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Compare Dominican Republic (2006) - Honduras (2007)

Compare Dominican Republic (2006) z Honduras (2007)

 Dominican Republic (2006)Honduras (2007)
 Dominican RepublicHonduras
Administrative divisions 31 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 district* (distrito); Azua, Baoruco, 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 18 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro
Age structure 0-14 years: 32.6% (male 1,531,145/female 1,464,076)


15-64 years: 61.9% (male 2,902,098/female 2,782,608)


65 years and over: 5.5% (male 235,016/female 269,041) (2006 est.)
0-14 years: 39.3% (male 1,500,949/female 1,439,084)


15-64 years: 57.2% (male 2,142,953/female 2,140,432)


65 years and over: 3.5% (male 117,774/female 142,571) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp
Airports 33 (2006) 112 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total: 14


over 3,047 m: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 3


1,524 to 2,437 m: 4


914 to 1,523 m: 3


under 914 m: 1 (2006)
total: 12


2,438 to 3,047 m: 3


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 3 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 19


1,524 to 2,437 m: 4


914 to 1,523 m: 5


under 914 m: 10 (2006)
total: 100


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 15


under 914 m: 83 (2007)
Area total: 48,730 sq km


land: 48,380 sq km


water: 350 sq km
total: 112,090 sq km


land: 111,890 sq km


water: 200 sq km
Area - comparative slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire slightly larger than Tennessee
Background 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 1930-1961. 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. Once part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and a half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting leftist guerrillas. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused approximately $2 billion in damage.
Birth rate 23.22 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) 27.59 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $5.322 billion


expenditures: $5.485 billion; including capital expenditures of $1.1 billion (2005)
revenues: $1.974 billion


expenditures: $2.095 billion; including capital expenditures of $106 million (2006 est.)
Capital name: Santo Domingo


geographic coordinates: 18 28 N, 69 54 W


time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
name: Tegucigalpa


geographic coordinates: 14 06 N, 87 13 W


time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)


daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November; note - these dates become effective in 2007
Climate tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains
Coastline 1,288 km 820 km
Constitution 28 November 1966; amended 25 July 2002 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended many times
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: Republic of Honduras


conventional short form: Honduras


local long form: Republica de Honduras


local short form: Honduras
Death rate 5.73 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) 5.32 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $7.687 billion (2005 est.) $3.901 billion (2006 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
chief of mission: Ambassador Charles A. FORD


embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453, Tegucigalpa


mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa


telephone: [504] 236-9320, 238-5114


FAX: [504] 236-9037
Diplomatic representation in the US 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)
chief of mission: Ambassador Roberto FLORES BERMUDEZ


chancery: Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 966-7702


FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751


consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco


honorary consulate(s): Boston, Detroit, Jacksonville
Disputes - international increasing numbers of illegal migrants from the Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage each year to Puerto Rico to find work International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border in 1992 with final settlement by the parties in 2006 after an Organization of American States (OAS) survey and a further ICJ ruling in 2003; the 1992 ICJ ruling advised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca with consideration of Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador continues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not mentioned in the ICJ ruling, off Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca; Honduras claims the Belizean-administered Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize in its constitution, but agreed to a joint ecological park around the cays should Guatemala consent to a maritime corridor in the Caribbean under the OAS-sponsored 2002 Belize-Guatemala Differendum; memorials and countermemorials were filed by the parties in Nicaragua's 1999 and 2001 proceedings against Honduras and Colombia at the ICJ over the maritime boundary and territorial claims in the western Caribbean Sea - final public hearings are scheduled for 2007
Economic aid - recipient $571.6 million (2004) $680.8 million (2005)
Economy - overview The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean representative democracy that enjoyed strong GDP growth until 2003. 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. Growth turned negative in 2003 with reduced tourism, a major bank fraud, and limited growth in the US economy (the source of about 80% of export revenues), but recovered in 2004 and 2005. With the help of strict fiscal targets agreed in the 2004 renegotiation of an IMF standby loan, President FERNANDEZ has stabilized the country's financial situation. Although the economy continues to grow at a respectable rate, unemployment 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 Dominican Republic's development prospects improved with the ratification of the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) in September 2005. Honduras, the second poorest country in Central America and one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, with an extraordinarily unequal distribution of income and massive unemployment, is banking on expanded trade under the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. The country has met most of its macroeconomic targets, and began a three-year IMF Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) program in February 2004. The economy relies heavily on a narrow range of exports, notably bananas and coffee, making it vulnerable to natural disasters and shifts in commodity prices, but in recent years has experienced a rapid rise in exports of light manufacturers. Growth remains dependent on the economy of the US, its largest trading partner, and on reduction of the high crime rate, as a means of attracting and maintaining investment.
Electricity - consumption 11.71 billion kWh (2003) 4.036 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2003) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2003) 57 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - production 12.6 billion kWh (2003) 5.339 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m


highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m


highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m
Environment - current issues water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation urban population expanding; deforestation results from logging and the clearing of land for agricultural purposes; further land degradation and soil erosion hastened by uncontrolled development and improper land use practices such as farming of marginal lands; mining activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the country's largest source of fresh water), as well as several rivers and streams, with heavy metals
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
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups mixed 73%, white 16%, black 11% mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1%
Exchange rates Dominican pesos per US dollar - 30.409 (2005), 42.12 (2004), 30.831 (2003), 18.61 (2002), 16.952 (2001) lempiras per US dollar - 18.895 (2006), 18.92 (2005), 18.206 (2004), 17.345 (2003), 16.433 (2002)
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)


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 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 (PLD) 57.1%, Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez (PRD) 33.7%, Eduardo ESTRELLA (PRSC) 8.7%
chief of state: President Manuel ZELAYA Rosales (since 27 January 2006); Vice President Elvin Ernesto SANTOS Ordonez (since 27 January 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


head of government: President Manuel ZELAYA Rosales (since 27 January 2006); Vice President Elvin Ernesto SANTOS Ordonez (since 27 January 2006)


cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president


elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 27 November 2005 (next to be held in November 2009)


election results: Manuel ZELAYA Rosales elected president - 49.8%, Porfirio "Pepe" LOBO Sosa 46.1%, other 4.1%
Exports NA bbl/day NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods coffee, shrimp, bananas, gold, palm oil, fruit, lobster, lumber
Exports - partners US 79%, Netherlands 2.4%, Mexico 1.9% (2005) US 70.5%, Guatemala 3.5%, El Salvador 3.4% (2006)
Fiscal year calendar 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 three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with five blue, five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band; the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of Central America - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a triangle encircled by the word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 11.2%


industry: 30.6%


services: 58.2% (2003)
agriculture: 13.8%


industry: 31.1%


services: 55.1% (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 9.3% (2005 est.) 6% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates 19 00 N, 70 40 W 15 00 N, 86 30 W
Geography - note shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 2.1%


highest 10%: 37.9% (1998)
lowest 10%: 1.2%


highest 10%: 42.2% (2003)
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 drugs and narcotics; illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally for local consumption; corruption is a major problem; some money-laundering activity
Imports 129,900 bbl/day (2003) NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs
Imports - partners US 50.2%, Colombia 6.2%, Mexico 5.8% (2005) US 53%, Guatemala 7%, El Salvador 4.5%, Costa Rica 4.1%, Mexico 4.1% (2006)
Independence 27 February 1844 (from Haiti) 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
Industrial production growth rate 2% (2001 est.) 7.7% (2003 est.)
Industries tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products
Infant mortality rate total: 28.25 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 30.58 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 25.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
total: 25.21 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 28.3 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 21.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 4.2% (2005 est.) 5.6% (2006 est.)
International organization participation ACP, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (suspended), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), 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 BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land 2,750 sq km (2003) 800 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch 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) Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress)
Labor force 2.3 million-2.6 million (2000 est.) 2.574 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 17%


industry: 24.3%


services: 58.7% (1998 est.)
agriculture: 34%


industry: 23%


services: 43% (2003 est.)
Land boundaries total: 360 km


border countries: Haiti 360 km
total: 1,520 km


border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km
Land use arable land: 22.49%


