Map of Dominican Republic | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: The Taino - indigenous inhabitants of Hispaniola prior to the arrival of the Europeans - divided the island into five chiefdoms and territories. Christopher COLUMBUS explored and claimed the island on his first voyage in 1492; it 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 to 1961. Juan BOSCH was elected president in 1962 but was deposed in a military coup in 1963. In 1965 the US led an intervention in the midst of a civil war sparked by an uprising to restore BOSCH. In 1966 Joaquin BALAGUER defeated BOSCH in the presidential election. 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 Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (first term 1996-2000) won election to a new term in 2004 following a constitutional amendment allowing presidents to serve more than one term and was later reelected to a second consecutive term. In 2012 Danilo MEDINA Sanchez became president; he was reelected in 2016.


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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 reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: 48,670 km²
Land: 48,320 km²
Water: 350 km²
Rank: 132
Comparative: slightly more than twice the size of New Jersey

Land boundaries
Total: 376 km
Border countries: (1) Haiti 376 km

Coastline: 1288 km

Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
Territorial sea: 12 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 interspersed with fertile valleys

Elevation
Mean elevation: 424 m
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m: highest point: Pico Duarte 3,098 m

Natural resources: nickel bauxite gold silver arable land

Land use
Agricultural land: 51.5%
Forest: 40.8%
Other: 7.7%

Irrigated land: 3,070 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

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

Geography
Note: shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti (eastern two-thirds makes up the Dominican Republic western one-third is Haiti); the second largest country in the Antilles (after Cuba); geographically diverse with the Caribbean's tallest mountain Pico Duarte and lowest elevation and largest lake Lago Enriquillo


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Population
Distribution: coastal development is significant especially in the southern coastal plains and the Cibao Valley where population density is highest; smaller population clusters exist in the interior mountains (Cordillera Central): 10,734,247 (July 2017 est.)
Rank: 86
Growth rate: 1.18% (2017 est.)
Growth rate rank: 99
Below poverty line: 30.5% (2016 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Dominican
Adjective: Dominican

Ethnic groups: mixed 70.4% (mestizo/indio 58% mulatto 12.4%) black 15.8% white 13.5% other 0.3%
Note: respondents self-identified their race; the term 'indio' in the Dominican Republic is not associated with people of indigenous ancestry but people of mixed ancestry or skin color between light and dark

Languages: Spanish (official)

Religions: Roman Catholic 95% other 5%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 26.63%
15-24 years: 18.18%
25-54 years: 39.66%
55-64 years: 7.9%
65 years and over: 7.63% (2017 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 57.8
Youth dependency ratio: 47.3
Elderly dependency ratio: 10.5
Potential support ratio: 9.5

Median age
Total: 28.1 years
Male: 27.9 years
Female: 28.3 years
Rank: 135

Population growth rate: 1.18% (2017 est.)
Rank: 99

Birth rate: 18.4 births/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 92

Death rate: 4.7 deaths/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 202

Net migration rate: -1.9 migrant(s)/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 158

Population distribution: coastal development is significant especially in the southern coastal plains and the Cibao Valley where population density is highest; smaller population clusters exist in the interior mountains (Cordillera Central)

Urbanization
Urban population: 80.6% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 2% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: SANTO DOMINGO (capital) 2.945 million (2015)

Environment
Current issues: water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation
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
International agreements signed but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.04 male/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male/female
15-24 years: 1.04 male/female
25-54 years: 1.05 male/female
55-64 years: 1.01 male/female
65 years and over: 0.86 male/female
Total population: 1.03 male/female

Mothers mean age at first birth: 21.3 years
Note: median age at first birth among women 25-29

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 17.5 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 19.3 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 15.5 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 93

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 78.3 years
Male: 76 years
Female: 80.6 years
Rank: 61

Total fertility rate: 2.29 children born/woman (2017 est.)
Rank: 92

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 69.5% (2014)

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 1.49 physicians/1000 population (2011)

Hospital bed density: 1.7 beds/1000 population (2011)

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 1% (2016 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 45
People living with hivaids: 67,000 (2016 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 49
Deaths: 2,200 (2016 est.)
Deaths rank: 50

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: high
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea hepatitis A and typhoid fever
Vectorborne disease: dengue fever
Note: active local transmission of Zika virus by Aedes species mosquitoes has been identified in this country ; it poses an important risk (a large number of cases possible) among US citizens if bitten by an infective mosquito; other less common ways to get Zika are through sex via blood transfusion or during pregnancy in which the pregnant woman passes Zika virus to her fetus (2016)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 27.6% (2016)
Rank: 37

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 4% (2013)
Rank: 106

Education expenditures: 2.1% of GDP (2007)
Rank: 163

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 91.8%
Male: 91.2%
Female: 92.3%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 13 years
Male: 13 years
Female: 14 years

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Dominican Republic
Conventional short form: The Dominican
Local long form: Republica Dominicana
Local short form: La Dominicana
Etymology: the country name derives from the capital city of Santo Domingo

