Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006) | Dominican Republic (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 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: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.) |
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 | vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts | sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs |
Airports | 1 (2006) | 31 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
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: 14 sq km
land: 14 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the two main islands of West Island and Home Island |
total: 48,730 sq km
land: 48,380 sq km water: 350 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire |
Background | There are 27 coral islands in the group. Captain William KEELING discovered the islands in 1609, but they remained uninhabited until the 19th century. Annexed by the UK in 1857, they were transferred to the Australian Government in 1955. The population on the two inhabited islands generally is split between the ethnic Europeans on West Island and the ethnic Malays on Home Island. | 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 | NA | 23.28 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
revenues: $2.625 billion
expenditures: $3.382 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.1 billion (2004 est.) |
Capital | name: West Island
geographic coordinates: 12 10 S, 96 55 E time difference: UTC+6.5 (11.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Santo Domingo |
Climate | tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year | tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall |
Coastline | 26 km | 1,288 km |
Constitution | Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 (23 November 1955) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992 | 28 November 1966; amended 25 July 2002 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
conventional long form: Dominican Republic
conventional short form: The Dominican local long form: Republica Dominicana local short form: La Dominicana |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 7.35 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $7.745 billion (2004 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 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 | none (territory of Australia) | 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 | none | increasing numbers of illegal migrants from the Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage each year to Puerto Rico to find work |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $239.6 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Grown throughout the islands, coconuts are the sole cash crop. Small local gardens and fishing contribute to the food supply, but additional food and most other necessities must be imported from Australia. There is a small tourist industry. | 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: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m
highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m |
Environment - current issues | fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs | 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 | Europeans, Cocos Malays | white 16%, black 11%, mixed 73% |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001) | 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by the Australian governor general
head of government: Administrator (nonresident) Neil LUCAS (since 30 January 2006) cabinet: NA 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); 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 | $NA | NA |
Exports - commodities | copra | ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods |
Exports - partners | Australia (2004) | US 80%, South Korea 2.1%, Canada 1.9% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of Australia is used | 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 | 12 30 S, 96 50 E | 19 00 N, 70 40 W |
Geography - note | islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation | 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 | $NA | 129,900 bbl/day (2003) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs | foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals |
Imports - partners | Australia (2004) | US 48.1%, Venezuela 13.5%, Colombia 4.8%, Mexico 4.8% (2004) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 27 February 1844 (from Haiti) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 2% (2001 est.) |
Industries | copra products and tourism | tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
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 | none | 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 | NA | 2,590 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court | 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 | NA | 2.3 million - 2.6 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | note: the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others | agriculture 17%, industry 24.3%, services and government 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% (2005) |
arable land: 22.65%
permanent crops: 10.33% other: 67.02% (2001) |
Languages | Malay (Cocos dialect), English | Spanish |
Legal system | based upon the laws of Australia and local laws | based on French civil codes; undergoing modification in 2004 towards an accusatory system |
Legislative branch | unicameral Cocos (Keeling) Islands Shire Council (7 seats)
elections: held every two years with half the members standing for election; last held in May 2005 (next to be held in May 2007) |
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: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 71.44 years
male: 69.94 years female: 73.03 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84.7% male: 84.6% female: 84.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka | 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
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
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 - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory has a five-person police force | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $180 million (1998) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.1% (1998) |
National holiday | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) | Independence Day, 27 February (1844) |
Nationality | noun: Cocos Islander(s)
adjective: Cocos Islander |
noun: Dominican(s)
adjective: Dominican |
Natural hazards | cyclone season is October to April | lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | fish | nickel, bauxite, gold, silver |
Net migration rate | NA | -3.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | none | 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 | none | Collective of Popular Organizations or COP; Citizen Participation Group (Participacion Ciudadania); Foundation for Institution-Building (FINJUS) |
Population | 574 (July 2006 est.) | 8,950,034 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 25% |
Population growth rate | 0% (2006 est.) | 1.29% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Boca Chica, Puerto Plata, Rio Haina, Santo Domingo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2004) | 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 | Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.) | 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 | NA | 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: connected within Australia's telecommunication system
domestic: NA international: country code - 61; telephone, telex, and facsimile communications with Australia and elsewhere via satellite; 1 INTELSAT satellite earth station |
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 | 287 (1992) | 901,800 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | note - analog cellular service available | 2,120,400 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 25 (2003) |
Terrain | flat, low-lying coral atolls | rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed |
Total fertility rate | NA | 2.86 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 60% (2000 est.) | 17% (2004 est.) |