Fatherland, Liberty), and below the shield, REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
appears on a red ribbon
Economy Dominican Republic
Economy - overview:
The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean representative democracy
which enjoyed GDP growth of more than 7% in 1998–2000. Growth
subsequently plummeted as part of the global economic slowdown.
Although the country has long been viewed primarily as an exporter
of sugar, coffee, and tobacco, in recent years the service sector
has overtaken agriculture as the economy's largest employer, due to
growth in tourism and free trade zones. The country suffers from
marked income inequality; the poorest half of the population
receives less than one-fifth of GNP, while the richest 10% enjoys
nearly 40% of national income. Growth turned negative in 2003 with
reduced tourism, a major bank fraud, and limited growth in the US
economy (the source of about 85% of export revenues), but recovered
slightly in 2004. Resumption of a badly needed IMF loan, slowed due
to government repurchase of electrical power plants, is basic to the
restoration of social and economic stability. Newly elected
President FERNANDEZ in mid-2004 promised belt-tightening reform. His
administration has passed tax reform and is working to meet
preconditions for a $600 IMF standby arrangement to ease the
country's fiscal situation.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$55.68 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
1.7% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 10.7% industry: 31.5% services: 57.8% (2003)
Labor force: 2.3 million - 2.6 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 17%, industry 24.3%, services and government 58.7% (1998 est.)
Unemployment rate:
17% (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line:
25%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.1% highest 10%: 37.9% (1998)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
47.4 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
55% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
18.9% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $2.625 billion
expenditures: $3.382 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.1
billion (2004 est.)
Public debt:
61.1% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products:
sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes,
corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs
Industries:
tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles,
cement, tobacco
Industrial production growth rate:
2% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production:
9.583 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 92% hydro: 7.6% nuclear: 0% other: 0.4% (2001)
Electricity - consumption:
8.912 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2002)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
129,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA
Oil - imports:
129,900 bbl/day (2003)
Current account balance:
$762.2 million (2004 est.)
Exports:
$5.446 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities:
ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats,
consumer goods
Exports - partners:
US 80%, South Korea 2.1%, Canada 1.9% (2004)
Imports:
$8.093 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities:
foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and
pharmaceuticals
Imports - partners:
US 48.1%, Venezuela 13.5%, Colombia 4.8%, Mexico 4.8% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$426 million (2004 est.)
Debt - external:
$7.745 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$239.6 million (1995)
Currency (code):
Dominican peso (DOP)
Currency code:
DOP
Exchange rates:
Dominican pesos per US dollar - 42.12 (2004), 30.831 (2003), 18.61
(2002), 16.952 (2001), 16.415 (2000)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Communications Dominican Republic
Telephones - main lines in use:
901,800 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
2,120,400 (2003)
Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: relatively efficient system based on island-wide microwave
radio relay network
international: country code - 1–809; 1 coaxial submarine cable;
satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 120, FM 56, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios:
1.44 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
25 (2003)
Televisions:
770,000 (1997)
Internet