Compare Western Sahara (2005) - Dominican Republic (2005)

Compare Western Sahara (2005) z Dominican Republic (2005)

	Western Sahara (2005)	Dominican Republic (2005)

Administrative divisions	none (under de facto control of Morocco)	31 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 district* (distrito); Azua, Baoruco, Barahona, Dajabon, Distrito Nacional*, Duarte, Elias Pina, El Seibo, Espaillat, Hato Mayor, Independencia, La Altagracia, La Romana, La Vega, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Monsenor Nouel, Monte Cristi, Monte Plata, Pedernales, Peravia, Puerto Plata, Salcedo, Samana, Sanchez Ramirez, San Cristobal, San Jose de Ocoa, San Juan, San Pedro de Macoris, Santiago, Santiago Rodriguez, Santo Domingo, Valverde
Age structure	0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA	0-14 years: 32.9% (male 1,505,964/female 1,438,809) 15-64 years: 61.7% (male 2,815,544/female 2,703,012) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 226,372/female 260,333) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads)	sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs
Airports	11 (2004 est.)	31 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 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 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.)	total: 18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 266,000 sq km land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 48,730 sq km land: 48,380 sq km water: 350 sq km
Area - comparative	about the size of Colorado	slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire
Background	Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed.	Explored and claimed by Columbus on his first voyage in 1492, the island of Hispaniola became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which in 1804 became Haiti. The remainder of the island, by then known as Santo Domingo, sought to gain its own independence in 1821, but was conquered and ruled by the Haitians for 22 years; it finally attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844. In 1861, the Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire, but two years later they launched a war that restored independence in 1865. A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative, rule for much of its subsequent history was brought to an end in 1966 when Joaquin BALAGUER became president. He maintained a tight grip on power for most of the next 30 years when international reaction to flawed elections forced him to curtail his term in 1996. Since then, regular competitive elections have been held in which opposition candidates have won the presidency. The Dominican economy has had one of the fastest growth rates in the hemisphere over the past decade.
Birth rate	NA births/1,000 population	23.28 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: NA expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA	revenues: $2.625 billion expenditures: $3.382 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.1 billion (2004 est.)
Capital	none	Santo Domingo
Climate	hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew	tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall
Coastline	1,110 km	1,288 km
Constitution	-	28 November 1966; amended 25 July 2002
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara	conventional long form: Dominican Republic conventional short form: The Dominican local long form: Republica Dominicana local short form: La Dominicana
Death rate	NA deaths/1,000 population	7.35 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	NA	$7.745 billion (2004 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	none	chief of mission: Ambassador Hans H. HERTELL embassy: corner of Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson and Calle Leopoldo Navarro, Santo Domingo mailing address: Unit 5500, APO AA 34041-5500 telephone: [1] (809) 221-2171 FAX: [1] (809) 686-7437
Diplomatic representation in the US	none	chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Flavio Dario Espinal JACOBO chancery: 1715 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6280 FAX: [1] (202) 265-8057 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
Disputes - international	Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals	increasing numbers of illegal migrants from the Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage each year to Puerto Rico to find work
Economic aid - recipient	NA	$239.6 million (1995)
Economy - overview	Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level.	The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean representative democracy which enjoyed GDP growth of more than 7% in 1998-2000. Growth subsequently plummeted as part of the global economic slowdown. Although the country has long been viewed primarily as an exporter of sugar, coffee, and tobacco, in recent years the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the economy's largest employer, due to growth in tourism and free trade zones. The country suffers from marked income inequality; the poorest half of the population receives less than one-fifth of GNP, while the richest 10% enjoys nearly 40% of national income. Growth turned negative in 2003 with reduced tourism, a major bank fraud, and limited growth in the US economy (the source of about 85% of export revenues), but recovered slightly in 2004. Resumption of a badly needed IMF loan, slowed due to government repurchase of electrical power plants, is basic to the restoration of social and economic stability. Newly elected President FERNANDEZ in mid-2004 promised belt-tightening reform. His administration has passed tax reform and is working to meet preconditions for a $600 IMF standby arrangement to ease the country's fiscal situation.
Electricity - consumption	83.7 million kWh (2002)	8.912 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2002)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2002)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	90 million kWh (2002)	9.583 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m highest point: unnamed location 463 m	lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m
Environment - current issues	sparse water and lack of arable land	water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation
Environment - international agreements	party to: none of the selected agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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	Arab, Berber	white 16%, black 11%, mixed 73%
Exchange rates	Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.6256 (2000)	Dominican pesos per US dollar - 42.12 (2004), 30.831 (2003), 18.61 (2002), 16.952 (2001), 16.415 (2000)
