of lichens have been recorded from Heard Island and they are common on exposed rock, dominating the vegetation in some areas. As with plants, a 1980 survey of McDonald Island found lower diversity there, with just eight lichen species and a number of non-lichenized fungi recorded.

Fauna
The main indigenous animals are insects along with large populations of ocean-going seabirds, seals and penguins.

Mammals
Sealing at Heard Island lasted from 1855 to 1910, during which time 67 sealing vessels are recorded visiting, nine of which were wrecked off the coast. Relics that survive from that time include trypots, casks, hut ruins, graves and inscriptions. This caused the seal populations there to either become locally extinct or reduced to levels too low to exploit economically. Modern sealers visited from Cape Town in the 1920s. Since then the populations have generally increased and are protected. Seals breeding on Heard include the southern elephant seal, the Antarctic fur seal and the subantarctic fur seal. Leopard seals visit regularly in winter to haul-out though they do not breed on the islands. Crabeater, Ross and Weddell seals are occasional visitors.

Birds
Heard Island and the McDonald Islands are free from introduced predators and provide crucial breeding habitat in the middle of the vast Southern Ocean for a range of birds. The surrounding waters are important feeding areas for birds and some scavenging species also derive sustenance from their cohabitants on the islands. The islands have been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area because they support very large numbers of nesting seabirds.

Nineteen species of birds have been recorded as breeding on Heard Island and the McDonald Islands, although recent volcanic activity at the McDonald Islands in the last decade is likely to have reduced vegetated and un-vegetated nesting areas.

Penguins are by far the most abundant birds on the islands, with four breeding species present, comprising king, gentoo, macaroni and eastern rockhopper penguins. The penguins mostly colonise the coastal tussock and grasslands of Heard Island, and have previously been recorded as occupying the flats and gullies on McDonald Island.

Other seabirds recorded as breeding at Heard Island include three species of albatross (wandering, black-browed and light-mantled albatrosses), southern giant petrels, Cape petrels, four species of burrowing petrels (Antarctic and Fulmar prions, common and South Georgia diving petrels), Wilson's storm petrels, kelp gulls, subantarctic skuas, Antarctic terns and the Heard shag. Although not a true seabird, the Heard Island subspecies of the black-faced sheathbill also breeds on the island. Both the shag and the sheathbill are endemic to Heard Island.

A further 28 seabird species are recorded as either non-breeding visitors or have been noted during 'at-sea surveys' of the islands. All recorded breeding species, other than the Heard Island sheathbill, are listed marine species under the Australian Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Act (1999, four are listed as threatened species and five are listed migratory species. Under the EPBC Act a recovery plan has been made for albatrosses and giant petrels, which calls for ongoing population monitoring of the species found at HIMI, and at the time of preparing this plan a draft recovery plan has also been made for the Heard Island cormorant (or shag) and Antarctic tern.

The recorded populations of some seabird species found in the Reserve have shown marked change. The king penguin population is the best studied seabird species on Heard Island and has shown a dramatic increase since first recorded in 1947/48, with the population doubling every five years or so for more than 50 years.

A paper reviewing population data for the black-browed albatross between 1947 and 2000/01 suggested that the breeding population had increased to about three times that present in the late 1940s, although a Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources CCAMLR) Working Group was cautious about the interpretation of the increasing trend given the disparate nature of the data, as discussed in the paper. The discovery of a large, previously unknown, colony of Heard shags in 2000/01 at Cape Pillar raised the known breeding population from 200 pairs to over 1000 pairs. The breeding population of southern giant petrels decreased by more than 50% between the early 1950s and the late 1980s.

Terrestrial, freshwater and coastal invertebrates
Heard Island supports a relatively low number of terrestrial invertebrate species compared to other Southern Ocean islands, in parallel with the low species richness in the flora–that is, the island's isolation and limited ice-free area. Endemism is also generally low and the invertebrate fauna is exceptionally pristine with few, if any, (successful) human-induced introductions of alien species. Two species, including the thrips Apterothrips apteris and the mite Tyrophagus putrescentiae are thought to be recent, possibly natural, introductions. An exotic species of earthworm Dendrodrilus rubidus was also collected in 1929 from a dump near Atlas Cove, and has recently been collected from a variety of habitats including wallows, streams and lakes on Heard Island.

