DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 48,730 km2; land area: 48,380 km2
Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of New
Hampshire
Land boundary 275 km with Haiti
Coastline: 1,288 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
Continental shelf: outer edge of continental margin or 200 nm;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 6 nm
Climate: tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys
interspersed
Natural resources: nickel, bauxite, gold, silver
Land use: arable land 23%; permanent crops 7%; meadows and pastures
43%; forest and woodland 13%; other 14%; includes irrigated 4%
Environment: subject to occasional hurricanes (July to October);
deforestation
Note: shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti (western one-third is
Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic)
PEOPLE
Population: 7,384,837 (July 1991), growth rate 2.0% (1991)
Birth rate: 27 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: - 1 migrant/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 60 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 65 years male, 69 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 3.1 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Dominican(s); adjective--Dominican
Ethnic divisions: mixed 73%, white 16%, black 11%
Religion: Roman Catholic 95%
Language: Spanish
Literacy: 83% (male 85%, female 82%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force: 2,300,000-2,600,000; agriculture 49%, services 33%,
industry 18% (1986)
Organized labor: 12% of labor force (1989 est.)
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Dominican Republic (no short-form name)
Type: republic
Capital: Santo Domingo
Administrative divisions: 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
Independence: 27 February 1844 (from Haiti)
Constitution: 28 November 1966
Legal system: based on French civil codes
National holiday: Independence Day, 27 February (1844)
Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)
consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Senado) and lower chamber or
Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Joaquin BALAGUER
Ricardo (since 16 August 1986, fifth elected term began 16 August 1990);
Vice President Carlos A. MORALES Troncoso (since 16 August 1986)
Political parties and leaders:
Major parties--
Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC), Joaquin BALAGUER Ricardo;
Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD), Jose Francisco PENA Gomez;
Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), Juan BOSCH Gavino;
Independent Revolutionary Party (PRI), Jacobo MAJLUTA;
Minor parties--
National Veterans and Civilian Party (PNVC), Juan Rene BEAUCHAMPS Javier;
Liberal Party of the Dominican Republic (PLRD), Andres Van Der HORST;
Democratic Quisqueyan Party (PQD), Elias WESSIN Chavez;
Constitutional Action Party (PAC), Luis ARZENO Rodriguez;
National Progressive Force (FNP), Marino VINICIO Castillo;
Popular Christian Party (PPC), Rogelio DELGADO Bogaert;
Dominican Communist Party (PCD), Narciso ISA Conde;
Anti-Imperialist Patriotic Union (UPA), Ivan RODRIGUEZ;
note--in 1983 several leftist parties, including the PCD, joined to
form the Dominican Leftist Front (FID); however, they still retain
individual party structures
Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18 or if married; members
of the armed forces and police cannot vote
Elections:
President--last held 16 May 1990 (next to be held May 1994);
results--Joaquin BALAGUER (PRSC) 35.7%, Juan BOSCH Gavino (PLD)
34.4%;
Senate--last held 16 May 1990 (next to be held May 1994);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(30 total) PRSC 16, PLD 12, PRD 2;
Chamber of Deputies--last held 16 May 1990 (next to be
held May 1994);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(120 total) PLD 44, PRSC 41, PRD 33, PRI 2
Communists: an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 members in several legal
and illegal factions; effectiveness limited by ideological differences,
organizational inadequacies, and severe funding shortages
Member of: CARICOM (observer), ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, GATT, IADB,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), LORCS, NAM (guest),
OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WMO,
WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Carlos A. MORALES Troncoso
(serves concurrently as Vice President); Chancery at
1715 22nd Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 332-6280;
there are Dominican Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles,
Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San
Juan (Puerto Rico), and Consulates in Charlotte Amalie (Virgin Islands),
Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Minneapolis, Mobile, Ponce (Puerto
Rico), and San Francisco;
US--Ambassador Paul D. TAYLOR; Embassy at the corner of
Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson and Calle Leopoldo Navarro, Santo Domingo
(mailing address is APO Miami 34041-0008); telephone 809 541-2171
Flag: a centered white cross that extends to the edges, divides the
flag into four rectangles--the top ones are blue (hoist side) and red,
the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue; a small coat of arms is at
the center of the cross
ECONOMY
Overview: The economy is largely dependent on trade; imported
components average 60% of the value of goods consumed in the domestic
market. Rapid growth of free trade zones has established a significant
expansion of manufacturing for export, especially wearing apparel.
Over the past decade tourism has also increased in importance and is a
major earner of foreign exchange and a source of new jobs. Agriculture
remains a key sector of the economy. The principal commercial crop is
sugarcane, followed by coffee, cotton, cocoa, and tobacco. Domestic
industry is based on the processing of agricultural products, durable
consumer goods, minerals, and chemicals. Unemployment is officially
reported at about 30%, but there is considerable underemployment. An
increasing foreign debt burden and galloping inflation are the economy's
greatest weaknesses.
GDP: $6.68 billion, per capita $940; real growth rate 4.2% (1989)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 70% (1990 est.)
Unemployment rate: 29% (1990 est.)
Budget: revenues $413 million; expenditures $522 million,
including capital expenditures of $218 million (1988)
Exports: $922 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--sugar, coffee, cocoa, gold, ferronickel;
partners--US 60%, EC 19%, Puerto Rico 8% (1990)
Imports: $1.9 billion (c.i.f., 1990 est.);
commodities--foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals
and pharmaceuticals;
partners--US 50%
External debt: $4.2 billion (1990 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 2.3% (1989 est.); accounts
for 18% of GDP
Electricity: 1,445,000 kW capacity; 4,200 million kWh produced,
580 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries: tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining,
textiles, cement, tobacco
Agriculture: accounts for 15% of GDP and employs 49% of labor
force; sugarcane most important commercial crop, followed by coffee,
cotton, cocoa, and tobacco; food crops--rice, beans, potatoes, corn,
bananas; animal output--cattle, hogs, dairy products, meat, eggs; not
self-sufficient in food
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY85-89), $576.5
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $569 million
Currency: Dominican peso (plural--pesos); 1 Dominican peso
(RD$) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: Dominican pesos per US$1--11.850 (January 1991),
8.290 (1990), 6.3400 (1989), 6.1125 (1988), 3.8448 (1987), 2.9043 (1986),
3.1126 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: 1,655 km total in numerous segments; 4 different gauges
from 0.558 m to 1.435 m
Highways: 12,000 km total; 5,800 km paved, 5,600 km gravel and
improved earth, 600 km unimproved
Pipelines: crude oil, 96 km; refined products, 8 km
Ports: Santo Domingo, Haina, San Pedro de Macoris, Puerto Plata
Merchant marine: 4 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 23,326
GRT/38,661 DWT
Civil air: 14 major transport aircraft
Airports: 44 total, 30 usable; 14 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 9 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: relatively efficient domestic system based on
islandwide radio relay network; 190,000 telephones; stations--120 AM, no
FM, 18 TV, 6 shortwave; 1 coaxial submarine cable; 1 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT earth station
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,963,260; 1,241,370 fit for
military service; 81,083 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: $70 million, 1% of GDP (1990)