Haiti stands at a critical crossroads, grappling with unprecedented levels of insecurity and economic stagnation. Over 85% of Port-au-Prince is now under the control of armed gangs, displacing more than one million people and paralyzing essential services and logistics across the nation. Yet amid the crisis, a powerful solution emerges: decentralization.

As the country struggles under the weight of hyper-centralization and gang violence, experts and policymakers should turn to decentralization as a viable strategy to restore stability, foster regional development, and weaken the grip of gangs on national affairs.

Decentralization may provide Haiti with a unique opportunity to emerge from its current crisis. By empowering the country’s safer departments with more resources and autonomy, Haiti can create a buffer around Port-au-Prince, limiting the spread of gang influence. This strategy would not only improve security but also help jumpstart the economy in other regions, fostering sustainable growth and reducing the country's dependency on the capital. Through a well-planned and executed decentralization strategy, Haiti could overcome its security and economic challenges while paving the way for a more stable and prosperous future.

Port-au-Prince, with over 2.6 million residents in its metro area, dominates Haiti’s economic and political life. The capital hosts the bulk of the country’s commerce, finance, and governance, but it’s also ground zero for violence and dysfunction.

Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, exhibits significant economic and social centralization that impacts the nation's development. Port-au-Prince is the most populous city in Haiti, with an estimated 1,200,000 residents as of 2022. The broader metropolitan area, encompassing surrounding communes, has a population of approximately 2,618,894. Haiti has a high urbanization rate, with approximately 61.7% of the population living in urban areas as of 2025. Port-au-Prince's rapid growth contributes significantly to this trend. Port-au-Prince serves as the primary economic hub of Haiti, hosting the majority of the country's commercial activities, financial institutions, and industrial operations. ​

A substantial portion of Haiti's businesses, including manufacturing and service industries, are located in Port-au-Prince. This concentration facilitates economic activities but also contributes to regional disparities.​ Approximately two-thirds of the nation's poor reside in rural areas, highlighting the uneven distribution of economic opportunities and services. This centralization has led to challenges such as overcrowding, strained infrastructure, and regional inequalities, underscoring the need for more balanced development across Haiti. Port-au-Prince has become not just the center of Haiti, but almost the entirety of the country, which paradoxically has been made a reality in Haiti. 

Haiti faces a profound crisis, with armed gangs exerting control over approximately 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince. This dominance has led to widespread displacement, with over a million residents forced from their homes, and a surge in violence resulting in more than 5,600 deaths in 2024 alone. The pervasive insecurity has severely disrupted essential services, including healthcare and education, further exacerbating the humanitarian emergency.

Miroslav Jenča, the head of UN peace operations for the Americas, said that the gangs have “encircled the capital and all access roads” and, by some estimates, control around 85 percent of the capital. The gangs have controlled logistically all economic activities in Haiti by controlling access to the different departments of the country, cutting up access to Port-au-prince, the economic center of the country. 

This crisis is not just a Port-au-Prince problem—it’s the product of decades of centralization that has neglected Haiti’s other departments and forced dependency on a single, gang-plagued city.

Decentralization, long enshrined in Haiti’s constitution but never fully implemented, could be the key to national recovery. By transferring power, resources, and decision-making authority from the capital to Haiti’s safer and more stable regions, the country can disrupt the gangs’ control and rebalance national development.

●   Disrupts Gang Leverage: As economic and government activities shift away from Port-au-Prince, gangs lose their strategic stronghold.

●   Economic Diversification: Developing cities like Cap-Haïtien and Les Cayes as new commercial hubs will spread opportunity and dilute risk.

●   Improved Mobility: Alternative routes and improved infrastructure reduce dependency on gang-controlled corridors.

●   Community Empowerment: Local governments gain strength and legitimacy, better equipping them to resist gang infiltration.

●   Balanced Security Presence: Security forces would be distributed more evenly across the country, weakening centralized gang power.

To make decentralization a reality, Haiti must commit to:

●   Devolving Authority: Shift governance to regional and local bodies.

●   Investing Locally: Build infrastructure, schools, and health facilities in secondary cities.

●   Stimulating Local Economies: Provide incentives for businesses and NGOs to relocate or expand beyond the capital.

●   Improving Inter-City Mobility: Secure transport networks that bypass Port-au-Prince.

●   Promoting Regional Leadership: Train and support local administrators to manage growth effectively.

“Decentralization is not a buzzword—it’s a mandate,” reads a recent editorial in The Haitian Times. “The refusal to implement it has only intensified the current crisis.”

Haiti’s 1987 constitution requires a decentralized system, yet successive governments have ignored this mandate, allowing Port-au-Prince to become both the brain and the bottleneck of the nation.

If Haiti is to rise from this moment of darkness, decentralization is not just an option—it is a necessity.

Toward a Resilient and Equitable Haiti

As international partners, Haitian leaders, and civil society seek solutions to the country’s dire circumstances, decentralization offers a bold, practical, and constitutional path forward. By building up the regions and reducing overreliance on Port-au-Prince, Haiti can restore hope, security, and shared prosperity. Decentralization is the strategy that breaks the gangs’ chokehold and opens a new chapter in Haitian resilience. The time to act is now.