transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; minor cannabis producer (2008)
page last updated on January 11, 2011
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@Dominican Republic (Central America and Caribbean)
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 new term in 2004 following a constitutional amendment allowing presidents to serve more than one term, and was since reelected to a second consecutive 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:
Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total: 48,670 sq km country comparison to the world: 131 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:
9,823,821 (July 2010 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) (2010 est.)
Median age:
total: 25.8 years
male: 25.6 years
female: 26 years (2010 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.357% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 91
Birth rate:
19.9 births/1,000 population (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 92
Death rate:
4.3 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 205
Net migration rate:
−2.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 173
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 (2010 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 23.1 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 90 male: 25.11 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 21 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.15 years country comparison to the world: 60 male: 75.01 years
female: 79.38 years (2010