Dominican Republic (2005)

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Dominican Republic 2005 year


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
Age structure	0-14 years: 32.9% (male 1,505,964/female 1,438,809) 15-64 years: 61.7% (male 2,815,544/female 2,703,012) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 226,372/female 260,333) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs
Airports	31 (2004 est.)
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 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.)
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
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.
Birth rate	23.28 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $2.625 billion expenditures: $3.382 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.1 billion (2004 est.)
Capital	Santo Domingo
Climate	tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall
Coastline	1,288 km
Constitution	28 November 1966; amended 25 July 2002
Country name	conventional long form: Dominican Republic conventional short form: The Dominican local long form: Republica Dominicana local short form: La Dominicana
Death rate	7.35 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$7.745 billion (2004 est.)
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
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Flavio Dario Espinal JACOBO chancery: 1715 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6280 FAX: [1] (202) 265-8057 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
Disputes - international	increasing numbers of illegal migrants from the Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage each year to Puerto Rico to find work
Economic aid - recipient	$239.6 million (1995)
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.
Electricity - consumption	8.912 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	9.583 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m
Environment - current issues	water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation
Environment - international 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 signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups	white 16%, black 11%, mixed 73%
Exchange rates	Dominican pesos per US dollar - 42.12 (2004), 30.831 (2003), 18.61 (2002), 16.952 (2001), 16.415 (2000)
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); 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 2004 (next to be held in May 2008) election results: Leonel FERNANDEZ elected president; percent of vote - Leonel FERNANDEZ (PLD) 57.1%, Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez (PRD) 33.7%, Eduardo ESTRELLA (PRSC) 8.7%
Exports	0 kWh (2002)
Exports	$5.446 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports	NA
Exports - commodities	ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods
Exports - partners	US 80%, South Korea 2.1%, Canada 1.9% (2004)
Fiscal year	calendar year
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
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 10.7% industry: 31.5% services: 57.8% (2003)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	1.7% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	19 00 N, 70 40 W
Geography - note	shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti
Highways	total: 12,600 km paved: 6,224 km unpaved: 6,376 km (1999)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2.1% highest 10%: 37.9% (1998)
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
Imports	0 kWh (2002)
Imports	$8.093 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports	129,900 bbl/day (2003)
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)
Independence	27 February 1844 (from Haiti)
Industrial production growth rate	2% (2001 est.)
Industries	tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco
Infant mortality rate	total: 32.38 deaths/1,000 live births male: 34.81 deaths/1,000 live births female: 29.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	55% (2004 est.)
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
Irrigated land	2,590 sq km (1998 est.)
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)
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.)
Land boundaries	total: 360 km border countries: Haiti 360 km
Land use	arable land: 22.65% permanent crops: 10.33% other: 67.02% (2001)
Languages	Spanish
Legal system	based on French civil codes; undergoing modification in 2004 towards an accusatory system
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: Senate - last held 16 May 2002 (next to be held May 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 16 May 2002 (next to be held May 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 29, PLD 2, PRSC 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 73, PLD 41, PRSC 36
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 71.44 years male: 69.94 years female: 73.03 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 84.7% male: 84.6% female: 84.8% (2003 est.)
Location	Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	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
Merchant marine	total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 11,230 GRT/17,011 DWT by type: cargo 3 (2005)
Military branches	Army, Navy, Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$180 million (1998)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.1% (1998)
National holiday	Independence Day, 27 February (1844)
Nationality	noun: Dominican(s) adjective: Dominican
Natural hazards	lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts
Natural resources	nickel, bauxite, gold, silver
Net migration rate	-3.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
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)
Population	8,950,034 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	25%
Population growth rate	1.29% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	Boca Chica, Puerto Plata, Rio Haina, Santo Domingo
Radio broadcast stations	AM 120, FM 56, shortwave 4 (1998)
Railways	total: 1,743 km standard gauge: 375 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 142 km 0.762-m gauge note: additional 1,226 km operated by sugar companies in 1.076-m, 0.889-m, and 0.762-m gauges (2004)
Religions	Roman Catholic 95%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age, universal and compulsory; married persons regardless of age note: members of the armed forces and national police cannot vote
Telephone system	general assessment: NA domestic: relatively efficient system based on island-wide microwave radio relay network international: country code - 1-809; 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	901,800 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	2,120,400 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	25 (2003)
Terrain	rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed
Total fertility rate	2.86 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	17% (2004 est.)

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