Legend:
Definition of Term
 Arranged
by Countries Field Listing
| 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. 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. |
| 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: 48,730 sq km
land: 48,380 sq km
water: 350 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire |
| Land
boundaries: |
total: 360 km
border countries: Haiti 360 km |
| Coastline: |
1,288 km |
| Maritime
claims: |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 6 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental
margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM |
| Climate: |
tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal
variation in rainfall |
| Terrain: |
rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed
|
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m
highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m |
| Natural
resources: |
nickel, bauxite, gold, silver |
| Land
use: |
arable land: 21.08%
permanent crops: 9.92%
other: 69% (1998 est.) |
| 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; Hurricane Georges damage |
| Environment
- international agreements: |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
| Geography
- note: |
shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti (eastern two-thirds is
the Dominican Republic, western one-third is Haiti)
|
| Population: |
8,721,594 (July 2002 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years: 33.7% (male 1,503,344; female 1,439,157)
15-64 years: 61.3% (male 2,720,308; female 2,621,539)
65 years and over: 5% (male 206,556; female 230,690) (2002
est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
1.61% (2002 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
24.4 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
4.68 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
-3.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
33.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population: 73.68 years
female: 75.91 years (2002 est.)
male: 71.57 years |
| Total
fertility rate: |
2.94 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
2.8% (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
130,000 (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- deaths: |
4,900 (1999 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Dominican(s)
adjective: Dominican |
| Ethnic
groups: |
white 16%, black 11%, mixed 73% |
| Religions: |
Roman Catholic 95% |
| Languages: |
Spanish |
| Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 82.1%
male: 82%
female: 82.2% (1995 est.)
|
| Country
name: |
conventional long form: Dominican Republic
conventional short form: none
local long form: Republica Dominicana
local short form: none |
| Government
type: |
representative democracy |
| Capital: |
Santo Domingo |
| Administrative
divisions: |
29 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 Juan,
San Pedro de Macoris, Santiago, Santiago Rodriguez, Valverde |
| Independence: |
27 February 1844 (from Haiti) |
| National
holiday: |
Independence Day, 27 February (1844) |
| Constitution: |
28 November 1966 |
| Legal
system: |
based on French civil codes |
| Suffrage: |
18 years of age, universal and compulsory; married persons regardless
of age
note: members of the armed forces and police cannot vote
|
| Executive
branch: |
chief of state: President Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez
(since 16 August 2000); Vice President Milagros ORTIZ-BOSCH (since
16 August 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state
and head of government
head of government: President Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez
(since 16 August 2000); Vice President Milagros ORTIZ-BOSCH (since
16 August 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state
and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the president
elections: president and vice president elected on the
same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last
held 16 May 2000 (next to be held NA May 2004)
election results: Raphael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez elected
president; percent of vote - Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez (PRD)
49.87%, Danilo MEDINA (PLD) 24.95%, Joaquin BALAGUER (PRSC) 24.6%
|
| Legislative
branch: |
bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the
Senate or Senado (30 seats; members are elected by popular vote
to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara
de Diputados (149 seats; members are elected by popular vote to
serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 16 May 2002 (next to be held
NA May 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 16 May 2002 (next
to be held NA May 2006)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%;
seats by party - PRD 24, PLD 3, PRSC 3; Chamber of Deputies -
percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 83, PLD 49,
PRSC 17 |
| Judicial
branch: |
Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are elected by a Council
made up of members of the legislative and executive branches with
the president presiding) |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
Dominican Liberation Party or PLD [Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna]; Dominican
Revolutionary Party or PRD [Hatuey DE CAMPS]; Social Christian
Reformist Party or PRSC [Joaquin BALAGUER Ricardo] |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
Collective of Popular Organizations or COP |
| International
organization participation: |
ACP, Caricom (observer), ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM (observer),
OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of mission: Ambassador Hugo GUILIANI Cury
consulate(s): Mobile and Ponce (Puerto Rico)
consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Jacksonville, Mayaguez
(Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San
Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
FAX: [1] (202) 265-8057
telephone: [1] (202) 332-6280
chancery: 1715 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
chief of mission: Ambassador Hans H. HERTELL
embassy: corner of Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson and Calle
Leopoldo Navarro, Santo Domingo
mailing address: Unit 5500, APO AA 34041-5500
telephone: [1] (809) 221-2171
FAX: [1] (809) 686-7437 |
| 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 is at the center of the cross
|
| Economy
- overview: |
The Dominican economy experienced dramatic growth over the last
decade, even though the economy was hit hard by Hurricane Georges
in 1998. 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% enjoy 40% of national income. A US $500 million foreign bond
issue in September 2001 will contribute to increased public investment
spending. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $50 billion (2001 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
1.5% (2001 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2001 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture: 11%
industry: 34%
services: 55% (2000) (2000) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
25% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 40% (1989) (1989) |
| Distribution
of family income - Gini index: |
47 (1998) |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
5% (2001 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
2.3 million - 2.6 million |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
services and government 59%, industry 24%, agriculture 17% (1998
est.) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
15% (2001 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues: $2.9 billion
expenditures: $3.2 billion, including capital expenditures
of $1.1 billion (2001 est.) |
| Industries: |
tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles,
cement, tobacco |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
2% (2001 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
9.475 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel: 87%
hydro: 13%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0% |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
8,812.029 million kWh (2000) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh (2000) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
0 kWh (2000) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes,
corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs |
| Exports: |
$5.5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats,
consumer goods |
| Exports
- partners: |
US 87.3%, Netherlands 1.1%, Canada 0.7%, France 0.7% (2000 est.)
|
| Imports: |
$8.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals
|
| Imports
- partners: |
US 60.5%, Japan 10.4%, Mexico 4.7%, Venezuela 3% (2000 est.) |
| Debt
- external: |
$5.4 billion (2001 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$239.6 million (1995) (1995) |
| Currency: |
Dominican peso (DOP) |
| Currency
code: |
DOP |
| Exchange
rates: |
Dominican pesos per US dollar - 17.310 (January 2002), 16.952
(2001), 16.415 (2000), 16.033 (1999), 15.267 (1998), 14.265 (1997)
|
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year
|
| Railways: |
total: 757 km
standard gauge: 375 km 1.435-m gauge (Central Romana Railroad)
miscellaneous gauge: 240 km operated by sugar companies
in various gauges (0.558-m, 0.762-m, 1.067-m gauges) (2000 est.)
narrow gauge: 142 km 0.762-m gauge (Dominican Republic
Government Railway) |
| Highways: |
total: 12,600 km
paved: 6,224 km
unpaved: 6,376 km (1996) |
| Waterways: |
none |
| Pipelines: |
crude oil 96 km; petroleum products 8 km |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Barahona, La Romana, Manzanillo, Puerto Plata, San Pedro de Macoris,
Santo Domingo |
| Merchant
marine: |
total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,587 GRT/1,165
DWT
ships by type: cargo 1 (2002 est.) |
| Airports: |
29 (2001) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total: 13
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total: 17
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 10 (2002)
|
|
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