As the 2026 hurricane season approaches in Haiti, understanding changes in population distribution is crucial for effective preparedness. This report provides key insights for risk mapping and contingency planning, helping you estimate population exposure and decide where to place resources and shelters ahead of potential hurricanes or storms.
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Executive summary
Key observations for the period 01 April 2025 - 31 March 2026
- The Flowminder-Digicel pipeline was interrupted from June to October 2025, with no data currently available for that period
- Overall, most communal sections show stable population estimates or minor changes (±500 people) between April 2025 and March 2026.
- In the Port-au-Prince Metropolitan Area (ZMPAP), the population of 2e Section Morne l'Hôpital (Port-au-Prince) decreased by over 2,000 people from April to May 2025, then increased by more than 4,000 between November 2025 and February 2026, resulting in a net gain of +3,200 by the end of the period. Population also steadily increased in 1re Section St Martin (Delmas) (+3,900) and 5e Section Bellevue Chardonniere (Pétion-Ville) (+2,200). In contrast, 3e Section Martissant (Port-au-Prince) experienced a sharp drop of over 2,000 people from January to February 2026, followed by a comparable rebound the following month.
- Outside ZMPAP, the largest decrease occurred in 3e Section Sourcailles (Kenscoff, West) (-3,900), likely linked to armed clashes reported by IOM-DTM (ETT 62).
- In Centre, the population declined by around 3,000 over the year, with the largest drop in 1re Section Juanaria (Hinche) (-800), mainly between April and May 2025, potentially due to armed attacks (ETT 61.2).
- In Artibonite, 3e Section Labady (Petite Rivière de l’Artibonite) decreased by -2,200, primarily in April–May 2025 (ETT 63), while 1re Section Deluge (Saint-Marc) declined by -1,600.
- Additional decreases were observed in 1re Section Basse Voldrogue (Jérémie, Grande Anse) and 2e Section Haut du Cap (Cap-Haïtien, North), both at -1,200.
- The largest population increases outside ZMPAP were recorded in 6e Section Charrette (Saint-Marc, Artibonite) (+2,800), 1re Section Bourdet (Les Cayes, South) (+2,100), and 2e Section La Belle Mère (Pignon, North) (+1,900).
How to use this report
We provide population estimates that take into account population movements within Haiti, per month and per communal section. The current crisis has led to large population movements, particularly of internally displaced people (e.g. IOM round 9), which can result in population statistics becoming outdated over a few months, and therefore impairing preparedness efforts (e.g. hazard population exposure estimation, needs assessment, service and contingency planning).
Indicators presented
Estimated change: the difference in the estimated population between the first and last months of the 12 month reporting period, which does not reflect any monthly variation within.
For communal sections with fewer than 10 months of resident estimates during the reporting period, we do not make a trend classification (insufficient data). For monthly population estimates at the department level, we carry forward the latest estimate to fill missing months in a communal section so that the aggregated changes at the department level are only based on observed CDR-derived mobility.
For communal sections with fast changing populations, we categorised them as ‘increasing’, ‘decreasing’; ‘stable’, when there is little to no change; or as ‘fluctuating’ when large month-to-month changes prevented us from detecting a trend.
Data used
- This report uses our v4.0 dataset (documentation, release notes), available at https://haiti.mobility-dashboard.org.
- Monthly estimates of population per communal section (the “de facto” population) - derived from anonymous mobile phone data, weighted using survey data but unadjusted for population change due to births, deaths, immigration and emigration - only considering internal mobility in Haiti.
Visit our Haiti Mobility Data Platform.
About this report
Authors & contributors
This report was authored by the Flowminder Foundation, by Robert Eyre and Galina Veres, with the contribution of Christopher Brooks, Sophie Delaporte, Roland Hosner and Joachim Jellinek.
Robert Eyre produced and analysed the mobility statistics and co-wrote the report; Galina Veres interpreted the mobility statistics and co-wrote the report; Christopher Brooks and Joachim Jellinek produced the CDR aggregates and maintained the pipeline; Roland Hosner developed and applied the bias-adjustment and scaling method, and Sophie Delaporte supported with information product design, report review, translation and data visualisation.
Acknowledgements
This study was made possible thanks to the anonymised mobile phone usage data provided by Digicel Haiti, which are aggregated by Flowminder via FlowKit to provide statistics.
This work has been made possible thanks to funding from Haiti's Fund for Economic and Social Assistance (FAES).
Data privacy & governance
No personal data, such as an individual’s identity, demographics, location, contacts or movements, is made available to the government or any other third party at any time. All results produced by Flowminder are aggregated results (for example, subscriber density in a given municipality), which means that they do not contain any information about individual subscribers.
This data is fully anonymised. This approach complies with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR2016/679). Data is processed on a server installed behind the mobile network operator’s firewall in Haiti, and no personal data eaves the operator’s premises.
Data considerations
The estimates shown are our best current assessment of movements. However, there are a number of uncertainties. The information should be interpreted together with other available evidence.
Data used
This report uses our v4.0 dataset (documentation, release notes), available at https://haiti.mobility-dashboard.org.