Dominican Republic Political Map

Political Map: Defined
Political Maps are designed to show governmental boundaries of countries, states, and counties. This type of map is generally vivid in color to help identify boundaries more easily. When viewing a Physical Map, the locations of major cities as well as many minor cities are found. Also included on Physical Maps are significant bodies of water such as lakes, reservoirs and rivers.

Also Available
Dominican Republic Haiti Travel Map From $10.95	DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Political Wall Map From $69.00	Dominican Republic and Haiti Travel Map From $11.95

Introduction    Dominican Republic Top of Page 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 Top of Page 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: 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: 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 Top of Page Population: 9,365,818 (July 2007 est.) Age structure: 0-14 years: 32.1% (male 1,532,813/female 1,477,033) 15-64 years: 62.2% (male 2,971,620/female 2,851,207) 65 years and over: 5.7% (male 247,738/female 285,407) (2007 est.) Median age: total: 24.5 years male: 24.3 years female: 24.6 years (2007 est.) Population growth rate: 1.5% (2007 est.) Birth rate: 22.91 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) Death rate: 5.32 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) Net migration rate: -2.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) Sex ratio: at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.042 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.868 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2007 est.) Infant mortality rate: total: 27.94 deaths/1,000 live births male: 30.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.07 years male: 71.34 years female: 74.87 years (2007 est.) Total fertility rate: 2.81 children born/woman (2007 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.) 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) This page was last updated on 24 January, 2008 - The Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook -