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.

Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti

19 00 N, 70 40 W

Central America and the Caribbean

slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire

1,288 km

measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines

tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall

rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed

nickel, bauxite, gold, silver

2,750 sq km (2003)

21 cu km (2000)

lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts

water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation

shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti

9,794,487 (July 2010 est.)

1.482% (2010 est.)

22.13 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)

5.27 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)

-2.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)

2.73 children born/woman (2010 est.)

1.1% (2007 est.)

62,000 (2007 est.)

4,100 (2007 est.)

mixed 73%, white 16%, black 11%

Roman Catholic 95%, other 5%

Spanish

3.6% of GDP (2006)

democratic republic

31 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 district* (distrito); Azua, Bahoruco, Barahona, Dajabon, Distrito Nacional*, Duarte, El Seibo, Elias Pina, Espaillat, Hato Mayor, Independencia, La Altagracia, La Romana, La Vega, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Monsenor Nouel, Monte Cristi, Monte Plata, Pedernales, Peravia, Puerto Plata, Salcedo, Samana, San Cristobal, San Jose de Ocoa, San Juan, San Pedro de Macoris, Sanchez Ramirez, Santiago, Santiago Rodriguez, Santo Domingo, Valverde

27 February 1844 (from Haiti)

Independence Day, 27 February (1844)

28 November 1966; amended 25 July 2002

based on French civil codes; Criminal Procedures Code modified in 2004 to include important elements of an accusatory system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

18 years of age, universal and compulsory; married persons regardless of age; note - members of the armed forces and national police cannot vote

bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (32 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Camara de Diputados (178 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are appointed by the National Judicial Council comprised of the president, the leaders of both chambers of congress, the president of the Supreme Court, and an additional non-governing party congressional representative)

Dominican Liberation Party or PLD [Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna]; Dominican Revolutionary Party or PRD [Ramon ALBURQUERQUE]; National Progressive Front [Vincent CASTILLO, Pelegrin CASTILLO]; Social Christian Reformist Party or PRSC [Enrique ANTUN]

Citizen Participation Group (Participacion Ciudadania); Collective of Popular Organizations or COP; Foundation for Institution-Building and Justice (FINJUS)

ACP, AOSIS, BCIE, Caricom (observer), FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, PetroCaribe, RG, SICA (associated member), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

a centered white cross that extends to the edges divides the flag into four rectangles - the top ones are blue (hoist side) and red, and the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue; a small coat of arms featuring a shield supported by an olive branch (left) and a palm branch (right) is at the center of the cross; above the shield a blue ribbon displays the motto, DIOS, PATRIA, LIBERTAD (God, Fatherland, Liberty), and below the shield, REPUBLICA DOMINICANA appears on a red ribbon

The Dominican Republic has long been viewed primarily as an exporter of sugar, coffee, and tobacco, but 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 economy is highly dependent upon the US, the destination for nearly 60% of exports. Remittances from the US amount to about a tenth of GDP, equivalent to almost half of exports and three-quarters of tourism receipts. The country suffers from marked income inequality; the poorest half of the population receives less than one-fifth of GDP, while the richest 10% enjoys nearly 40% of GDP. High unemployment and underemployment remains an important long-term challenge. The Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) came into force in March 2007, boosting investment and exports and reducing losses to the Asian garment industry. In the middle of 2008, however, the Dominican Republic's economy started slowing after several years of strong GDP growth, as the global recession had a significant negative impact on tourism and remittances. The financial crisis and the US recession caused GDP to dip in 2009, but a rebound is expected in 2010.

$80.53 billion (2009 est.)

$79.1 billion (2008 est.)

$75.12 billion (2007 est.)

$45.24 billion (2009 est.)

1.8% (2009 est.)

5.3% (2008 est.)

8.5% (2007 est.)

$8,300 (2009 est.)

$8,300 (2008 est.)

$8,000 (2007 est.)

4.417 million (2009 est.)

15.1% (2009 est.)

14.1% (2008 est.)

42.2% (2004)

49.9 (2005)

47.4 (1998)

16.6% of GDP (2009 est.)

41.5% of GDP (2009 est.)

37.4% of GDP (2008 est.)

1.4% (2009 est.)

10.6% (2008 est.)

19.95% (31 December 2008)

15.83% (31 December 2007)

$3.619 billion (31 December 2008)

$4.074 billion (31 December 2007)

$5.902 billion (31 December 2008)

$5.631 billion (31 December 2007)

$17.37 billion (31 December 2008)

$15.92 billion (31 December 2007)

$NA

sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs

tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco

-7% (2009 est.)

14.02 billion kWh (2007 est.)

12.7 billion kWh (2007 est.)

0 kWh (2008 est.)

0 kWh (2008 est.)

0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

119,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)

0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

116,200 bbl/day (2007 est.)

0 bbl

0 cu m (2008 est.)

470 million cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

470 million cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.)

-$2.274 billion (2009 est.)

-$4.436 billion (2008 est.)

$5.372 billion (2009 est.)

$6.95 billion (2008 est.)

ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods

US 58.1%, Haiti 9.3%, Netherlands 2.9% (2008)

$12.14 billion (2009 est.)

$16.1 billion (2008 est.)

foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals

US 39.2%, Venezuela 7.7%, Taiwan 5.9%, Mexico 5.4%, Colombia 4.9% (2008)

$2.288 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$2.288 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$11.85 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$11.42 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$17.19 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$15.59 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$NA (31 December 2009 est.)

$59 million (31 December 2008 est.)

Dominican pesos (DOP) per US dollar - 36.141 (2009), 34.775 (2008), 33.113 (2007), 33.406 (2006), 30.409 (2005)

985,700 (2008)

7.21 million (2008)

AM 120, FM 56, shortwave 4 (1998)

25 (2003)

.do

280,457 (2009)

2.147 million (2008)

35 (2009)

Boca Chica, Caucedo, Puerto Plata, Rio Haina, Santo Domingo

Army, Navy (Marina de Guerra), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Dominicana, FAD) (2010)

18 years of age for voluntary military service (2007)

0.7% of GDP (2009)

Haitian migrants cross the porous border into the Dominican Republic to find work; illegal migrants from the Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage each year to Puerto Rico to find better work

transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; has become a transshipment point for ecstasy from the Netherlands and Belgium destined for US and Canada; substantial money laundering activity in particular by Colombian narcotics traffickers; significant amphetamine consumption (2008)