Compare Christmas Island (2007) - Dominican Republic (2008)

Compare Christmas Island (2007) z Dominican Republic (2008)

	Christmas Island (2007)	Dominican Republic (2008)

Administrative divisions	none (territory of Australia)	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
Age structure	0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA	0-14 years: 32.1% (male 1,532,813/female 1,477,033) 15-64 years: 62.2% (male 2,971,620/female 2,851,207) 65 years and over: 5.7% (male 247,738/female 285,407) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	NA	sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs
Airports	1 (2007)	34 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)	total: 15 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 19 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 11 (2007)
Area	total: 135 sq km land: 135 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 48,730 sq km land: 48,380 sq km water: 350 sq km
Area - comparative	about three-quarters the size of Washington, DC	slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire
Background	Named in 1643 for the day of its discovery, the island was annexed and settlement began by the UK in 1888. Phosphate mining began in the 1890s. The UK transferred sovereignty to Australia in 1958. Almost two-thirds of the island has been declared a national park.	Explored and claimed by Christopher 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 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 second term in 2004 following a constitutional amendment allowing presidents to serve more than one term.
Birth rate	NA	22.91 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA	revenues: $7.014 billion expenditures: $6.985 billion (2007 est.)
Capital	name: The Settlement geographic coordinates: 10 25 S, 105 43 E time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	name: Santo Domingo geographic coordinates: 18 28 N, 69 54 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	tropical with a wet season (December to April) and dry season; heat and humidity moderated by trade winds	tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall
Coastline	138.9 km	1,288 km
Constitution	Christmas Island Act of 1958-59 (1 October 1958) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992	28 November 1966; amended 25 July 2002
Country name	conventional long form: Territory of Christmas Island conventional short form: Christmas Island	conventional long form: Dominican Republic conventional short form: The Dominican local long form: Republica Dominicana local short form: La Dominicana
Death rate	NA	5.32 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	-	$8.842 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Dependency status	non-self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (territory of Australia)	chief of mission: Ambassador P. Robert FANNIN 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	none (territory of Australia)	chief of mission: Ambassador 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: Anchorage, Boston, Chicago, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico)
Disputes - international	none	Haitian migrants cross the porous border into the Dominican Republic to find work; illegal migrants from the Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage each year to Puerto Rico to find better work
Economic aid - recipient	$NA	$76.99 million (2005)
Economy - overview	Phosphate mining had been the only significant economic activity, but in December 1987 the Australian Government closed the mine. In 1991, the mine was reopened. With the support of the government, a $34 million casino opened in 1993, but closed in 1998. The Australian Government in 2001 agreed to support the creation of a commercial space-launching site on the island, expected to begin operations in the near future.	The Dominican Republic has enjoyed strong GDP growth since 2005, with double digit growth in 2006. In 2007, exports were bolstered by the nearly 50% increase in nickel prices; however, prices are expected to fall in 2008, contributing to a slowdown in GDP growth for the year. 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 economy is highly dependent upon the US, the source of nearly 80% of exports, and remittances represent about a tenth of GDP, equivalent to almost half of exports and three-quarters of tourism receipts. With the help of strict fiscal targets agreed to in the 2004 renegotiation of an IMF standby loan, President FERNANDEZ has stabilized the country's financial situation, lowereing inflation to less than 6%. A fiscal expansion is expected for 2008 prior to the elections in May and for Tropical Storm Noel reconstruction. Although the economy is growing at a respectable rate, high unemployment and underemployment remains an important challenge. 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. The Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) came into force in March 2007, which should boost investment and exports and diminishes losses to the Asian garment industry.
Electricity - consumption	-	8.791 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	-	12.22 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Murray Hill 361 m	lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m
Environment - current issues	loss of rainforest; impact of phosphate mining	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, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups	Chinese 70%, European 20%, Malay 10% note: no indigenous population (2001)	mixed 73%, white 16%, black 11%
Exchange rates	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002)	Dominican pesos per US dollar - 33.113 (2007), 33.406 (2006), 30.409 (2005), 42.12 (2004), 30.831 (2003)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by the Australian governor general head of government: Administrator Neil LUCAS (since 30 January 2006) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia	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 elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second consecutive term); election last held 16 May 2004 (next to be held in May 2008) election results: Leonel FERNANDEZ elected president; percent of vote - Leonel FERNANDEZ 57.1%, Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez 33.7%, Eduardo ESTRELLA 8.7%
Exports	$NA	0 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	phosphate	ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods
Exports - partners	Australia, NZ (2006)	US 72.7%, UK 3.2%, Belgium 2.4% (2006)
Fiscal year	1 July - 30 June	calendar year
