Most Haitians are the descendants of Africans; a few have European roots, primarily French. The majority of the population lives in extreme poverty: Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas; Port-au-Prince has the worst slums in the Caribbean. Social tensions run high, and focus on class rather than race. In recent years, the combination of political repression and a collapsing economy has led many to emigrate illegally to the USA, or across the border to the neighboring Dominican Republic.
