Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic Background

Explored and claimed by 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. A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative, rule for much of its subsequent history was brought to an end in 1966 when Joaquin BALAGUER became president. He 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. The Dominican economy has had one of the fastest growth rates in the hemisphere over the past decade.

Dominican Republic Information

• Population: 8,833,634 (July 2004 est.)
• Nationality: noun: Dominican(s) adjective: Dominican
• Location:: Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti
• Religions:: Roman Catholic 95%
• Ethnic Groups:: white 16%, black 11%, mixed 73%
• Land Boundaries:: total: 360 km border countries: Haiti 360 km
• Area: total: 48,730 sq km land: 48,380 sq km water: 350 sq km
• Coast Line: 1,288 km
• Climate: tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall
• Terrain: rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed
• Maritime Claims: territorial sea: 6 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
• Land Use: arable land: 22.65% permanent crops: 10.33% other: 67.02% (2001)
• Environmental Issues: water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation
• Natural Resources: nickel, bauxite, gold, silver
• Highways: total: 12,600 km paved: 6,224 km unpaved: 6,376 km (1999)
• Railways: total: 1,743 km standard gauge: 375 km 1.435-m gauge note: additional 1,226 km operated by sugar companies in 1.076-m, 0.889-m, and 0.762-m gauges (2003) narrow gauge: 142 km 0.762-m gauge
• Ports & Harbours: Barahona, La Romana, Manzanillo, Puerto Plata, San Pedro de Macoris, Santo Domingo
• Airports: 31 (2003 est.)