Artibonite is one of the ten departments of Haiti located in central Haiti. With an area of 4,887 km² it is Haiti's largest department. As of 2015, its estimated population was 1,727,524. The region is the country's main rice-growing area. The main cities are Gonaïves and Saint-Marc. In February 2004 an insurgency tried unsuccessfully to declare Artibonite's independence.
