Compare Dominican Republic (2005) - British Virgin Islands (2004)

Compare Dominican Republic (2005) z British Virgin Islands (2004)

	Dominican Republic (2005)	British Virgin Islands (2004)

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	none (overseas territory of the UK)
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.)	0-14 years: 21.5% (male 2,402; female 2,361) 15-64 years: 73.5% (male 8,395; female 7,911) 65 years and over: 5% (male 594; female 524) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs	fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish
Airports	31 (2004 est.)	3 (2003 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.)	total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 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.)	total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 48,730 sq km land: 48,380 sq km water: 350 sq km	total: 153 sq km land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the island of Anegada
Area - comparative	slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire	about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC
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.	First settled by the Dutch in 1648, the islands were annexed in 1672 by the English. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency.
Birth rate	23.28 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	14.96 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $2.625 billion expenditures: $3.382 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.1 billion (2004 est.)	revenues: $121.5 million expenditures: $115.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1997)
Capital	Santo Domingo	Road Town
Climate	tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall	subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds
Coastline	1,288 km	80 km
Constitution	28 November 1966; amended 25 July 2002	1 June 1977
Country name	conventional long form: Dominican Republic conventional short form: The Dominican local long form: Republica Dominicana local short form: La Dominicana	conventional long form: none conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI
Currency	-	US dollar (USD)
Death rate	7.35 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	$7.745 billion (2004 est.)	$36.1 million (1997)
Dependency status	-	overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing
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	none (overseas territory of the UK)
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)	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Disputes - international	increasing numbers of illegal migrants from the Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage each year to Puerto Rico to find work	none
Economic aid - recipient	$239.6 million (1995)	NA
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.	The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1998. Tourism suffered in 2002 because of the lackluster US economy. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, is expected to make the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the dollar as its currency since 1959.
Electricity - consumption	8.912 billion kWh (2002)	35.43 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2002)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2002)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	9.583 billion kWh (2002)	38.1 million kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Sage 521 m
Environment - current issues	water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation	limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments)
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%	black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed
Exchange rates	Dominican pesos per US dollar - 42.12 (2004), 30.831 (2003), 18.61 (2002), 16.952 (2001), 16.415 (2000)	the US dollar is used
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%	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Tom MACAN (since 14 October 2002) head of government: Chief Minister Orlando D. SMITH (since 17 June 2003) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor
Exports	NA	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods	rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand
Exports - partners	US 80%, South Korea 2.1%, Canada 1.9% (2004)	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 April - 31 March
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	blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful)
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $320 million (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 10.7% industry: 31.5% services: 57.8% (2003)	agriculture: 1.8% industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2004 est.)	purchasing power parity - $16,000 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	1.7% (2004 est.)	1% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	19 00 N, 70 40 W	18 30 N, 64 30 W
Geography - note	shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti	strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico
Highways	total: 12,600 km paved: 6,224 km unpaved: 6,376 km (1999)	total: 177 km paved: 177 km unpaved: 0 km (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2.1% highest 10%: 37.9% (1998)	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
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	transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering
Imports	129,900 bbl/day (2003)	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals	building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery
Imports - partners	US 48.1%, Venezuela 13.5%, Colombia 4.8%, Mexico 4.8% (2004)	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US
Independence	27 February 1844 (from Haiti)	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Industrial production growth rate	2% (2001 est.)	NA
Industries	tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco	tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center
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.)	total: 18.05 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.02 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	55% (2004 est.)	2.5% (2002)
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	Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate), UPU
Irrigated land	2,590 sq km (1998 est.)	NA sq km
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)	Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction
Labor force	2.3 million - 2.6 million (2000 est.)	4,911 (1980)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 17%, industry 24.3%, services and government 58.7% (1998 est.)	agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA
Land boundaries	total: 360 km border countries: Haiti 360 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 22.65% permanent crops: 10.33% other: 67.02% (2001)	arable land: 20% permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2001)
Languages	Spanish	English (official)
Legal system	based on French civil codes; undergoing modification in 2004 towards an accusatory system	English law
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	unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, one member from each of 9 electoral districts, four at-large members; members serve four-year terms) elections: last held 16 May 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NDP 8, VIP 5
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 71.44 years male: 69.94 years female: 73.03 years (2005 est.)	total population: 76.27 years male: 75.24 years female: 77.36 years (2004 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 84.7% male: 84.6% female: 84.8% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA female: NA
Location	Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti	Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	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	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 11,230 GRT/17,011 DWT by type: cargo 3 (2005)	total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 83,825 GRT/155,909 DWT by type: cargo 1, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: Norway 1 registered in other countries: 32 (2004 est.)
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of the UK
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)	Territory Day, 1 July
Nationality	noun: Dominican(s) adjective: Dominican	noun: British Virgin Islander(s) adjective: British Virgin Islander
Natural hazards	lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts	hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)
Natural resources	nickel, bauxite, gold, silver	NEGL
Net migration rate	-3.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	10.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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]	Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL]
Political pressure groups and leaders	Collective of Popular Organizations or COP; Citizen Participation Group (Participacion Ciudadania); Foundation for Institution-Building (FINJUS)	NA
Population	8,950,034 (July 2005 est.)	22,187 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	25%	NA
Population growth rate	1.29% (2005 est.)	2.06% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	Boca Chica, Puerto Plata, Rio Haina, Santo Domingo	Road Town
Radio broadcast stations	AM 120, FM 56, shortwave 4 (1998)	AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (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%	Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, none 2%, other 2% (1991)
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.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.13 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2004 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	18 years of age; universal
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)	general assessment: worldwide telephone service domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; submarine cable to Bermuda
Telephones - main lines in use	901,800 (2003)	11,700 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	2,120,400 (2003)	8,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	25 (2003)	1 (plus one cable company) (1997)
Terrain	rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed	coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly
Total fertility rate	2.86 children born/woman (2005 est.)	1.72 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	17% (2004 est.)	3% (1995)

Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.