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Dominican Republic
Background: A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative, rule for much of the 20th century was brought to an end in 1996 when free and open elections ushered in a new government.
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:
Area - comparative: slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire Land boundaries:
Coastline: 1,288 km Maritime claims:
Climate: tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall Terrain: rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed Elevation extremes:
Natural resources: nickel, bauxite, gold, silver Land use:
Irrigated land: 2,300 sq km (1993 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:
Geography - note: shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti (eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic, western one-third is Haiti)
Population: 8,442,533 (July 2000 est.) Age structure:
Population growth rate: 1.64% (2000 est.) Birth rate: 25.15 births/1,000 population (2000 est.) Death rate: 4.72 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.) Net migration rate: -4.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.) Sex ratio:
Infant mortality rate: 35.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.) Life expectancy at birth:
Total fertility rate: 3 children born/woman (2000 est.) Nationality:
Ethnic groups: white 16%, black 11%, mixed 73% Religions: Roman Catholic 95% Languages: Spanish Literacy:
Country name:
Data code: DR 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
Executive branch:
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)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Corte Suprema, judges are elected by a Council made up of legislative and executive members with the president presiding Political parties and leaders:
Alliance for Democracy Party or APD [Maximilano Rabelais PUIG Miller, Nelsida MARMOLEJOS, Vicente BENGOA]; Anti-Imperialist Patriotic Union or UPA [Ignacio RODRIGUEZ Chiappini]; Democratic Quisqueyan Party or PQD [Elias WESSIN Chavez]; Democratic Union or UD [Fernando ALVAREZ Bogaert]; Dominican Communist Party or PCD [Narciso ISA Conde]; Dominican Liberation Party or PLD [Jose Tomas PEREZ]; Dominican Revolutionary Party or PRD [Hatuey DE CAMPS]; Dominican Worker's Party or PTD [Ivan RODRIGUEZ]; Independent Revolutionary Party or PRI [leader NA]; Liberal Party of the Dominican Republic or PLRD [Andres Van Der HORST]; National Progressive Force or FNP [Pelegrin CASTILLO]; National Veterans and Civilian Party or PNVC [Juan Rene BEAUCHAMPS Javier]; Popular Christian Party or PPC [Rogelio DELGADO Bogaert]; 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-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO, WTrO Diplomatic representation in the US:
Diplomatic representation from the US:
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: In December 1996, incoming President FERNANDEZ presented a bold reform package for this Caribbean economy - including the devaluation of the peso, income tax cuts, a 50% increase in sales taxes, reduced import tariffs, and increased gasoline prices - in an attempt to create a market-oriented economy that can compete internationally. Even though most reforms are stalled in the legislature - including the intellectual property rights bill, social security reform, and a new electricity law first submitted in 1993 - the economy has grown vigorously under FERNANDEZ's administration. Construction, tourism and telecommunications are leading the advance. The government is working to increase electric generating capacity, a key to continued economic growth; the state electricity company was finally privatized following numerous delays. The continuation of this vigorous growth in 2000 will depend on the policies adopted by the new administration. GDP: purchasing power parity - $43.7 billion (1999 est.) GDP - real growth rate: 8.3% (1999 est.) GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,400 (1999 est.) GDP - composition by sector:
Population below poverty line: 25% (1999 est.) Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.1% (1999) Labor force: 2.3 million to 2.6 million Labor force - by occupation: services and government 58.7%, industry 24.3%, agriculture 17% (1998 est.) Unemployment rate: 13.8% (1999 est.) Budget:
Industries: tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco Industrial production growth rate: 6.3% (1995 est.) Electricity - production: 8.476 billion kWh (1998) Electricity - production by source:
Electricity - consumption: 7.883 billion kWh (1998) Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998) Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1998) Agriculture - products: sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs Exports: $5.1 billion (f.o.b., 1999) Exports - commodities: ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats Exports - partners: US 61.6%, Belgium 11.1%, Asia 5.9%, Canada 2.9% (1998 est.) Imports: $8.2 billion (f.o.b., 1999) Imports - commodities: foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals Imports - partners: US 56%, Venezuela 23%, Mexico 9%, Japan 4% (1999 est.) Debt - external: $3.7 billion (1999 est.) Economic aid - recipient: $239.6 million (1995) Currency: 1 Dominican peso (RD$) = 100 centavos Exchange rates: Dominican pesos (RD$) per US$1 - 16.161 (January 2000), 16.033 (1999), 15.267 (1998), 14.265 (1997), 13.775 (1996), 13.597 (1995) Fiscal year: calendar year
Telephones - main lines in use: 569,000 (1995) Telephones - mobile cellular: 33,000 (1995) Telephone system:
Radio broadcast stations: AM 120, FM 56, shortwave 4 (1998) Radios: 1.44 million (1997) Television broadcast stations: 25 (1997) Televisions: 770,000 (1997) Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (1999)
Railways:
Highways:
Pipelines: crude oil 96 km; petroleum products 8 km Ports and harbors: Barahona, La Romana, Puerto Plata, San Pedro de Macoris, Santo Domingo Merchant marine:
Airports: 28 (1999 est.) Airports - with paved runways:
Airports - with unpaved runways:
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age Military manpower - availability:
Military manpower - fit for military service:
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $180 million (FY98) Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.1% (FY98)
Disputes - international: none Illicit drugs: transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe Please click here for a guide to the country profiles Click here for all other countries
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