Dominican Republic Population: 9,956,648
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| Background | |
| The Taino - indigenous inhabitants of Hispaniola prior to the arrival of the Europeans - divided the island into five chiefdoms and territories. Christopher COLUMBUS explored and claimed the island on his first voyage in 1492; it 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 followed, capped by the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas TRUJILLO from 1930-61. Juan BOSCH was elected president in 1962 but was deposed in a military coup in 1963. In 1965, the United States led an intervention in the midst of a civil war sparked by an uprising to restore BOSCH. In 1966, Joaquin BALAGUER defeated BOSCH in an election to become president. BALAGUER 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. Former President (1996-2000) Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna won election to a new term in 2004 following a constitutional amendment allowing presidents to serve more than one term, and was since reelected to a second consecutive term. |
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| Geography | |
| Shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti | |
| 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 |
| Area: | total: 48,670 sq km land: 48,320 sq km water: 350 sq km Size comparison: 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: | measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines territorial sea: 6 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
| 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: 22.49% permanent crops: 10.26% other: 67.25% (2005) |
| Irrigated land: | 2,750 sq km (2008) |
| Natural hazards: | lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts |
| Current Environment Issues: | water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation |
| International Environment Agreements: | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
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| People | |
| Population: | 9,956,648 (July 2011 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 29.5% (male 1,493,251/female 1,441,735) 15-64 years: 64% (male 3,251,419/female 3,120,540) 65 years and over: 6.5% (male 300,245/female 349,458) (2011 est.) |
| Median age: | total: 26.1 years male: 26 years female: 26.3 years (2011 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 1.331% (2011 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 19.67 births/1,000 population (2011 est.) |
| Death rate: | 4.35 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | -2.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.) |
| Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2011 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 22.22 deaths/1,000 live births male: 24.21 deaths/1,000 live births female: 20.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 77.31 years male: 75.16 years female: 79.55 years (2011 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 2.44 children born/woman (2011 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.9% (2009 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 57,000 (2009 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 2,300 (2009 est.) |
| Nationality: | noun: Dominican(s) adjective: Dominican |
| Ethnic groups: | mixed 73%, white 16%, black 11% |
| Religions: | Roman Catholic 95%, other 5% |
| Languages: | Spanish (official) |
| Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 87% male: 86.8% female: 87.2% (2002 census) |
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| Government | |
| Country name: | conventional long form: Dominican Republic conventional short form: The Dominican local long form: Republica Dominicana local short form: La Dominicana |
| Government type: | democratic republic |
| Capital: | name: Santo Domingo geographic coordinates: 18 28 N, 69 54 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Administrative divisions: | 31 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 district* (distrito); Azua, Bahoruco, Barahona, Dajabon, Distrito Nacional*, Duarte, El Seibo, Elias Pina, 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, San Cristobal, San Jose de Ocoa, San Juan, San Pedro de Macoris, Sanchez Ramirez, 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 and January 2010 |
| Legal system: | civil law system based on the French civil code; Criminal Procedures Code modified in 2004 to include important elements of an accusatory system |
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age, universal and compulsory; married persons regardless of age; note - members of the armed forces and national police cannot vote |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (since 16 August 2004); Vice President Rafael ALBURQUERQUE de Castro (since 16 August 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (since 16 August 2004); Vice President Rafael ALBURQUERQUE de Castro (since 16 August 2004) cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the president (For more information visit the World Leaders website ) elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held on 16 May 2008 (next to be held in May 2012) election results: Leonel FERNANDEZ reelected president; percent of vote - Leonel FERNANDEZ 53.6%, Miguel VARGAS 41%, Amable ARISTY less than 5% |
| Legislative branch: | bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (32 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Camara de Diputados (183 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate - last held on 16 May 2010 (next to be held in May 2016); House of Representatives - last held on 16 May 2010 (next to be held in May 2016); in order to synchronize presidential, legislative, and local elections for 2016, those members elected in 2010 will actually serve terms of six years election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PLD 31, PRD 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PLD 105, PRD 75, PRSC 3 |
| Judicial branch: | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are appointed by the National Judicial Council comprised of the president, the leaders of both chambers of congress, the president of the Supreme Court, and an additional non-governing party congressional representative) |
| Political parties and leaders: | Dominican Liberation Party or PLD [Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna]; Dominican Revolutionary Party or PRD [Ramon ALBURQUERQUE]; National Progressive Front [Vincent CASTILLO, Pelegrin CASTILLO]; Social Christian Reformist Party or PRSC [Enrique ANTUN] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | Citizen Participation Group (Participacion Ciudadania); Collective of Popular Organizations or COP; Foundation for Institution-Building and Justice (FINJUS) |
| International organization participation: | ACP, AOSIS, BCIE, Caricom (observer), FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, PetroCaribe, RG, SICA (associated member), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Anibal de Jesus de CASTRO Rodriguez chancery: 1715 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6280 FAX: [1] (202) 265-8057 consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Boston, Chicago, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Sun Valley (California) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Raul H. YZAGUIRRE 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 |