The arthropods of Heard Island are comparatively well known with 54 species of mite and tick, one spider and eight springtails recorded. A study over summer at Atlas Cove in 1987/88 showed overall densities of up to 60 000 individual springtails per square metre in soil under stands of Pringlea antiscorbutica. Despite a few recent surveys, the non-arthropod invertebrate fauna of Heard Island remain poorly known.

Beetles and flies dominate Heard Island's known insect fauna, which comprises up to 21 species of ectoparasite (associated with birds and seals) and up to 13 free-living species. Approximately half of the free-living insects are habitat-specific, while the remainder are generalists found in a variety of habitats, being associated with either supralittoral or intertidal zones, Poa cookii and Pringlea antiscorbutica stands, bryophytes, lichen-covered rocks, exposed rock faces or the underside of rocks. There is a pronounced seasonality to the insect fauna, with densities in winter months dropping to a small percentage (between 0.75%) of the summer maximum. Distinct differences in relative abundances of species between habitats has also been shown, including a negative relationship between altitude and body size for Heard Island weevils.

The fauna of the freshwater pools, lakes, streams and mires found in the coastal areas of Heard Island are broadly similar to those on other subantarctic islands of the southern Indian Ocean. Many species reported from Heard Island are found elsewhere. Some sampling of freshwater fauna has been undertaken during recent expeditions and records to date indicate that the freshwater fauna includes a species of Protista, a gastrotrich, two species of tardigrade, at least four species of nematode, 26 species of rotifer, six species of annelid and 14 species of arthropod.

As with the other shore biota, the marine macro-invertebrate fauna of Heard Island is similar in composition and local distribution to other subantarctic islands, although relatively little is known about the Heard Island communities compared with the well-studied fauna of some other islands in the subantarctic region, such as Macquarie and Kerguelen.

Despite Heard Island's isolation, species richness is considered to be moderate, rather than depauperate, although the number of endemic species reported is low. The large macro-alga Durvillaea antarctica supports a diverse array of invertebrate taxa and may play an important role in transporting some of this fauna to Heard Island.

The rocky shores of Heard Island exhibit a clear demarcation between fauna of the lower kelp holdfast zone and the upper shore zone community, probably due to effects of desiccation, predation and freezing in the higher areas. The limpet Nacella kerguelensis is abundant in the lower part of the shore, being found on rock surfaces and on kelp holdfasts. Other common but less abundant species in this habitat include the chiton Hemiarthrum setulosum and the starfish Anasterias mawsoni. The amphipod Hyale sp. and the isopod Cassidinopsis sp. are closely associated with the kelp. Above the kelp holdfast zone, the littornid Laevilitorina (Corneolitorina) heardensis and the bivalve mollusc Kidderia bicolor are found in well-sheltered situations, and another bivalve Gaimardia trapesina trapesina has been recorded from immediately above the holdfast zone. Oligochaetes are also abundant in areas supporting porous and spongy layers of algal mat.

Retreat of Heard Island glaciers
Heard Island is a heavily glaciated, subantarctic volcanic island located in the Southern Ocean, roughly 4000 km southwest of Australia. 80% of the island is covered in ice, with glaciers descending from 2400 m to sea level. Due to the steep topography of Heard Island, most of its glaciers are relatively thin (averaging only about 55 m in depth). The presence of glaciers on Heard Island provides an excellent opportunity to measure the rate of glacial retreat as an indicator of climate change.

Available records show no apparent change in glacier mass balance between 1874 and 1929. Between 1949 and 1954, marked changes were observed to have occurred in the ice formations above 5000 feet on the southwestern slopes of Big Ben, possibly as a result of volcanic activity. By 1963, major recession was obvious below 2000 feet on almost all glaciers, and minor recession was evident as high as 5000 feet.

The coastal ice cliffs of Brown and Stephenson Glaciers, which in 1954 were over 50 feet high, had disappeared by 1963 when the glaciers terminated as much as 100 yards inland. Baudissin Glacier on the north coast, and Vahsel Glacier on the west coast have lost at least 100 and 200 vertical feet of ice, respectively. Winston Glacier, which retreated approximately one mile between 1947 and 1963, appears to be a very sensitive indicator of glacier change on the island. The young moraines flanking Winston Lagoon show that Winston Glacier has lost at least 300 vertical feet of ice within a recent time period. Jacka Glacier on the east coast of Laurens Peninsula has also demonstrated marked recession since 1955.

