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

FERNANDEZ 53.6%, Miguel VARGAS 41%, Amable ARISTY less than 5%

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 2010); House of Representatives - last held 16 May 2006 (next to be held in May 2010) 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

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)

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]

Political pressure groups and leaders:

Citizen Participation Group (Participacion Ciudadania); Collective of Popular Organizations or COP; Foundation for Institution-Building and Justice (FINJUS)

International organization participation:

ACP, BCIE, Caricom (observer), FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICC, ICCt, 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, UNWTO, UPU, WCL,
WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

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)

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

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

Economy
Dominican Republic

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 three-fourths 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, lowering 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 reduce losses to the Asian garment industry.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$61.67 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$36.4 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

8.5% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$6,600 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 11.7% industry: 23.8% services: 64.4% (2007 est.)

Labor force:

4.027 million (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: 17% industry: 24.3% services: 58.7% (1998 est.)

Unemployment rate:

15.6% (2007 est.)

Population below poverty line:

42.2% (2004)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 1.4% highest 10%: 41.1% (2004)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:

51.6 (2004)

Investment (gross fixed):

18.8% of GDP (2007 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $7.423 billion expenditures: $7.259 billion (2007 est.)

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Public debt:

41% of GDP (2007 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

6.1% (2007 est.)

Commercial bank prime lending rate:

15.83% (31 December 2007)

Stock of money:

$4.074 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money:

$5.631 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit:

$15.92 billion (31 December 2007)

Agriculture - products:

sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs

Industries:

tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco

Industrial production growth rate:

2.4% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production:

13.37 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - consumption:

11.81 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports:

0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 92% hydro: 7.6% nuclear: 0% other: 0.4% (2001)

Oil - production:

12 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - consumption:

117,300 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports:

0 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - imports:

116,600 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves:

0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

250 million cu m (2006 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

239.8 million cu m (2005)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance:

-$2.231 billion (2007 est.)

Exports:

$7.237 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities:

ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods

Exports - partners:

US 66.4%, Belgium 3.7%, Finland 3.2% (2007)

Imports:

$13.82 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities:

foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals

Imports - partners:

US 46%, Venezuela 8.1%, Mexico 5.9%, Colombia 4.7% (2007)

Economic aid - recipient:

$76.99 million (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

$2.562 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt - external:

$10.21 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:

$12.75 billion (2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:

$59 million (2007 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$NA

Currency (code):

Dominican peso (DOP)

Currency code:

DOP

Exchange rates:

Dominican pesos (DOP) per US dollar - 33.113 (2007), 33.406 (2006), 30.409 (2005), 42.12 (2004), 30.831 (2003)

Communications
Dominican Republic

Telephones - main lines in use:

907,000 (2007)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

5.513 million (2007)

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 60 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) (2007)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 120, FM 56, shortwave 4 (1998)

Radios:

1.44 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

25 (2003)

Televisions:

770,000 (1997)

Internet country code:

.do

Internet hosts:

105,546 (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

24 (2000)

Internet users:

1.677 million (2007)

Transportation
Dominican Republic

Airports:

34 (2007)

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)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 19 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 11 (2007)

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)

Roadways:

total: 19,705 km paved: 9,872 km unpaved: 9,833 km (2002)

Merchant marine:

total: 1 by type: cargo 1 registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2008)

Ports and terminals:

Boca Chica, Caucedo, Puerto Plata, Rio Haina, Santo Domingo

Military
Dominican Republic

Military branches:

Army, Navy, Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Dominicana, FAD) (2007)

Military service age and obligation:

18 years of age for voluntary military service (2007)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 2,440,203 females age 16-49: 2,326,694 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 2,020,490 females age 16-49: 1,883,875 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 96,971 female: 93,116 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

0.8% of GDP (2006)

Transnational Issues
Dominican Republic

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

Trafficking in persons:

current situation: the Dominican Republic is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor; a large number of Dominican women are trafficked into prostitution and sexual exploitation in Western Europe, Australia, Central and South America, and Caribbean destinations; a significant number of women, boys, and girls are trafficked within the country for sexual exploitation and domestic servitude tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - for a second consecutive year, the Dominican Republic is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to show evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking, particularly in terms of not adequately investigating and prosecuting public officials who may be complicit with trafficking activity, and inadequate government efforts to protect trafficking victims; the government has taken measures to reduce demand for commercial sex acts with children through criminal prosecutions (2008)

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

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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@Ecuador

Introduction
Ecuador

Background:

What is now Ecuador formed part of the northern Inca Empire until the Spanish conquest in 1533. Quito became a seat of Spanish colonial government in 1563 and part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada in 1717. The territories of the Viceroyalty - New Granada (Colombia), Venezuela, and Quito - gained their independence between 1819 and 1822 and formed a federation known as Gran Colombia. When Quito withdrew in 1830, the traditional name was changed in favor of the "Republic of the Equator." Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador lost territories in a series of conflicts with its neighbors. A border war with Peru that flared in 1995 was resolved in 1999. Although Ecuador marked 25 years of civilian governance in 2004, the period has been marred by political instability. Protests in Quito have contributed to the mid-term ouster of Ecuador's last three democratically elected Presidents. In 2007, a Constituent Assembly was elected