Haiti ( Republique d'Haiti) is a country in Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic. Haiti geographic coordinates 19 00 N, 72 25 W; area 190 sq km; area comparative slightly smaller than Maryland; land boundaries Dominican Republic 360 km; coastline 1,771 km; maritime claims to; climate tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds; terrain mostly rough and mountainous; elevation extremes Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m; natural resources bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower; land use 60.09% (2001); irrigated land 750 sq km (1998 est.); natural hazards lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasion; environment current issues extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water; environment international agreements Hazardous Wastes; geography note shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic);

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The native Arawak Amerindians - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by Columbus in 1492 - were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola, and in 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island - Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean, but only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'OUVERTURE and after a prolonged struggle, became the first black republic to declare its independence in 1804. Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. government type elected government; capital Port-au-Prince; administrative divisions 9 departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand 'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est; independence 1 January 1804 (from France); national holiday Independence Day, 1 January (1804); constitution approved March 1987; suspended June 1988 with most articles reinstated March 1989; in October 1991 government claimed to be observing the constitution; legal system based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; suffrage 18 years of age; universal;

people

Haiti population 8,121,622 estimates for this country explicit; age structure 3.4% (male 124,383/female 154,317) (2005 est.); median age 18.44 years (2005 est.); population growth rate 2.26% (2005 est.); birth rate 36.59 births/1,000 population (2005 est.); death rate 12.34 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.); net migration rate -1.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.); sex ratio 0.97 male(s)/female (2005 est.); infant mortality rate 79.92 deaths/1,000 live births; life expectancy at birth 54.31 years (2005 est.); total fertility rate 5.02 children born/woman (2005 est.); hiv adult rate 5.6% (2003 est.); hiv people with aids 280,000 (2003 est.); hiv deaths 24,000 (2003 est.); nationality Haitian; ethnic groups black 95%, mulatto and white 5%; religions Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (1982) roughly half of; languages French (official), Creole (official); literacy 51.2% (2003 est.);

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