Government type: presidential republic

Capital
Name: Santo Domingo
Geographic coordinates: 18 28 N 69 54 W
Time difference: UTC-4

Administrative divisions: 10 regions (regiones singular - region); Cibao Nordeste Cibao Noroeste Cibao Norte Cibao Sur El Valle Enriquillo Higuamo Ozama Valdesia Yuma

Dependent areas

Independence: 27 February 1844 (from Haiti)

National holiday: Independence Day 27 February (1844)

Constitution: many previous (38 total); latest proclaimed 26 January 2010; note - the Dominican Republic Government has a practice of promulgating a 'new' constitution whenever an amendment is ratified (2016)

Legal system: civil law system based on the French civil code; Criminal Procedures Code modified in 2004 to include important elements of an accusatory system

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of the Dominican Republic
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 2 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age universal and compulsory; married persons regardless of age can vote; note - members of the armed forces and national police by law cannot vote

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Danilo MEDINA Sanchez ; Vice President Margarita CEDENO DE FERNANDEZ (since 16 August 2012); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
Head of government: President Danilo MEDINA Sanchez ; Vice President Margarita CEDENO DE FERNANDEZ (since 16 August 2012)
Cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the president
Electionsappointments: president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by absolute vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 4-year term ; election last held on 15 May 2016 (next to be held in 2020)
Election results: Danilo MEDINA Sanchez reelected president; percent of vote - Danilo MEDINA Sanchez 61.7% Luis Rodolfo ABINADER Corona (PRM) 35% other 3.3%; Margarita CEDENO DE FERNANDEZ (PLD) reelected vice president

Legislative branch
Description: bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado and the House of Representatives or Camara de Diputados (190 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)
Elections: Senate - last held on 15 May 2016 ; House of Representatives - last held on 15 May 2016 (next to be held in May 2020)
Election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PLD 26 PRM 2 BIS 1 PLRD 1 PRD 1 PRSC 1: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PLD 106 PRM 42 PRSC 18 PRD 16 PLRD 3 other 5

Judicial branch
Highest court: Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia ; Constitutional Court or Tribunal Constitucional (consists of 13 judges); note - the Constitutional Court was established in 2010 by constitutional amendment
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court and Constitutional Court judges appointed by the National Council of the Judiciary comprised of the president the leaders of both chambers of congress the president of the Supreme Court and a non-governing party congressional representative; Supreme Court judges appointed for 7-year terms; Constitutional Court judges appointed for 9-year terms
Subordinate courts: courts of appeal; courts of first instance; justices of the peace; special courts for juvenile labor and land cases; Contentious Administrative Court for cases filed against the government

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ACP AOSIS BCIE Caricom (observer) CD CELAC FAO G-77 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC (national committees) ICCt ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO (correspondent) ITSO ITU ITUC (NGOs) LAES LAIA MIGA MINUSMA NAM OAS OIF (observer) OPANAL OPCW Pacific Alliance (observer) PCA Petrocaribe SICA (associated member) UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO Union Latina UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Jose Tomas PEREZ Vazquez
In the us chancery: 1715 22nd Street NW Washington DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] 332-6,280
In the us FAX: [1] 265-8,057
In the us consulate general: Boston Chicago Los Angeles Mayaguez Miami New Orleans New York San Juan (Puerto Rico)
In the us consulate: San Francisco
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador ; Charge d'Affaires Robert COPLEY (since 21 July 2017)
From the us embassy: Av. Republica de Colombia
From the us mailing address: Unit 5,500 APO AA 34,041-5,500
From the us telephone: [1] 567-7,775
From the us FAX: [1] 686-7,437

Flag description: a centered white cross that extends to the edges divides the flag into four rectangles - the top ones are ultramarine blue (hoist side) and vermilion red and the bottom ones are vermilion red (hoist side) and ultramarine blue; a small coat of arms featuring a shield supported by a laurel 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; in the shield a bible is opened to a verse that reads 'Y la verdad nos hara libre' (And the truth shall set you free); blue stands for liberty white for salvation and red for the blood of heroes

National symbols: palmchat (bird); national colors: red white blue

National anthem
Name: 'Himno Nacional'
Lyrics and music: Emilio PRUD'HOMME/Jose REYES
Note: adopted 1934; also known as 'Quisqueyanos valientes' ; the anthem never refers to the people as Dominican but rather calls them 'Quisqueyanos' a reference to the indigenous name of the island

National heritage


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Economy overview:

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2016 dollars
Rank: 74

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 17

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2016 dollars
Rank: 103

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 69.7%
Government consumption: 11%
Investment in fixed capital: 22.4%
Investment in inventories: 0.6%
Exports of goods and services: 25.2%
Imports of goods and services: -28.9%

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 5.5%
Industry: 33.4%
Services: 61.1%

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

Industries: tourism sugar processing gold mining textiles cement tobacco electrical components medical devices

Industrial production growth rate: 7.3% (2016 est.)
Rank: 22

Labor force: 4.639 million (2016 est.)
Rank: 87
By occupation agriculture: 14.4%
By occupation industry: 20.8%
By occupation services: 64.7%

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 160

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 30.5% (2016 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 1.9%
Highest 10: 37.4%

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 25

Budget
Revenues: $10.59 billion
Expenditures: $12.63 billion
Surplus or deficit: -2.8% of GDP (2016 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 113

Taxes and other revenues: 14.7% of GDP (2016 est.)
Rank: 193

Public debt:
Rank: 107

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 111

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 42

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 94

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 88

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 74

Market value of publicly traded shares: $N/A

Current account balance:
Rank: 127

Exports:
Rank: 89
Commodities: gold silver cocoa sugar coffee tobacco meats consumer goods
Partners: US 47.3% Haiti 12% Canada 7.8% India 6.2% (2016)

Imports:
Rank: 77
Commodities: petroleum foodstuffs cotton and fabrics chemicals and pharmaceuticals
Partners: US 40.4% China 12.5% Mexico 5.2% (2016)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 88

Debt external:
Rank: 81

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:
Rank: 66

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad:
Rank: 93

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access population without electricity: 300,000
Access electrification total population: 98%
Access electrification urban areas: 99%
Access electrification rural areas: 97%
Production: 15.53 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Production rank: 85
Consumption: 13.25 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Consumption rank: 83
Exports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Exports rank: 131
Imports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 144
Installed generating capacity: 3.732 million kW (2015 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 93
Generation sources fossil fuels: 80.8% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 86
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 80
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 16.1% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 99
Generation sources other renewable sources: 5.7% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 90

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 128
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 116
Crude oil imports: 27,440 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 61
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2017 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 128

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 27,060 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products production rank: 88
Products consumption: 114,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products consumption rank: 77
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products exports rank: 150
Products imports: 84,370 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products imports rank: 63

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Production rank: 129
Consumption: 1.895 billion m³ (2015 est.)
Consumption rank: 89
Exports: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Exports rank: 95
Imports: 1.108 billion m³ (2015 est.)
Imports rank: 58
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2014 es)
Proven reserves rank: 134

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 22 million Mt (2013 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 79

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 1,345,091
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 13
Fixed lines rank: 68
Mobile cellular total: 8,708,131
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 82
Mobile cellular rank: 94

Telephone system
General assessment: relatively efficient system based on island-wide microwave radio relay network
Domestic: fixed-line teledensity is about 13 per 100 persons; multiple providers of mobile-cellular service with a subscribership of over 80 per 100 persons
International: country code - 1-809; 1-829; 1-849; landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System Antillas 1 AMX-1 and the Fibralink submarine cables that provide links to South and Central America parts of the Caribbean and US; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2016)

Broadcast media: combination of state-owned and privately owned broadcast media; 1 state-owned TV network and a number of private TV networks; networks operate repeaters to extend signals throughout country; combination of state-owned and privately owned radio stations with more than 300 radio stations operating (2015)

Internet
Country code: .do
Users total: 6,504,998
Users percent of population: 61.3%
Users rank: 69

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures:
Rank: 121

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 17-21 years of age for voluntary military service; recruits must have completed primary school and be Dominican Republic citizens; women may volunteer (2012)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 1
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 6
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 14,463
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 0 mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: HI (2016)

Airports: 36 (2013)
Rank: 110
With paved runways total: 16
With paved runways over 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 4
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 4
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4
With paved runways under 914 m: 1
With unpaved runways total: 20
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 18

Heliports: 1 (2013)

Pipelines: gas 27 km; oil 103 km (2013)

Railways
Total: 496 km
Standard gauge: 354 km 1.435-m gauge
Narrow gauge: 142 km 0.762-m gauge
Rank: 115

Roadways
Total: 19,705 km
Paved: 9,872 km
Unpaved: 9,833 km
Rank: 110

Waterways

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Puerto Haina Puerto Plata Santo Domingo
Oil terminal: Punta Nizao oil terminal
LNG terminal: Andres LNG terminal (Boca Chica)


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Disputes international
Rank: li>a href='../rankorder/rankorderguide.html'>Guide to Country Comparisons: 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

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Stateless persons: 133,770 ; note - a September 2013 Constitutional Court ruling revoked the citizenship of those born after 1929 to immigrants without proper documentation even though the constitution at the time automatically granted citizenship to children born in the Dominican Republic and the 2010 constitution provides that constitutional provisions cannot be applied retroactively; the decision overwhelmingly affected people of Haitian descent whose relatives had come to the Dominican Republic since the 1890s as a cheap source of labor for sugar plantations; a May 2014 law passed by the Dominican Congress regularizes the status of those with birth certificates but will require those without them to prove they were born in the Dominican Republic and to apply for naturalization; the government has issued documents to thousands of individuals who may claim citizenship under this law but no official estimate has been released
Note: revised estimate includes only individuals born to parents who were both born abroad; it does not include individuals born in the country to one Dominican-born and one foreign-born parent or subsequent generations of individuals of foreign descent; the estimate as such does not include all stateless persons

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 in particular by Colombian narcotics traffickers; significant amphetamine consumption