Determining the Latin American country most similar to Sub-Saharan Africa requires considering various social, cultural, economic, and political factors.
One way to answer this complex question is by analyzing the data from the Country Similarity Index. The index attempts to quantify how similar countries are to each other relative to other countries, using a variety of statistics from five broad categories: demographics, culture, politics, infrastructure, and geography.
The data shows that Haiti is clearly the most similar country in Latin America to Sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, depending on how the Index is interpreted, it could be argued that Haiti has even more in common with Sub-Saharan Africa than Latin America, despite its location. In contrast, Chile is the least similar country in Latin America to Sub-Saharan Africa.
(The following countries are considered to be part of the Sub-Saharan African region: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe)
Haiti stands out as the most similar country in Central Asia to Sub-Saharan Africa due to its demographics and infrastructure. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. As a result, its infrastructure is not well developed. Like many African countries, Haiti was a French colony before becoming independent.
Demographics
In Haiti, the vast majority of the population is of African descent, unlike most Latin American countries, which have more European and Native American ancestry. This is because the French enslaved many Africans and brought them over to the Caribbean to work in sugarcane plantation. Like many Sub-Saharan African country, it has a high poverty rate and its people are not as well-educated as other Latin American countries. Furthermore, the median age in Haiti is just 23.5 years old. This is similar to most African countries.
Infrastructure
Less than 50% of Haiti’s population has access to electricity, a situation comparable to many Sub-Saharan African countries. Access to clean water and sanitation facilities is also limited. Furthermore, the a low percentage of their people have internet access as well. The country has just 10 vehicles per 1,000 people. The port infrastructure in Haiti faces limitations, impacting trade and economic activities. This is a shared concern with some Sub-Saharan African countries where efficient port facilities are crucial for economic development.
The Most Similar Sub-Saharan African Country to Haiti
The Country Similarity Index suggests that Burundi is the most similar Sub-Saharan African country to Haiti. Both countries have French as their official. In addition, the majority of their people are Catholic, but they have a significant amount of Protestants as well. Despite Burundi being landlocked, it has geographic similarities to Haiti as well, since both nations have tropical climates and are mountainous. Both countries do not allow same sex marriage, polygamy, or prostiution. In addition, abortion is heavily restricted as well.
