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Haiti
Our sympathies go out to the people of Haiti in their time of need after the disastrous earthquake of 12 January 2010.
(For running Wikipedia information on this see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Haiti_earthquake)
Haiti
Haiti (French Haïti; Haitian Creole: Ayiti), officially the Republic of Haiti (République d'Haïti; Repiblik Ayiti) is a Creole- and French-speaking Caribbean country.
Along with the Dominican Republic, it occupies the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago.
Ayiti (Land of high mountains) was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the mountainous western side of the island. The country's highest point is Pic la Selle, at 2,680 metres (8,793 ft).
The population of Haiti is just over 10 million (estimate made before the disastrous earthquake of 12 January 2010).
Its capital is Port-au-Prince
The total area of Haiti is 27,750 square kilometres (10,714 sq mi).
Haiti's regional, historical and ethnolinguistic position is unique for several reasons. It was the first independent nation in Latin America, the first post-colonial independent black-led nation in the world, and the only nation whose independence was gained as part of a successful slave rebellion. Despite having common cultural links with its Hispano-Caribbean neighbors, Haiti is the only predominantly Francophone independent nation in the Americas. It is one of only two independent nations in the Western Hemisphere (along with Canada) that designates French as an official language; the other French-speaking areas are all overseas départements, or collectivités, of France.
By most economic measures, Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas. It is an impoverished country, one of the world's poorest and least developed. It had a nominal GDP of 7.018 billion USD in 2009 with a GDP per capita of 790 USD, about $2 per person per day.
Haiti is divided into ten departments. The departments are listed below, with the departmental capital cities in parentheses.
- Artibonite (Gonaïves)
- Centre (Hinche)
- Grand'Anse (Jérémie)
- Nippes (Miragoâne)
- Nord (Cap-Haïtien)
- Nord-Est (Fort-Liberté)
- Nord-Ouest (Port-de-Paix)
- Ouest (Port-au-Prince)
- Sud-Est (Jacmel)
- Sud (Les Cayes)
The departments are further divided into 41 arrondissements, and 133 communes which serve as second and third level administrative divisions.