Compare Dominican Republic (2008) - French Guiana (2005)

Compare Dominican Republic (2008) z French Guiana (2005)

	Dominican Republic (2008)	French Guiana (2005)

Administrative divisions	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	none (overseas department of France)
Age structure	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.)	0-14 years: 29.3% (male 29,262/female 27,947) 15-64 years: 64.7% (male 67,895/female 58,534) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 6,038/female 5,830) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs	corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry
Airports	34 (2007)	11 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	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)	total: 4 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 19 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 11 (2007)	total: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 48,730 sq km land: 48,380 sq km water: 350 sq km	total: 91,000 sq km land: 89,150 sq km water: 1,850 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire	slightly smaller than Indiana
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 1930-61. 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.	First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements until 1951. The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites from Kourou.
Birth rate	22.91 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	20.7 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $7.014 billion expenditures: $6.985 billion (2007 est.)	revenues: $225 million expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996)
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)	Cayenne
Climate	tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall	tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation
Coastline	1,288 km	378 km
Constitution	28 November 1966; amended 25 July 2002	4 October 1958 (French Constitution)
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: Department of Guiana conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane
Death rate	5.32 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	4.85 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$8.842 billion (31 December 2007 est.)	$1.2 billion (1988)
Dependency status	-	overseas department of France
Diplomatic representation from the US	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	none (overseas department of France)
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)	none (overseas department of France)
Disputes - international	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	Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) in French Guiana
Economic aid - recipient	$76.99 million (2005)	NA
Economy - overview	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.	The economy is tied closely to the much larger French economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou (which accounts for 25% of GDP), fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of the country. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely concentrated; rice and manioc are the major crops. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers.
Electricity - consumption	8.791 billion kWh (2005)	427.9 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	12.22 billion kWh (2005)	460.1 million kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m
Environment - current issues	water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation	NA
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	mixed 73%, white 16%, black 11%	black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10%
Exchange rates	Dominican pesos per US dollar - 33.113 (2007), 33.406 (2006), 30.409 (2005), 42.12 (2004), 30.831 (2003)	Euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (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) 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%	chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Ange MANCINI (since 31 July 2002) head of government: President of the General Council Joseph HO-TEN-YOU (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; presidents of the General and Regional Councils are appointed by the members of those councils
Exports	0 bbl/day (2004)	NA
Exports - commodities	ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods	shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing
Exports - partners	US 72.7%, UK 3.2%, Belgium 2.4% (2006)	France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (2001)
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	the flag of France is used
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 11.5% industry: 28.3% services: 60.2% (2007 est.)	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $8,300 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	7.2% (2007 est.)	NA%
Geographic coordinates	19 00 N, 70 40 W	4 00 N, 53 00 W
Geography - note	shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti	mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent
Highways	-	total: 817 km (1998)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 1.4% highest 10%: 41.1% (2004)	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; significant amphetamine consumption	small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe
Imports	116,700 bbl/day (2004)	NA
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals	food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals
Imports - partners	US 46.9%, Venezuela 8.4%, Colombia 6.3%, Mexico 5.7% (2006)	France 63%, US, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy (2002 est.)
Independence	27 February 1844 (from Haiti)	none (overseas department of France)
Industrial production growth rate	5.5% (2007 est.)	NA%
Industries	tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco	construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining
Infant mortality rate	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.)	total: 12.07 deaths/1,000 live births male: 12.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	5.8% (2007 est.)	1.5% (2002 est.)
International organization participation	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	UPU, WCL, WFTU
Irrigated land	2,750 sq km (2003)	20 sq km (1998 est.)
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)	Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana)
Labor force	3.986 million (2007 est.)	58,800 (1997)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 17% industry: 24.3% services: 58.7% (1998 est.)	agriculture 18.2%, industry 21.2%, services, government, and commerce 60.6% (1980)
Land boundaries	total: 360 km border countries: Haiti 360 km	total: 1,183 km border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km
Land use	arable land: 22.49% permanent crops: 10.26% other: 67.25% (2005)	arable land: 0.14% permanent crops: 0.05% other: 99.81% (90% forest, 10% other) (2001)
Languages	Spanish	French
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	French legal 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 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	unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PSG 5, various left-wing parties 5, independents 7, other 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - PS 28.28%, various left parties 22.56%, RPR 15.91%, independents 8.6%, Walwari Committee 6%; seats by party - PS 11, various left parties 9, RPR 6, independents 3, Walwari Committee 2 note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, Walwari Committee 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 73.07 years male: 71.34 years female: 74.87 years (2007 est.)	total population: 77.09 years male: 73.77 years female: 80.58 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 87% male: 86.8% female: 87.2% (2002 census)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83% male: 84% female: 82% (1982 est.)
Location	Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti	Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	South America
Maritime claims	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	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
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)	registered in other countries: 3
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of France
Military branches	Army, Navy, Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Dominicana, FAD) (2007)	no regular military forces; Gendarmerie
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	0.8% (2006)	NA
National holiday	Independence Day, 27 February (1844)	Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)
Nationality	noun: Dominican(s) adjective: Dominican	noun: French Guianese (singular and plural) adjective: French Guianese
Natural hazards	lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts	high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding
Natural resources	nickel, bauxite, gold, silver	bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), petroleum, kaolin, fish, niobium, tantalum, clay
Net migration rate	-2.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	5.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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 ANTUN]	Guyanese Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Guyanese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN]; Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Popular National Guyanese Party or PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Socialist Party or PS [Paul DEBRIETTE]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP (includes RPR) [Muriel ICARE]; Walwari Committee (aligned with the PRG in France) [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON]
Political pressure groups and leaders	Citizen Participation Group (Participacion Ciudadania); Collective of Popular Organizations or COP; Foundation for Institution-Building and Justice (FINJUS)	NA
Population	9,365,818 (July 2007 est.)	195,506 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	42.2% (2004)	NA%
Population growth rate	1.5% (2007 est.)	2.1% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Degrad des Cannes
Radio broadcast stations	AM 120, FM 56, shortwave 4 (1998)	AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (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	Roman Catholic 95%, other 5%	Roman Catholic
Sex ratio	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.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.04 male(s)/female total population: 1.12 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	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	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)	general assessment: NA domestic: fair open-wire and microwave radio relay system international: country code - 594; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	897,000 (2006)	51,000 (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular	4.606 million (2006)	138,200 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	25 (2003)	3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997)
Terrain	rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed	low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains
Total fertility rate	2.81 children born/woman (2007 est.)	3.01 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	15.5% (2007 est.)	22% (2001)
Waterways	-	3,760 km note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers, 3,300 km by native craft (2004)

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.