Nord (Haitian department)

department of Haiti

Nord (English: North) is one of the ten departments (French: départments, singular départment) of Haiti. After the Haitian Revolution, the country was divided into only three departments: Nord, Ouest and Sud. The Nord-Est and Nord-Ouest departments were part of the Nord department.

Nord
La Belle Mère
Nord in Haiti
Nord in Haiti
Country Haiti
CapitalCap-Haïtien
Government
 • TypeDepartmental Council
Area
 • Department2,114.91 km2 (816.57 sq mi)
Population
 (2015)[1]
 • Department1,067,177
 • Density500/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
 • Urban
538,875
 • Rural
528,302
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern)
ISO 3166 codeHT-ND
HDI (2017)0.508[2]
low · 2nd

Its capital and largest city is Cap-Haïtien, founded in 1670 by Bertrand d'Orgeron and the old capital city of Saint-Domingue. It had the nickname of Paris of Saint-Domingue.

Geography change

The Départment du Nord has an area of 2,106 km².[3] It is bordered to the northwest by the Nord-Ouest Department, to the east by the Nord-Est Department, to the southeast by the Centre Department and to the west by the Artibonite Department. The Atlantic Ocean is to the north.

The main rivers of the department are Grande Rivière du Nord, Haut du Cap and Limbé. The rivers Trois-Rivières and Bouyaha have their sources in this department.[3] All these rivers, except Bouyaha that is a tributary of the river Artibonite, flow to the north, into the Atlantic Ocean.

The Massif du Nord mountain range, known in the Dominican Republic as Cordillera Central, runs from the northwest to the southeast along the southern half of the department. This Massif du Nord is formed by several chains and the most important, in this department, are the Chaine de la Grande Rivière du Nord and the 'Chaine de Saint Raphael.[3]

The Pleine du Nord (in English, "Northern Plain") is in the northern half of the department.

Population change

The department had, in the 2003 census, a population of 823,043 persons: 393,547 men and 429,496 women, with 325,318 (39.53%) living in cities and towns.[4]

Administrative division change

The department is divided into seven arrondissements (like districts) and 19 communes (like municipalities). The "arrondissements" and their "communes" are:

  1. Acul-du-Nord
    1. Acul-du-Nord
    2. Milot
    3. Plaine-du-Nord
  2. Borgne
    1. Borgne
    2. Port-Margot
  3. Cap-Haïtien
    1. Cap-Haïtien
    2. Limonade
    3. Quartier-Morin
  4. Grand-Rivière du Nord
    1. Grande-Rivière-du-Nord
    2. Bahon
  5. Limbé
    1. Limbé
    2. Bas-Limbé
  6. Plaissance
    1. Plaisance
    2. Pilate
  7. Saint-Raphaël
    1. Saint-Raphaël
    2. Dondon
    3. La Victoire
    4. Pignon
    5. Ranquitte

References change

  1. http://www.ihsi.ht/pdf/projection/Estimat_PopTotal_18ans_Menag2015.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  2. "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Départments géographiques d'Haïti". Haiti-Référence (in French). Archived from the original on 28 January 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2009.
  4. "Le 4ième Recensement Géneral de la Population et de l'Habitat" (PDF) (in French). Institut Haïtien de Statistique et d'Informatique. Retrieved 24 October 2009.


  Departments of Haiti  
Artibonite • Centre • Grand'Anse • Nippes • Nord • Nord-Est • Nord-Ouest • Ouest • Sud • Sud-Est