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| Economy | |
| The Dominican Republic has long been viewed primarily as an exporter of sugar, coffee, and tobacco, but in recent years the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the economy's largest employer, due to growth in telecommunications, tourism, and free trade zones. The economy is highly dependent upon the US, the destination for nearly 60% of exports. Remittances from the US amount to about a tenth of GDP, equivalent to almost half of exports and three-quarters of tourism receipts. The country suffers from marked income inequality; the poorest half of the population receives less than one-fifth of GDP, while the richest 10% enjoys nearly 40% of GDP. High unemployment and underemployment remains an important long-term challenge. The Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) came into force in March 2007, boosting investment and exports and reducing losses to the Asian garment industry. The growth of the Dominican Republic's economy rebounded in 2010 from the global recession, and remains one of the fastest growing in the region. | |
| GDP (purchasing power parity): | GDP (purchasing power parity): $87.25 billion (2010 est.) $80.97 billion (2009 est.) $78.27 billion (2008 est.) note: data are in 2010 US dollars |
| GDP (official exchange rate): | GDP (official exchange rate): $51.63 billion (2010 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate: | 7.8% (2010 est.) 3.5% (2009 est.) 5.3% (2008 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP): | GDP - per capita (PPP): $8,900 (2010 est.) $8,400 (2009 est.) $8,200 (2008 est.) note: data are in 2010 US dollars |
| GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 7.1% industry: 28.3% services: 64.6% (2010 est.) |
| Labor force: | 4.63 million (2010 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 14.6% industry: 22.3% services: 63.1% (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment rate: | 13.3% (2010 est.) 14.9% (2009 est.) |
| Population below poverty line: | 42.2% (2004) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 1.7% highest 10%: 37.8% (2007) |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 48.4 (2007) 47.4 (1998) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.3% (2010 est.) 1.4% (2009 est.) |
| Investment (gross fixed): | Investment (gross fixed): 16% of GDP (2010 est.) |
| Budget: | revenues: $7.038 billion expenditures: $8.504 billion (2010 est.) |
| Public debt: | 36.8% of GDP (2010 est.) 36.7% of GDP (2009 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: | 1.5% (2010 est.) |
| Electricity - production: | 14.58 billion kWh (2008 est.) |
| Electricity - consumption: | 12.87 billion kWh (2008 est.) |
| Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2009 est.) |
| Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2009 est.) |
| Oil - production: | 392 bbl/day (2010 est.) |
| Oil - consumption: | 119,000 bbl/day (2010 est.) |
| Oil - exports: | 0 bbl/day (2009 est.) |
| Oil - imports: | 107,300 bbl/day (2009 est.) |
| Oil - proved reserves: | 0 bbl (1 January 2011 est.) |
| Natural gas - production: | 0 cu m (2009 est.) |
| Natural gas - consumption: | 560 million cu m (2009 est.) |
| Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2009 est.) |
| Natural gas - imports: | 560 million cu m (2009 est.) |
| Natural gas - proved reserves: | 0 cu m (1 January 2011 est.) |
| Current account balance: | -$4.435 billion (2010 est.) -$2.331 billion (2009 est.) |
| Exports: | $6.598 billion (2010 est.) $5.483 billion (2009 est.) |
| Exports - commodities: | ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods |
| Exports - partners: | US 52%, Haiti 13.6% (2010) |
| Imports: | $15.3 billion (2010 est.) $12.3 billion (2009 est.) |
| Imports - commodities: | foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals |
| Imports - partners: | US 44%, Venezuela 7%, China 6.1%, Mexico 4.9%, Colombia 4.8% (2010) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $3.502 billion (31 December 2010 est.) $2.905 billion (31 December 2009 est.) |
| Debt - external: | $13.24 billion (31 December 2010 est.) $10.86 billion (31 December 2009 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: | $18.91 billion (31 December 2010 est.) $17.28 billion (31 December 2009 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: | $59 million (31 December 2010 est.) $59 million (31 December 2009 est.) |
| Market value of publicly traded shares: | $NA |
| Exchange rates: | Dominican pesos (DOP) per US dollar - 36.92 (2010) 36.03 (2009) 34.775 (2008) 33.113 (2007) 33.406 (2006) |
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| Communications | |
| Telephones in use: | 965,400 (2009) country comparison to the world: 81 |
| Cellular Phones in use: | 8.63 million (2009) |
| Telephone system: | general assessment: relatively efficient system based on island-wide microwave radio relay network domestic: fixed-line teledensity is about 10 per 100 persons; multiple providers of mobile-cellular service with a subscribership of roughly 75 per 100 persons international: country code - 1-809; landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1), Antillas 1, and the Fibralink submarine cables that provide links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and US; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2009) |
| Radio broadcast stations: | |
| Television broadcast stations: | |
| Internet country code: | .do |
| Internet hosts: | 283,298 (2010) |
| Internet users: | 2.701 million (2009) |
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| Transportation | |
| Airports: | 35 (2010) country comparison to the world: 109 |
| Airports (paved runways): | total: 16 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2010) |
| Airports (unpaved runways): | total: 19 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 17 (2010) |
| Pipelines: | oil 99 km |
| Railways: | total: 142 km standard gauge: 142 km 1.435-m gauge (2010) |
| Roadways: | total: 19,705 km paved: 9,872 km unpaved: 9,833 km (2002) |
| Merchant marine: | total: 1 by type: cargo 1 registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2008) |
| Ports and terminals: | Puerto Haina, Puerto Plata, Santo Domingo oil terminals: Andres LGN terminal (Boca Chica), Punta Nizao oil terminal |
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| Military | |
| Military branches: | Army, Navy (Marina de Guerra), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Dominicana, FAD) (2011) |
| Military service age and obligation: | 16-21 years of age for compulsory military service; recruits must be Dominican Republic citizens; women may volunteer (2010) |
| Manpower available for military service: | males age 16-49: 2,580,083 females age 16-49: 2,464,698 (2010 est.) |
| Manpower fit for military service: | males age 16-49: 2,188,358 females age 16-49: 2,090,180 (2010 est.) |
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