Country Summary: Dominican Republic
Country Name: Dominican Republic
Capital: Santo Domingo
Government Type: presidential republic
Background: The Taino - indigenous inhabitants of Hispaniola prior to the arrival of 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. Following the two-term presidency of Danilo MEDINA Sanchez (2012-2020), Luis Rodolfo ABINADER Corona was elected president in July 2020.
Continent: Caribbean
Population: 10,790,744 (2023 est.)
Ethnic Groups: mixed 70.4% (Mestizo/Indio 58%, Mulatto 12.4%), Black 15.8%, White 13.5%, other 0.3% (2014 est.)
Languages: Spanish (official)
Religions: Evangelical 50.2%, Roman Catholic 30.1%, none 18.5%, unspecified 1.2% (2023 est.)
Economic Overview: surging middle-income tourism, construction, mining, and telecommunications OECS economy; major foreign US direct investment and free-trade zones; developing local financial markets; improving debt management; declining poverty
Currency: Dominican Peso (DOP)
Reserves of Foreign Exchange & Gold: $14.523 billion (2022 est.) note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars
Real GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $217.143 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2017 dollars
Real GDP Growth Rate: 4.86% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency
Real GDP per Capita: $19,300 (2022 est.) note: data in 2017 dollars
Exports:
$25.103 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars
Comparison Ranking: 85
Export Commodities: gold, medical instruments, cigars, low-voltage protection equipment, iron alloys, clothing (2021)
Export Partners: United States 51%, Haiti 7%, Switzerland 7%, India 5%, Netherlands 3% (2021)
Imports:
$36.36 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars
Comparison Ranking: 72
Import Commodities: refined petroleum, cars, natural gas, jewelry, vaccines and cultures (2021)
Import Partners: United States 42%, China 19%, Spain 3%, Brazil 3%, Mexico 3% (2021)
Natural Resources: nickel, bauxite, gold, silver, arable land
Agricultural Products: sugar cane, bananas, papayas, rice, plantains, milk, avocados, fruit, pineapples, coconuts
Industries: tourism, sugar processing, gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco, electrical components, medical devices
Industrial Production Growth Rate:
1.43% (2022 est.) note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency
Comparison Ranking: 137
Labor Force: 5.175 million (2022 est.)
Unemployment Rate: 5.5% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment
Natural Hazards: lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts
Geography:
Total: 48,670 sq km
Land: 48,320 sq km
Water: 350 sq km
(Country Summary, The World Factbook, CIA.gov)
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