permanent crops: 10.26%


other: 67.25% (2005)
arable land: 9.53%


permanent crops: 3.21%


other: 87.26% (2005)
Languages Spanish Spanish, Amerindian dialects
Legal system based on French civil codes; Criminal Procedures Code modified in 2004 to include important elements of an accusatory system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing influence of English common law; recent judicial reforms include abandoning Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system; accepts ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
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 House of Representatives 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 in May 2006); House of Representatives - last held 16 May 2002 (next to be held in May 2006)


election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRD 29, PLD 2, PRSC 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRD 73, PLD 41, PRSC 36
unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members are elected proportionally to the number of votes their party's presidential candidate receives to serve four-year terms)


elections: last held 27 November 2005 (next to be held in November 2009)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PL 62, PN 55, PUD 5, PDC 4, PINU 2
Life expectancy at birth total population: 71.73 years


male: 70.21 years


female: 73.33 years (2006 est.)
total population: 69.35 years


male: 67.78 years


female: 70.99 years (2007 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: 80%


male: 79.8%


female: 80.2% (2001 census)
Location Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean), between El Salvador and Nicaragua
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: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 nm
Merchant marine total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 1,587 GRT/1,165 DWT


by type: cargo 1 (2006)
total: 126 ships (1000 GRT or over) 352,534 GRT/481,217 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 9, cargo 58, chemical tanker 5, container 1, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 4, passenger/cargo 7, petroleum tanker 27, refrigerated cargo 8, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 1


foreign-owned: 40 (Bangladesh 1, Canada 1, China 3, Egypt 4, Greece 1, Hong Kong 1, Israel 1, Japan 4, South Korea 6, Lebanon 2, Mexico 1, Singapore 10, Taiwan 2, Tanzania 1, US 1, Vietnam 1) (2007)
Military branches Army, Navy, Air Force Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Honduran Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Hondurena, FAH) (2007)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $0 (2002 est.) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 0% (2002 est.) 0.6% (2006 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 27 February (1844) Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Nationality noun: Dominican(s)


adjective: Dominican
noun: Honduran(s)


adjective: Honduran
Natural hazards lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast
Natural resources nickel, bauxite, gold, silver timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower
Net migration rate -2.79 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) -1.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Political parties and leaders 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 ATUN] Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Felicito AVILA]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Cesar HAM]; Liberal Party or PL [Patricia RODAS]; National Innovation and Unity Party or PINU [Jorge AQUILAR Paredes]; National Party of Honduras or PN [Porfirio LOBO]
Political pressure groups and leaders Citizen Participation Group (Participacion Ciudadania); Collective of Popular Organizations or COP; Foundation for Institution-Building and Justice (FINJUS) Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras or CODEH; Confederation of Honduran Workers or CTH; Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations or CCOP; General Workers Confederation or CGT; Honduran Council of Private Enterprise or COHEP; National Association of Honduran Campesinos or ANACH; National Union of Campesinos or UNC; Popular Bloc or BP; United Confederation of Honduran Workers or CUTH
Population 9,183,984 (July 2006 est.) 7,483,763


note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line 25% 50.7% (2004)
Population growth rate 1.47% (2006 est.) 2.091% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations AM 120, FM 56, shortwave 4 (1998) AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (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 (2005)
total: 699 km


narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2006)
Religions Roman Catholic 95% Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3%
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 (2006 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.043 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.001 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.826 male(s)/female


total population: 1.011 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
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
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: inadequate system


domestic: beginning in 2003, private sub-operators allowed to provide fixed-lines in order to expand telephone coverage; fixed-line teledensity has increased to about 10 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone service has been increasing rapidly and subscribership in 2006 exceeded 30 per 100 persons


international: country code - 504; landing point for both the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) and the MAYA-1 fiber optic submarine cable system that together provide connectivity to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System
Telephones - main lines in use 894,500 (2005) 708,400 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular 3.623 million (2005) 2.241 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations 25 (2003) 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997)
Terrain rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains
Total fertility rate 2.83 children born/woman (2006 est.) 3.48 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate 17% (2005 est.) 27.9% (2006 est.)
Waterways - 465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2007)
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