Grenada (2001) | Dominican Republic (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick | 29 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 Juan, San Pedro de Macoris, Santiago, Santiago Rodriguez, Valverde |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
37.05% (male 16,739; female 16,318) 15-64 years: 59.03% (male 27,850; female 24,820) 65 years and over: 3.92% (male 1,592; female 1,908) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 33.6% (male 1,497,777; female 1,431,104)
15-64 years: 61.2% (male 2,719,505; female 2,614,495) 65 years and over: 5.2% (male 212,045; female 240,676) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn, vegetables | sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 30 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
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 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 17
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 10 (2002) |
Area | total:
340 sq km land: 340 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 48,730 sq km
land: 48,380 sq km water: 350 sq km |
Area - comparative | twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire |
Background | One of the smallest independent countries in the western hemisphere, Grenada was seized by a Marxist military council on 19 October 1983. Six days later the island was invaded by US forces and those of six other Caribbean nations, which quickly captured the ringleaders and their hundreds of Cuban advisers. Free elections were reinstituted the following year. | 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. 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 | 23.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 23.94 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$85.8 million expenditures: $102.1 million, including capital expenditures of $28 million (1997) |
revenues: $2.9 billion
expenditures: $3.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.1 billion (2001 est.) |
Capital | Saint George's | Santo Domingo |
Climate | tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds | tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall |
Coastline | 121 km | 1,288 km |
Constitution | 19 December 1973 | 28 November 1966 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Grenada |
conventional long form: Dominican Republic
conventional short form: none local long form: Republica Dominicana local short form: none |
Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | Dominican peso (DOP) |
Death rate | 7.82 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.88 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $182.8 million (1998) | $4.8 billion (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
the ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Grenada embassy: Point Salines, Saint George's mailing address: P. O. Box 54, Saint George's, Grenada, West Indies telephone: [1] (473) 444-1173 through 1176 FAX: [1] (473) 444-4820 |
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 | chief of mission:
Ambassador Denis G. ANTOINE chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2561 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Hugo GUILIANI Cury
chancery: 1715 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6280 FAX: [1] (202) 265-8057 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Jacksonville, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulate(s): Mobile and Ponce (Puerto Rico) |
Disputes - international | none | despite efforts to control illegal migration, destitute Haitians continue to cross into the Dominican Republic |
Economic aid - recipient | $8.3 million (1995) | $239.6 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | In this island economy progress in fiscal reforms and prudent macroeconomic management have kept annual growth steady since 1998. The increase in economic activity has been led by construction and trade. Tourist facilities are being expanded; tourism is the leading foreign exchange earner. Major short-term concerns are the rising fiscal deficit and the deterioration in the external account balance. Grenada shares a common central bank and a common currency with seven other members of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). | The Dominican Republic's economy experienced dramatic growth over the last decade, even though the economy was hit hard by Hurricane Georges in 1998. 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% enjoy nearly 40% of national income. Growth probably will slow in 2003 with reduced tourism and expected low growth in the US economy, the source of 87% of export revenues. |
Electricity - consumption | 111.6 million kWh (1999) | 8.543 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 120 million kWh (1999) | 9.186 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 92%
hydro: 7.6% nuclear: 0% other: 0.4% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 m |
lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m
highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation; Hurricane Georges damage |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | black 82% some South Asians (East Indians) and Europeans, trace Arawak/Carib Amerindian | white 16%, black 11%, mixed 73% |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | Dominican pesos per US dollar - 18.61 (2002), 16.95 (2001), 16.42 (2000), 16.03 (1999), 15.27 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Daniel WILLIAMS (since 9 August 1996) head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 22 June 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; prime minister appointed by the governor general from among the members of the House of Assembly |
chief of state: President Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez (since 16 August 2000); Vice President Milagros ORTIZ-BOSCH (since 16 August 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez (since 16 August 2000); Vice President Milagros ORTIZ-BOSCH (since 16 August 2000); 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 2000 (next to be held NA May 2004) election results: Raphael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez elected president; percent of vote - Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez (PRD) 49.87%, Danilo MEDINA (PLD) 24.95%, Joaquin BALAGUER (PRSC) 24.6% |
Exports | $62.3 million (2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace | ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods |
Exports - partners | Caricom 32.3%, UK 20%, US 13%, Netherlands 8.8% (1991) | US 85%, Canada 1.6%, UK 1.6% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | a rectangle divided diagonally into yellow triangles (top and bottom) and green triangles (hoist side and outer side), with a red border around the flag; there are seven yellow, five-pointed stars with three centered in the top red border, three centered in the bottom red border, and one on a red disk superimposed at the center of the flag; there is also a symbolic nutmeg pod on the hoist-side triangle (Grenada is the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg, after Indonesia); the seven stars represent the seven administrative divisions | 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 | purchasing power parity - $394 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $53.78 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