Flag description	territorial flag; divided diagonally from upper hoist to lower fly; the upper triangle is green with a yellow image of the Golden Bosun Bird superimposed, while the lower triangle is blue with the Southern Cross constellation, representing Australia, superimposed; a centered yellow disk displays a green map of the island; the flag of Australia is used for official purposes	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: 11.5% industry: 28.3% services: 60.2% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	7.2% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	10 30 S, 105 40 E	19 00 N, 70 40 W
Geography - note	located along major sea lanes of Indian Ocean	shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: 1.4% highest 10%: 41.1% (2004)
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; significant amphetamine consumption
Imports	$NA	116,700 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	consumer goods	foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals
Imports - partners	principally Australia (2006)	US 46.9%, Venezuela 8.4%, Colombia 6.3%, Mexico 5.7% (2006)
Independence	none (territory of Australia)	27 February 1844 (from Haiti)
Industrial production growth rate	-	5.5% (2007 est.)
Industries	tourism, phosphate extraction (near depletion)	tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco
Infant mortality rate	total: NA male: NA female: NA	total: 27.94 deaths/1,000 live births male: 30.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	5.8% (2007 est.)
International organization participation	none	ACP, Caricom (observer), FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (suspended), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	NA	2,750 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court; District Court; Magistrate's Court	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)
Labor force	NA	3.986 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture: 17% industry: 24.3% services: 58.7% (1998 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 360 km border countries: Haiti 360 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (mainly tropical rainforest; 63% of the island is a national park) (2005)	arable land: 22.49% permanent crops: 10.26% other: 67.25% (2005)
Languages	English (official), Chinese, Malay	Spanish
Legal system	under the authority of the governor general of Australia and Australian law	based on French civil codes; Criminal Procedures Code modified in 2004 to include important elements of an accusatory system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral Christmas Island Shire Council (9 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: held every two years with half the members standing for election; last held 20 October 2007 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 9	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 House of Representatives or Camara de Diputados (178 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 16 May 2006 (next to be held in May 2008); House of Representatives - last held 16 May 2006 (next to be held in May 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PLD 22, PRD 6, PRSC 4; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PLD 96, PRD 60, PRSC 22
Life expectancy at birth	total population: NA male: NA female: NA	total population: 73.07 years male: 71.34 years female: 74.87 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	NA	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 87% male: 86.8% female: 87.2% (2002 census)
Location	Southeastern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia	Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti
Map references	Southeast Asia	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	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
Merchant marine	-	total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 1,587 GRT/1,165 DWT by type: cargo 1 registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2007)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of Australia	-
Military branches	-	Army, Navy, Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Dominicana, FAD) (2007)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	0.8% (2006)
National holiday	Australia Day, 26 January (1788)	Independence Day, 27 February (1844)
Nationality	noun: Christmas Islander(s) adjective: Christmas Island	noun: Dominican(s) adjective: Dominican
Natural hazards	the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard	lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts
Natural resources	phosphate, beaches	nickel, bauxite, gold, silver
Net migration rate	NA	-2.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Political parties and leaders	none	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	none	Citizen Participation Group (Participacion Ciudadania); Collective of Popular Organizations or COP; Foundation for Institution-Building and Justice (FINJUS)
Population	1,402 (July 2006 est.) (July 2007 est.)	9,365,818 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	42.2% (2004)
Population growth rate	0% (2007 est.)	1.5% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2006)	AM 120, FM 56, shortwave 4 (1998)
Railways	-	total: 517 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 (2006)
Religions	Buddhist 36%, Muslim 25%, Christian 18%, other 21% (1997)	Roman Catholic 95%, other 5%
Sex ratio	NA	at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.042 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.868 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2007 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: service provided by the Australian network domestic: GSM mobile telephone service replaced older analog system in February 2005 international: country code - 61-8; satellite earth stations - 1 INTELSAT earth station provides telephone and telex service (2005)	general assessment: relatively efficient system based on island-wide microwave radio relay network domestic: fixed telephone line density is about 10 per 100 persons; multiple providers of mobile cellular service with a subscribership of roughly 50 per 100 persons international: country code - 1-809; landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber-optic telecommunications submarine cable that provides links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and US; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	897,000 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	4.606 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations	0 (TV broadcasts received via satellite from mainland Australia) (2006)	25 (2003)
Terrain	steep cliffs along coast rise abruptly to central plateau	rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed
Total fertility rate	NA	2.81 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	15.5% (2007 est.)

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