| 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:
|
|
|
Area:
|
|
total: 48,670 sq km
country comparison to the world: 138
land:
48,320 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:
|
| 9,650,054 (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 86
|
|
|
Age structure:
|
|
0-14 years: 31.4% (male 1,543,141/female 1,488,016)
15-64 years:
62.7% (male 3,087,351/female 2,960,319)
65 years and over:
5.9% (male 264,476/female 306,751) (2009 est.)
|
|
|
Median age:
|
|
total: 24.9 years
male:
24.8 years
female:
25.1 years (2009 est.)
|
|
|
Population growth rate:
|
|
1.489% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 91
|
|
|
Birth rate:
|
|
22.39 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 83
|
|
|
Death rate:
|
|
5.28 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 183
|
|
|
Net migration rate:
|
|
-2.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 142
|
|
|
Urbanization:
|
|
urban population: 69% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization:
2.6% annual rate of change (2005-10 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 (2009 est.)
|
|
|
Infant mortality rate:
|
|
total: 25.96 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 83
male:
28 deaths/1,000 live births
female:
23.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
|
|
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
|
total population: 73.7 years
country comparison to the world: 99
male:
71.88 years
female:
75.6 years (2009 est.)
|
|
|
Total fertility rate:
|
|
2.76 children born/woman (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 79
|
|
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
|
|
1.1% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 51
|
|
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
|
|
62,000 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 59
|
|
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
|
|
4,100 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 48
|
|
|
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 (2009)
|
|
|
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)
country comparison to the world: 126
|
|
|
|
|