9.7% industry: 15% services: 75.3% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 11%
industry: 34% services: 55% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,400 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7% (2000 est.) | 4.1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 07 N, 61 40 W | 19 00 N, 70 40 W |
Geography - note | the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada | shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti (eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic, western one-third is Haiti) |
Highways | total:
1,040 km paved: 638 km unpaved: 402 km (1996) |
total: 12,600 km
paved: 6,224 km unpaved: 6,376 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 37.9% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | small-scale cannabis cultivation; lesser transshipment point for marijuana and cocaine to US | 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 | $217.5 million (2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel (1989) | foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals |
Imports - partners | US 31.2%, Caricom 23.6%, UK 13.8%, Japan 7.1% (1991) | US 51.5%, Venezuela 9.6%, Mexico 5.1%, Spain 4% (2002) |
Independence | 7 February 1974 (from UK) | 27 February 1844 (from Haiti) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1997 est.) | 2% (2001 est.) |
Industries | food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction | tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco |
Infant mortality rate | 14.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 34.19 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 36.7 deaths/1,000 live births female: 31.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 5.3% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO | ACP, Caricom (observer), ECLAC, 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), NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 14 (2000) | 24 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 2,590 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | West Indies Associate States Supreme Court (an associate judge resides in Grenada) | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are elected by a Council made up of members of the legislative and executive branches with the president presiding) |
Labor force | 42,300 (1996) | 2.3 million - 2.6 million |
Labor force - by occupation | services 62%, agriculture 24%, industry 14% (1999 est.) | services and government 58.7%, industry 24.3%, agriculture 17% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 360 km
border countries: Haiti 360 km |
Land use | arable land:
15% permanent crops: 18% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 9% other: 55% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 21.08%
permanent crops: 9.92% other: 69% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), French patois | Spanish |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on French civil codes |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 13-member body, 10 appointed by the government and three by the leader of the opposition) and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 18 January 1999 (next to be held by NA October 2004) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NNP 14, GULP 1 |
bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (30 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (149 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 16 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 16 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 24, PLD 3, PRSC 3; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 83, PLD 49, PRSC 17 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
64.52 years male: 62.74 years female: 66.31 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 67.96 years
male: 66.41 years female: 69.58 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84.7% male: 84.6% female: 84.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 6 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,587 GRT/1,165 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Royal Grenada Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $180 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.1% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 2,319,419 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,453,705 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 89,073 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 7 February (1974) | Independence Day, 27 February (1844) |
Nationality | noun:
Grenadian(s) adjective: Grenadian |
noun: Dominican(s)
adjective: Dominican |
Natural hazards | lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November | lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors | nickel, bauxite, gold, silver |
Net migration rate | -15.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -3.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 96 km; petroleum products 8 km |
Political parties and leaders | Grenada United Labor Party or GULP [Herbert PREUDHOMME]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [leader vacant]; New National Party or NNP [George McGUIRE] | Dominican Liberation Party or PLD [Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna]; Dominican Revolutionary Party or PRD [Hatuey DE CAMPS]; Social Christian Reformist Party or PRSC [Eduardo ESTRELLA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Collective of Popular Organizations or COP |
Population | 89,227 (July 2001 est.) | 8,715,602 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 25% |
Population growth rate | -0.06% (2001 est.) | 1.36% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Grenville, Saint George's | Barahona, La Romana, Manzanillo, Puerto Plata, San Pedro de Macoris, Santo Domingo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 120, FM 56, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | 57,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 1,503 km
standard gauge: 375 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 142 km 0.762-m gauge note:: 986 km also operated by sugar companies in 1.076-m, 0.889-m, and 0.762-m gauges (2002) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2% | Roman Catholic 95% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age, universal and compulsory; married persons regardless of age
note: members of the armed forces and police cannot vote |
Telephone system | general assessment:
automatic, islandwide telephone system domestic: interisland VHF and UHF radiotelephone links international: new SHF radiotelephone links to Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent; VHF and UHF radio links to Trinidad |
general assessment: NA
domestic: relatively efficient system based on islandwide microwave radio relay network international: 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 27,000 (1997) | 709,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 976 (1997) | 130,149 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 25 (1997) |
Terrain | volcanic in origin with central mountains | rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed |
Total fertility rate | 2.54 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.92 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (1997) | 14.5% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |