Statistical information Dominican Republic 1992

Dominican Republic in the World

Dominican Republic - Introduction 1992

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Background: The Dominican Republic has had a legacy of unsettled mostly non-representative rule for much of the 20th century.

Dominican Republic - Geography 1992

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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area
Total: 48,730 km²
Land: 48,380 km²
Comparative: slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire

Land boundaries: 275 km; Haiti 275 km

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
Disputes: none

Climate: tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain: rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed

Elevation

Natural resources: nickel, bauxite, gold, silver

Land use

Land use: arable land: 23%; permanent crops: 7%; meadows and pastures 43%; forest and woodland 13%; other 14%; includes irrigated 4%

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography

Dominican Republic - People 1992

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Population: 7,515,892 (July 1992), growth rate 1.9% (1992)

Nationality: noun - Dominican(s; adjective - Dominican

Ethnic groups: mixed 73%, white 16%, black 11%

Languages: Spanish

Religions: Roman Catholic 95%

Demographic profile

Age structure

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 26 births/1000 population (1992)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1000 population (1992)

Net migration rate: -1 migrant/1000 population (1992)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: subject to occasional hurricanes (July to October); deforestation
Current issues note:

shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti (western one-third is
Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic)

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 56 deaths/1000 live births (1992)

Life expectancy at birth: 66 years male, 70 years female (1992)

Total fertility rate: 3.0 children born/woman (1992)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: 83% (male 85%, female 82%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment

Dominican Republic - Government 1992

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Country name
Conventional long form: Dominican Republic (no short-form name)

Government 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

Dependent areas

Independence: 27 February 1844 (from Haiti)

National holiday: Independence Day, 27 February (1844)

Constitution: 28 November 1966

Legal system: based on French civil codes

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18 or if married; members of the armed forces and police cannot vote
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

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
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

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)

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation:

ACP, 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, LORCS, NAM (guest), OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation:

Ambassador Jose del Carmen ARIZA Gomez;
Chancery at 1715 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20,008; telephone (202) 332-6,280; 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 Robert S. PASTORINO; Embassy at the corner of Calle Cesar
Nicolas Penson and Calle Leopoldo Navarro, Santo Domingo (mailing address is
APO AA 34,041-0008); telephone (809) 5,412,171

Diplomatic representation

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, the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue; a small coat of arms is at the center of the cross

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage

Dominican Republic - Economy 1992

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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. A fiscal austerity program has brought inflation under control, but in 1991 the economy contracted for a second straight year.

GDP: exchange rate conversion - $7 billion, per capita $950; real growth rate -2% (1991 est.)

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for 15% of GDP and employs 49% of labor force; sugarcane is the 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

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

Industrial production growth rate: growth rate NA; accounts for 20% of GDP

Labor force: 2,300,000 to 2,600,000; agriculture 49%, services 33%, industry 18% (1986)
Organized labor: 12% of labor force (1989 est.)

Labor force

Unemployment rate: 30% (1991 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues NA; expenditures $1.1 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1992 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $775 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
Commodoties: sugar, coffee, cocoa, gold, ferronickel
Partners: US 60%, EC 19%, Puerto Rico 8% (1990)

Imports: $1.8 billion (c.i.f., 1991 est.)
Commodoties: foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals
Partners: US 50%

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Dominican pesos (RD$) per US$1 - 12.609 (January 1992), 12.692 (1991), 8.525 (1990), 6.340 (1989), 6.113 (1988), 3.845 (1987)

Dominican Republic - Energy 1992

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Electricity
Production: 2,133,000 kW capacity; 4,410 million kWh produced, 597 kWh per capita (1991)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita

Dominican Republic - Communication 1992

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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions

Dominican Republic - Military 1992

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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: exchange rate conversion - $70 million, 1% of GDP (1990)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups

Dominican Republic - Transportation 1992

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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports:

36 total, 30 usable; 12 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

Heliports

Pipelines: crude oil 96 km; petroleum products 8 km

Railways

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine:

1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,587
GRT/1,165 DWT

Civil air: 23 major transport aircraft

Ports and terminals

Dominican Republic - Transnational issues 1992

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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs