Nine people were killed in the coastal city of Port-de-Paix, the closest major town to the quake's epicenter.
Seven more died in Gros-Morne, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) to the southeast and one was killed in the city of Saint-Louis du Nord, the ministry said.
Emergency personnel deployed to the quake zone have said roughly 7,800 homes were either destroyed or damaged in the 5.9-magnitude tremor, according to the authorities.
In Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, building codes are often not respected, meaning that an earthquake of even a moderate size can result in fatalities and level buildings.
The country's Nord-Ouest department, where Port-de-Paix is located, is the worst-off part of Haiti, with many areas isolated due to the dire state of the roads.
The quake and several aftershocks were felt as far away as the capital Port-au-Prince, sparking fear among residents still reeling from the massive 2010 earthquake that left at least 200,000 people dead.
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