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The country is mostly mountainous, but about one third of the land is arable. Once covered by forest, the country has been heavily logged for wood and fuel and to clear land for farming, and is now largely deforested. Haiti is divided into nine administrative departments. In addition to the capital, other important cities include Cap-HaItien and GonaIves. Haiti is the most densely populated country in Latin America and has the lowest per capita income, with about half the people unemployed and three quarters living in the severest poverty. Prolonged economic inequality, political instability and repression, and a near total lack of medical care continue to be serious problems. The economic and political situation have caused numerous Haitians to emigrate, especially to the United States.
About 95% of the inhabitants are descendants of African slaves who still follow West African cultural patterns. Since the mid-19th cent., however, Haiti has been dominated by the mulatto minority, which clings to the French cultural tradition. French is the official languages of Haiti, although the vast majority of the people speak Haitian Creole, a French dialect. Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion, but African nature gods are still worshiped, and vodun (voodoo) rites are practiced and are an officially recognized religion.
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