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The World Factbook 2002
| Dominican Republic |

Introduction | Dominican Republic

Background: | A legacy of unsettled, mostly nonrepresentative, rule for much of the 20th century was brought to an end in 1996 when free and open elections ushered in a new government.

Geography | Dominican Republic

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% permanent crops: 10% 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)

People | Dominican Republic

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.)

Government | Dominican Republic

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 1998 (next to be held NA May 2002); Chamber of Deputies - last held 16 May 1998 (next to be held NA May 2002)
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): Houston, Jacksonville, Mobile, and Ponce (Puerto Rico)
consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, 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) 221-7121 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 | Dominican Republic

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: 11.1% industry: 34.1% services: 54.8% (2000)
Population below poverty line: | 25% (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 1.6% highest 10%: 39.6% (1989)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 47.4 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 5% (2001 est.)
Labor force: | 2.3 million - 2.6 million
Labor force - by occupation: | services and government 58.7%, industry 24.3%, 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: 87.21% hydro: 12.53% other: 0.26% (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)
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

Communications | Dominican Republic

Telephones - main lines in use: | 709,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 130,149 (1997)
Telephone system: | general assessment: NA domestic: relatively efficient system based on islandwide microwave radio relay network international: 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
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 country code: | .do
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 24 (2000)
Internet users: | 25,000 (1999)

Transportation | Dominican Republic

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: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 16 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 10 (2001)

Military | Dominican Republic

Military branches: | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police
Military manpower - military age: | 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 2,323,088 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 1,455,887 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: | males: 87,404 (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $180 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 1.1% (FY98)

Transnational Issues | Dominican Republic

Disputes - international: | none
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

This page was last updated on 1 January 2002