Retreat of glacier fronts across Heard Island is evident when comparing aerial photographs taken in December 1947 with those taken on a return visit in early 1980. Retreat of Heard Island glaciers is most dramatic on the eastern section of the island, where the termini of former tidewater glaciers are now located inland. Glaciers on the northern and western coasts have narrowed significantly, while the area of glaciers and ice caps on Laurens Peninsula have shrunk by 30–65%.

During the time period between 1947 and 1988, the total area of Heard Island's glaciers decreased by 11%, from 288 km2 (roughly 79% of the total area of Heard Island) to only 257 km2. A visit to the island in the spring of 2000 found that the Stephenson, Brown and Baudissin glaciers, among others, had retreated even further. The terminus of Brown Glacier has retreated approximately 1.1 km since 1950. The total ice-covered area of Brown Glacier is estimated to have decreased by roughly 29% between 1947 and 2004. This degree of loss of glacier mass is consistent with the measured increase in temperature of 0.9 C-change over that time span.

Possible causes of glacier recession on Heard Island include:
 * 1) Volcanic activity
 * 2) Southward movement of the Antarctic Convergence: such a movement conceivably might cause glacier retreat through a rise in sea and air temperatures
 * 3) Climatic change

The Australian Antarctic Division conducted an expedition to Heard Island during the austral summer of 2003–04. A small team of scientists spent two months on the island, conducting studies on avian and terrestrial biology and glaciology. Glaciologists conducted further research on the Brown Glacier, in an effort to determine whether glacial retreat is rapid or punctuated. Using a portable echo sounder, the team took measurements of the volume of the glacier. Monitoring of climatic conditions continued, with an emphasis on the impact of Foehn winds on glacier mass balance. Based on the findings of that expedition, the rate of loss of glacier ice on Heard Island appears to be accelerating. Between 2000 and 2003, repeat GPS surface surveys revealed that the rate of loss of ice in both the ablation zone and the accumulation zone of Brown Glacier was more than double average rate measured from 1947 to 2003. The increase in the rate of ice loss suggests that the glaciers of Heard Island are reacting to ongoing climate change, rather than approaching dynamic equilibrium. The retreat of Heard Island's glaciers is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

Administration and economy
The United Kingdom formally established its claim to Heard Island in 1910, marked by the raising of the Union Flag and the erection of a beacon by Captain Evensen, master of the Mangoro. Effective government, administration and control of Heard Island and the McDonald Islands was transferred to the Australian government on 26 December 1947 at the commencement of the first Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition (ANARE) to Heard Island, with a formal declaration that took place at Atlas Cove. The transfer was confirmed by an exchange of letters between the two governments on 19 December 1950.

The islands are a territory (Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands) of Australia administered from Hobart by the Australian Antarctic Division of the Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. The administration of the territory is established in the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Act 1953, which places it under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, with the non-criminal laws of the Australian Capital Territory and the criminal laws of Jervis Bay Territory applying to the Territory. The islands are contained within a 65000 km2 marine reserve and are primarily visited for research, meaning that there is no permanent human habitation.

From 1947 until 1955 there were camps of visiting scientists on Heard Island (at Atlas Cove in the northwest, which was in 1969 again occupied by American scientists and expanded in 1971 by French scientists) and in 1971 on McDonald Island (at Williams Bay). Later expeditions used a temporary base at Spit Bay in the east, such as in 1988, 1992–93 and 2004–05.

The islands' only natural resource is fish; the Australian government allows limited fishing in the surrounding waters. There are no active military installations or defence personnel on the islands. However, as part of "Operation Resolute", the Royal Australian Navy and Australian Border Force deploy Cape-class patrol boat and Armidale-class patrol boat patrol boats to carry out civil maritime security operations in both Australian mainland and offshore territories including the Heard Island and McDonald Islands. In part to carry out this mission, as of 2023, the Navy's Armidale-class boats are in the process of being replaced by larger Arafura-class offshore patrol vessels.

Despite the lack of population, the islands have been assigned the country code HM in ISO 3166-1 (ISO 3166-2:HM) and therefore the Internet top-level domain .hm. The time zone of the islands is UTC+5.

title: Heard Island and McDonald Islands