The World Bank confirmed that Haiti’s economy contracted for the seventh consecutive year in 2025, with real GDP falling by 2.7 percent amid intensifying gang violence, political uncertainty, and the cascading effects of multiple simultaneous crises. The seven-year economic contraction was unprecedented in Haiti’s modern history and reflected the comprehensive destruction of economic capacity that the security and governance crisis had produced.
Inflation averaged 28.3 percent in 2025, up from 25.8 percent in 2024, driven primarily by food and housing costs that weighed disproportionately on the poorest households. For families spending half or more of their incomes on food, inflation at this level meant a direct reduction in nutritional intake and an escalation of food insecurity. The combination of contracting incomes and rising prices was devastating for households with no economic cushion.
Government revenue declined to 4.8 percent of GDP — one of the lowest rates in the hemisphere — reflecting the collapse of economic activity, the inadequacy of tax administration, and the inability of the state to capture revenue from an economy increasingly dominated by informal and criminal activity. With revenues this low, the government could barely pay its employees, let alone invest in the security, infrastructure, and social services that economic recovery required.
The World Bank noted that modest GDP growth was projected for 2026, subject to gradual security improvements supported by the Gang Suppression Force and the completion of elections planned for late 2026. The projection reflected cautious optimism that the combination of the new security force authorization and the electoral calendar could create conditions for economic stabilization, while acknowledging that the preconditions for this scenario remained far from guaranteed.