Guide to Dominican Republic Introduction Background: Explored and claimed by Columbus on his first voyage in 1492, the island of Hispaniola became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which in 1804 became Haiti. The remainder of the island, by then known as Santo Domingo, sought to gain its own independence in 1821, but was conquered and ruled by the Haitians for 22 years; it finally attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844. In 1861, the Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire, but two years later they launched a war that restored independence in 1865. A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative, rule for much of its subsequent history was brought to an end in 1966 when Joaquin BALAGUER became president. He maintained a tight grip on power for most of the next 30 years when international reaction to flawed elections forced him to curtail his term in 1996. Since then, regular competitive elections have been held in which opposition candidates have won the presidency. The Dominican economy has had one of the fastest growth rates in the hemisphere over the past decade.
Geography Location: Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti
Geographic coordinates: 19 00 N, 70 40 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total
Area - comparative: slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire
Land boundaries: total
Coastline: 1,288 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea
Climate: tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall
Terrain: rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed
Elevation extremes: lowest point
Natural resources: nickel, bauxite, gold, silver
Land use: arable land
Irrigated land: 2,590 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts
Environment - current issues: water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation
Environment - international agreements: party to
Geography - note: shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti
People Population: 8,950,034 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years
Median age: total
Population growth rate: 1.29% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 23.28 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 7.35 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: -3.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth
Infant mortality rate: total
Life expectancy at birth: total population
Total fertility rate: 2.86 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 1.7% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 88,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 7,900 (2003 est.)
Nationality: noun
Ethnic groups: white 16%, black 11%, mixed 73%
Religions: Roman Catholic 95%
Languages: Spanish
Literacy: definition
Government Country name: conventional long form
Government type: representative democracy
Capital: Santo Domingo
Administrative divisions: 31 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 district* (distrito); Azua, Baoruco, Barahona, Dajabon, Distrito Nacional*, Duarte, Elias Pina, El Seibo, Espaillat, Hato Mayor, Independencia, La Altagracia, La Romana, La Vega, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Monsenor Nouel, Monte Cristi, Monte Plata, Pedernales, Peravia, Puerto Plata, Salcedo, Samana, Sanchez Ramirez, San Cristobal, San Jose de Ocoa, San Juan, San Pedro de Macoris, Santiago, Santiago Rodriguez, Santo Domingo, Valverde
Independence: 27 February 1844 (from Haiti)
National holiday: Independence Day, 27 February (1844)
Constitution: 28 November 1966; amended 25 July 2002
Legal system: based on French civil codes; undergoing modification in 2004 towards an accusatory system
Suffrage: 18 years of age, universal and compulsory; married persons regardless of age note
Executive branch: chief of state
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (32 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (150 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are appointed by a the National Judicial Council comprised of the President, the leaders of both chambers of congress, the President of the Supreme Court, and an opposition or non-governing party member)
Political parties and leaders: Dominican Liberation Party or PLD [Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna]; Dominican Revolutionary Party or PRD [Vicente Sanchez BARET]; Social Christian Reformist Party or PRSC [Enrique ATUN]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Collective of Popular Organizations or COP; Citizen Participation Group (Participacion Ciudadania); Foundation for Institution-Building (FINJUS)
International organization participation: ACP, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission
Flag description: a centered white cross that extends to the edges divides the flag into four rectangles - the top ones are blue (hoist side) and red, and the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue; a small coat of arms featuring a shield supported by an olive branch (left) and a palm branch (right) is at the center of the cross; above the shield a blue ribbon displays the motto, DIOS, PATRIA, LIBERTAD (God, Fatherland, Liberty), and below the shield, REPUBLICA DOMINICANA appears on a red ribbon
Economy Economy - overview: The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean representative democracy which enjoyed GDP growth of more than 7% in 1998-2000. Growth subsequently plummeted as part of the global economic slowdown. Although the country has long been viewed primarily as an exporter of sugar, coffee, and tobacco, in recent years the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the economy's largest employer, due to growth in tourism and free trade zones. The country suffers from marked income inequality; the poorest half of the population receives less than one-fifth of GNP, while the richest 10% enjoys nearly 40% of national income. Growth turned negative in 2003 with reduced tourism, a major bank fraud, and limited growth in the US economy (the source of about 85% of export revenues), but recovered slightly in 2004. Resumption of a badly needed IMF loan, slowed due to government repurchase of electrical power plants, is basic to the restoration of social and economic stability. Newly elected President FERNANDEZ in mid-2004 promised belt-tightening reform. His administration has passed tax reform and is working to meet preconditions for a $600 IMF standby arrangement to ease the country's fiscal situation.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $55.68 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 1.7% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture
Labor force: 2.3 million - 2.6 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 17%, industry 24.3%, services and government 58.7% (1998 est.)
Unemployment rate: 17% (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line: 25%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 47.4 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 55% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 18.9% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget: revenues
Public debt: 61.1% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products: sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs
Industries: tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco
Industrial production growth rate: 2% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: 9.583 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel
Electricity - consumption: 8.912 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2002)
Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: 129,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: NA
Oil - imports: 129,900 bbl/day (2003)
Current account balance: $762.2 million (2004 est.)
Exports: $5.446 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods
Exports - partners: US 80%, South Korea 2.1%, Canada 1.9% (2004)
Imports: $8.093 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals
Imports - partners: US 48.1%, Venezuela 13.5%, Colombia 4.8%, Mexico 4.8% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $426 million (2004 est.)
Debt - external: $7.745 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $239.6 million (1995)
Currency (code): Dominican peso (DOP)
Currency code: DOP
Exchange rates: Dominican pesos per US dollar - 42.12 (2004), 30.831 (2003), 18.61 (2002), 16.952 (2001), 16.415 (2000)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Telephones - main lines in use: 901,800 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 2,120,400 (2003)
Telephone system: general assessment
Radio broadcast stations: AM 120, FM 56, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios: 1.44 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 25 (2003)
Televisions: 770,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .do
Internet hosts: 64,197 (2003)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 24 (2000)
Internet users: 500,000 (2003)
Transportation Railways: total
Highways: total
Ports and harbors: Boca Chica, Puerto Plata, Rio Haina, Santo Domingo
Merchant marine: total
Airports: 31 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total
Airports - with unpaved runways: total
Military Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force
Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service (2001)
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower reaching military service age annually: males
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $180 million (1998)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.1% (1998)
Transnational Issues Disputes - international: increasing numbers of illegal migrants from the Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage each year to Puerto Rico to find work
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; has become a transshipment point for ecstasy from the Netherlands and Belgium destined for US and Canada; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor the Dominican Republic for illicit financial transactions
Last updated: 20 October, 2005
|
|
