Since March 2019, Haiti has been experiencing a protracted political crisis and prolonged civil
unrest that has at times shut down most economic activity in the country. The crisis has taken a
toll on the economy and the already vulnerable population: inflation exceeded 20 percent year
on-year in September, output is estimated to have contracted by an estimated 1.2 percent in fiscal
year 2019 (ending September 30), and the exchange rate depreciated by 25 percent over the same
period. As fiscal revenues have plummeted and the cost of energy subsidies increased, the fiscal
deficit widened to 3.8 percent of GDP in FY2019 and domestic arrears rose sharply. The public
debt-to-GDP ratio jumped from 40 percent to 47 percent over the fiscal year.