Executive branch	none	chief of state: President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (since 16 August 2004); Vice President Rafael ALBURQUERQUE de Castro (since 16 August 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (since 16 August 2004); Vice President Rafael ALBURQUERQUE de Castro (since 16 August 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 16 May 2004 (next to be held in May 2008) election results: Leonel FERNANDEZ elected president; percent of vote - Leonel FERNANDEZ (PLD) 57.1%, Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez (PRD) 33.7%, Eduardo ESTRELLA (PRSC) 8.7%
Exports	NA	NA
Exports - commodities	phosphates 62%	ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods
Exports - partners	Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts	US 80%, South Korea 2.1%, Canada 1.9% (2004)
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
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: NA industry: NA services: 40% (1996 est.)	agriculture: 10.7% industry: 31.5% services: 57.8% (2003)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - NA	purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	NA	1.7% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	24 30 N, 13 00 W	19 00 N, 70 40 W
Geography - note	the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas	shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti
Highways	total: 6,200 km paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est)	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	-	transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; has become a transshipment point for ecstasy from the Netherlands and Belgium destined for US and Canada; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor the Dominican Republic for illicit financial transactions
Imports	NA	129,900 bbl/day (2003)
Imports - commodities	fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs	foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals
Imports - partners	Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts	US 48.1%, Venezuela 13.5%, Colombia 4.8%, Mexico 4.8% (2004)
Independence	-	27 February 1844 (from Haiti)
Industrial production growth rate	NA	2% (2001 est.)
Industries	phosphate mining, handicrafts	tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco
Infant mortality rate	total: NA male: NA female: NA	total: 32.38 deaths/1,000 live births male: 34.81 deaths/1,000 live births female: 29.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	NA	55% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	none	ACP, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	NA sq km	2,590 sq km (1998 est.)
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)
Labor force	12,000	2.3 million - 2.6 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50%	agriculture 17%, industry 24.3%, services and government 58.7% (1998 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 2,046 km border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km	total: 360 km border countries: Haiti 360 km
Land use	arable land: 0.02% permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001)	arable land: 22.65% permanent crops: 10.33% other: 67.02% (2001)
Languages	Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic	Spanish
Legal system	-	based on French civil codes; undergoing modification in 2004 towards an accusatory 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 Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (150 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 16 May 2002 (next to be held May 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 16 May 2002 (next to be held May 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 29, PLD 2, PRSC 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 73, PLD 41, PRSC 36
Life expectancy at birth	total population: NA years male: NA years female: NA years	total population: 71.44 years male: 69.94 years female: 73.03 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 84.7% male: 84.6% female: 84.8% (2003 est.)
Location	Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco	Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti
Map references	Africa	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue	territorial sea: 6 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Merchant marine	-	total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 11,230 GRT/17,011 DWT by type: cargo 3 (2005)
Military 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)
Nationality	noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s) adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian	noun: Dominican(s) adjective: Dominican
Natural hazards	hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility	lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts
Natural resources	phosphates, iron ore	nickel, bauxite, gold, silver
Net migration rate	-	-3.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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]
Political pressure groups and leaders	none	Collective of Popular Organizations or COP; Citizen Participation Group (Participacion Ciudadania); Foundation for Institution-Building (FINJUS)
Population	273,008 (July 2005 est.)	8,950,034 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA	25%
Population growth rate	NA	1.29% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun)	Boca Chica, Puerto Plata, Rio Haina, Santo Domingo
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 120, FM 56, shortwave 4 (1998)
Railways	-	total: 1,743 km standard gauge: 375 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 142 km 0.762-m gauge note: additional 1,226 km operated by sugar companies in 1.076-m, 0.889-m, and 0.762-m gauges (2004)
Religions	Muslim	Roman Catholic 95%
Sex ratio	NA	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage	none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed	18 years of age, universal and compulsory; married persons regardless of age note: members of the armed forces and national police cannot vote
Telephone system	general assessment: sparse and limited system domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco	general assessment: NA domestic: relatively efficient system based on island-wide microwave radio relay network international: country code - 1-809; 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	about 2,000 (1999 est.)	901,800 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	0 (1999)	2,120,400 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	NA	25 (2003)
Terrain	mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast	rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed
Total fertility rate	NA children born/woman	2.86 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA	17% (2004 est.)

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