A French sea captain named Port-au-Prince by after his ship “Le Prince”, while “Pearl of the Antilles” is one popular nickname for Haiti.
Research website numbeo lacks sufficient data to rank the Haitian capital on its comprehensive global quality of life rating which benchmarks 250 cities worldwide. However, numbeo does evaluate Port-au-Prince on several individual factors. For instance, Port-au-Prince’s safety score ranks in the bottom 3% joining a global cohort of the most dangerous cities in which to live. Port-au-Prince finishes dead last in terms of high pollution levels while placing in the bottom third for health care. Haiti’s capital city finishes in the top 15% for highest property price to income ratio and is off the charts for its long traffic commute time.
Lingering effects from periodic natural disasters may partially explain Port-au-Prince’s poor ratings. On January 12, 2010, Haiti’s capital city was devastated by the world’s second-deadliest earthquake ever which destroyed its parliament and Supreme Court buildings, several ministerial buildings and at least one hospital. Port-au-Prince’s seaport and airport were also damaged. Just two years prior, Haiti had endured severe losses caused by hurricanes Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike.
From an international trade perspective, Haiti exported an estimated US$1.3 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2019. Its most valuable exports include knitted or crocheted T-shirts and singlets (40.9% of Haiti’s global total), knitted or crocheted jerseys, pullovers and waistcoats (19.5%), knitted or crocheted women’s suits, jackets, dresses and skirts (7.4%), knitted or crocheted men’s suits, jackets and trousers (4.8%), live fish (4.2%) and essential oils and resinoids (2.9%) according to the International Trade Centre.
Capital Facts for Port-au-Prince, Haiti: Quick Reference
Famous People
Below, you will find 10 of the most famous people born in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti.
- Olden Polynice, NBA basketball player (born Nov. 21, 1964)
- Michel Martelly, former president (born Feb. 12, 1961)
- Adonis Stevenson, professional boxer (born Sep. 22, 1977)
- Michaelle Jean, former governor general (born Sep. 6, 1957)
- Samuel Dalembert, NBA basketball player (born May 10, 1981)
- Jean Pascal, professional boxer (born Oct. 28, 1982)
- Edwidge Danticat, award-winning author (born Jan. 19, 1969)
- Sarodj Bertin, Miss Universe contestant (born Apr. 11, 1986)
- Numa Perrier, filmmaker & actress (born Dec. 14, 1979)
- Skal Labissiere, basketball player (born Mar. 18, 1996)
Note: Data for our Famous People tab was sourced from Google searches mostly targeting published Wikipedia articles specific to each person’s name.
Population
Demonym for a Port-au-Prince resident: Port-au-Princien (male), Port-au-Princienne (female)
Population: 1,234,742 (Port-au-Prince) at July 21, 2020
Density: 88,703 people per square mile (34,270 per square kilometer)
Population: 11,410,807 (Haiti) at July 21, 2020
Density: 1,072 people per square mile (414 per square kilometer)
Median age for all Haiti: 24 years old
Financial
GDP: US$21.1 billion in 2019 (Haiti)
GDP per person: $1,878
Note: The above country-level GDP metrics are on a Purchasing Power Parity basis and are in U.S. dollars. Credible city GDP statistics for Port-au-Prince were unavailable.
Official currency used in Port-au-Prince: Haitian gourde
Geography
Capital landmarks: Iron Market (Marche de Fer), Notre Dame Cathedral Ruins, Champs de Mars Square and Sainte Anne Church
Research
Research Sources:
Brookings Institution, Global Metro Monitor Report (includes GDP data).
Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, Central America & Caribbean: Haiti.
Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, Field Listing: Major Urban Areas.
CityMetric, Where are largest cities in the world? 2015 edition.
Demographia, World Urban Area, 12th Annual Edition.
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Databases.
International Trade Centre, Trade Map.
Numbeo, Quality of Life Index by City.
Mercer, Western European Cities Top Quality Of Living Ranking ‒ Mercer .
Official Government Website, Port-au-Prince, Haiti (Embassy of the United States).
Wikimedia Commons, City Flags.
Note: Some city flags were unavailable. If so, attribution belongs to Wikimedia Commons for pertinent country flags.
Wikipedia, Haiti.
Wikipedia, List of metropolitan areas in the West Indies.
Wikipedia, Mercer Quality of Living Survey.
Wikipedia, Port-au-Prince.
WorldOMeter, Haiti Population.
Haiti broke free from France’s rule on January 1, 1804. To this day, Haitians celebrate Independence Day as a public holiday each January 1.
Port-au-Prince’s city limits contains a land area measuring 13.92 square miles (36.04 square kilometers), home to 1.2 million people.
At the country level, Haiti’s land area covers 10,641 square miles (27,560 square kilometers). The nation’s population count was 11.4 million inhabitants as of July 2020.
Population density is more concentrated within Haiti’s capital city, averaging 88,703 residents per square mile (34,270 per square kilometer).
Zooming out to Haiti’s overall land boundaries, population density dilutes to an average 1,072 dwellers per square mile (414 per square kilometer).
