The 2008 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency (ebook reader 8 inch .txt) 📕

- real growth rate:

0.9% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$9,000 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 17.7% industry: 32.8% services: 49.5% (2004 est.)

Labor force:

25,000 (2000 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: 40% industry: 32% services: 28% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate:

23% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line:

30% (2002 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Budget:

revenues: $73.9 million expenditures: $84.4 million (2001)

Fiscal year:

1 July - 30 June

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

2.7% (2007 est.)

Central bank discount rate:

6.5% (31 December 2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate:

9.17% (31 December 2007)

Stock of money:

$73.71 million (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money:

$269.1 million (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit:

$193.1 million (31 December 2007)

Agriculture - products:

bananas, citrus, mangoes, root crops, coconuts, cocoa; forest and fishery potential not exploited

Industries:

soap, coconut oil, tourism, copra, furniture, cement blocks, shoes

Industrial production growth rate:

-10% (1997 est.)

Electricity - production:

90 million kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - consumption:

83.7 million kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports:

0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 47.1% hydro: 52.9% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Oil - production:

0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - consumption:

850.5 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports:

0 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - imports:

669.6 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves:

0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance:

-$72 million (2007 est.)

Exports:

$94 million f.o.b. (2006)

Exports - commodities:

bananas, soap, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges

Exports - partners:

China 24.4%, Jamaica 10.3%, Antigua and Barbuda 10.1%, Guyana 8.5%,
UK 8.2%, Trinidad and Tobago 5.5%, Saint Lucia 4.6%, Saint Kitts &
Nevis 4% (2007)

Imports:

$296 million f.o.b. (2006)

Imports - commodities:

manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, food, chemicals

Imports - partners:

US 24.1%, China 21.2%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.2%, Japan 11.1% (2007)

Economic aid - recipient:

$15.17 million (2005 est.)

Debt - external:

$213 million (2004)

Currency (code):

East Caribbean dollar (XCD)

Currency code:

XCD

Exchange rates:

East Caribbean dollars (XCD) per US dollar - 2.7 (2007), 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003)

Communications
Dominica

Telephones - main lines in use:

21,000 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

41,800 (2004)

Telephone system:

general assessment: NA domestic: fully automatic network international: country code - 1-767; landing point for the East Caribbean Fiber Optic System (ECFS) submarine cable with links to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean extending from the British Virgin Islands to Trinidad; microwave radio relay and SHF radiotelephone links to Martinique and Guadeloupe; VHF and UHF radiotelephone links to Saint Lucia

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 0 (2003)

Radios:

46,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

1 (2004)

Televisions:

6,000 (1997)

Internet country code:

.dm

Internet hosts:

29 (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

16 (2000)

Internet users:

26,500 (2006)

Transportation
Dominica

Airports:

2 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007)

Roadways:

total: 780 km paved: 393 km unpaved: 387 km (2000)

Merchant marine:

total: 53 by type: bulk carrier 14, cargo 27, chemical tanker 3, petroleum tanker 5, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1, vehicle carrier 1 foreign-owned: 47 (Australia 2, Estonia 7, Greece 10, India 2, Latvia 1, Norway 1, Russia 3, Saudi Arabia 2, Singapore 7, Syria 2, Turkey 5, Ukraine 4, UAE 1) (2008)

Ports and terminals:

Portsmouth, Roseau

Military
Dominica

Military branches:

no regular military forces; Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force (includes Coast Guard) (2008)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 18,584 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 15,648 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 756 female: 713 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

NA (2006)

Transnational Issues
Dominica

Disputes - international:

Dominica is the only Caribbean state to challenge Venezuela's sovereignty claim over Aves Island and joins the other island nations in challenging whether the feature sustains human habitation, a criterion under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which permits Venezuela to extend its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf claims over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea

Illicit drugs:

transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; minor cannabis producer; anti-money-laundering enforcement is weak, making the country particularly vulnerable to money laundering

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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@Dominican Republic

Introduction
Dominican Republic

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.

Geography
Dominican Republic

Location:

Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti

Geographic coordinates:

19 00 N, 70 40 W

Map references:

Central America and the Caribbean

Area:

total: 48,730 sq km land: 48,380 sq km water: 350 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire

Land boundaries:

total: 360 km border countries: Haiti 360 km

Coastline:

1,288 km

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

Climate:

tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall

Terrain:

rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m

Natural resources:

nickel, bauxite, gold, silver

Land use:

arable land: 22.49% permanent crops: 10.26% other: 67.25% (2005)

Irrigated land:

2,750 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

21 cu km (2000)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 3.39 cu km/yr (32%/2%/66%) per capita: 381 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:

lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts

Environment - current issues:

water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation

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

Geography - note:

shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti

People
Dominican Republic

Population:

9,507,133 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 31.8% (male 1,537,981/female 1,482,546) 15-64 years: 62.4% (male 3,029,349/female 2,905,471) 65 years and over: 5.8% (male 255,898/female 295,888) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 24.7 years male: 24.6 years female: 24.8 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

1.495% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

22.65 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

5.3 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

-2.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 26.93 deaths/1,000 live births male: 29.01 deaths/1,000 live births female: 24.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 73.39 years male: 71.61 years female: 75.24 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

2.78 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

1.7% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

88,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

7,900 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:

degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria water contact disease: leptospirosis (2008)

Nationality:

noun: Dominican(s) adjective: Dominican

Ethnic groups:

mixed 73%, white 16%, black 11%

Religions:

Roman Catholic 95%, other 5%

Languages:

Spanish

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 87% male: 86.8% female: 87.2% (2002 census)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

total: 12 years male: 12 years female: 13 years (2004)

Education expenditures:

3.6% of GDP (2006)

Government
Dominican Republic

Country name:

conventional long form: Dominican Republic conventional short form: The Dominican local long form: Republica Dominicana local short form: La Dominicana

Government type:

democratic republic

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)

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

Independence:

27 February 1844 (from Haiti)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 27 February (1844)

Constitution:

28 November 1966; amended 25 July 2002

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

Suffrage:

18 years of age, universal and compulsory; married persons regardless of age; note - members of the armed forces and national police cannot vote

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 2008 (next to be held in May 2012) election results: Leonel FERNANDEZ reelected president; percent of vote - Leonel