1990 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1990 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation
Coastline
1,288 km
Comparative area
slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire Land boundary 275 km with Haiti
Contiguous zone
24 nm;
Continental shelf
outer edge of continental margin or 200 nm;
Environment
subject to occasional hurricanes (July to October); deforestation
Extended economic zone
200 nm;
Land use
23% arable land; 7% permanent crops; 43% meadows and pastures; 13% forest and woodland; 14% other; includes 4% irrigated
Natural resources
nickel, bauxite, gold, silver
Note
shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic)
Terrain
rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed
Territorial sea
6 nm
Total area
48,730 km2; land area: 48,380 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
28 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate
7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Ethnic divisions
73% mixed, 16% white, 11% black
Infant mortality rate
62 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Labor force
2,300,000-2,600,000; 49% agriculture, 33% services, 18% industry (1986)
Language
Spanish
Life expectancy at birth
65 years male, 69 years female (1990)
Literacy
74%
Nationality
noun--Dominican(s); adjective--Dominican
Net migration rate
- 1 migrant/1,000 population (1990)
Organized labor
12% of labor force (1989 est.)
Population
7,240,793 (July 1990), growth rate 2.0% (1990)
Religion
95% Roman Catholic
Total fertility rate
3.2 children born/woman (1990)
Government
Administrative divisions
29 provinces (provincias, singular--provincia) and 1 district* (distrito); Azua, Baoruco, Barahona, Dajabon, Distrito Nacional*, Duarte, Elias Pina, El Seibo, 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, Sanchez Ramirez, San Cristobal, San Juan, San Pedro De Macoris, Santiago, Santiago Rodriguez, Valverde
Capital
Santo Domingo
Communists
an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 members in several legal and illegal factions; effectiveness limited by ideological differences and organizational inadequacies
Constitution
28 November 1966
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador Carlos A. MORALES Troncoso (serves concurrently as Vice President); Chancery at 1715 22nd Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 332-6280; there are Dominican Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Consulates in Charlotte Amalie (Virgin Islands), Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Minneapolis, Mobile, Ponce (Puerto Rico), and San Francisco; US--Ambassador Paul D. TAYLOR; Embassy at the corner of Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson and Calle Leopoldo Navarro, Santo Domingo (mailing address is APO Miami 34041-0008); telephone [809] 541-2171
Elections
President--last held 16 May 1986 (next to be held May 1990); results--Joaquin Balaguer (PRSC) 41.8%, Jacobo Majluta (PRD) 39.7%, Juan Bosch Gavino (PLD) 18.5%; Senate--last held 16 May 1986 (next to be held May 1990); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(30 total) PRSC 21, PRD 7, PLD 2; Chamber of Deputies--last held 16 May 1986 (next to be held May 1990); results--PRSC 40.6%, PRD 33.5%, PLD 18.3%, LE 5.3%, other 2.3%; seats--(120 total) PRSC 56, PRD 48, PLD 16
Executive branch
president, vice president, Cabinet
Flag
a centered white cross that extends to the edges, divides the flag into four rectangles--the top ones are blue (hoist side) and red, the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue; a small coat of arms is at the center of the cross
Independence
27 February 1844 (from Haiti)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Leaders
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Joaquin BALAGUER Ricardo (since 16 August 1986); Vice President Carlos A. MORALES Troncoso
Legal system
based on French civil codes
Legislative branch
bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Senado) and lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados)
Long-form name
Dominican Republic (no short-form name)
Member of
FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IRC, ISO, ITU, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
Independence Day, 27 February (1844)
Political parties and leaders
Major parties--Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC), Joaquin Balaguer Ricardo; Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD), which fractured in May 1989 with the understanding that leading rivals Jacobo Majluta and Jose Francisco Pena Gomez would run separately for president at the head of the Independent Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the Social Democratic Institutional Bloc (BIS), respectively, and try to reconstitute the PRD after the election; Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), Juan Bosch Gavino; Minor parties--National Veterans and Civilian Party (PNVC), Juan Rene Beauchanps Javier; The Structure (LE), Andres Van Der Horst; Democratic Quisqueyan Party (PQD), Elias Wessin Chavez; Constitutional Action Party (PAC), Luis Arzeno Rodriguez; National Progressive Force (FNP), Marino Vinicio Castillo; Popular Christian Party (PPC), Rogelio Delgado Bogaert; Dominican Communist Party (PCD), Narciso Isa Conde; Anti-Imperialist Patriotic Union (UPA), Ivan Rodriguez; in 1983 several leftist parties, including the PCD, joined to form the Dominican Leftist Front (FID); however, they still retain individual party structures
Suffrage
universal and compulsory at age 18 or if married; members of the armed forces and police cannot vote
Type
republic
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for 18% of GDP and employs 49% of labor force; sugarcane most important commercial crop, followed by coffee, cotton, and cocoa; food crops--rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; animal output--cattle, hogs, dairy products, meat, eggs; not self-sufficient in food
Aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $1.1 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $529 million
Budget
revenues $413 million; expenditures $522 million, including capital expenditures of $218 million (1988)
Currency
Dominican peso (plural--pesos); 1 Dominican peso (RD$) = 100 centavos
Electricity
1,376,000 kW capacity; 4,000 million kWh produced, 560 kWh per capita (1989)
Exchange rates
Dominican pesos per US$1--6.3400 (January 1990), 6.3400 (1989), 6.1125 (1988), 3.8448 (1987), 2.9043 (1986), 3.1126 (1985)
Exports
$711 million (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--sugar, coffee, cocoa, gold, ferronickel; partners--US, including Puerto Rico, 74%
External debt
$3.6 billion (1989) est.
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
$5.1 billion, per capita $790; real growth rate 0.5% (1988)
Imports
$1.8 billion (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals; partners--US, including Puerto Rico, 37% (1985)
Industrial production
growth rate 30% (1987 est.)
Industries
tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
57.6% (1988)
Overview
The economy is largely dependent on the agricultural sector, which employs 50% of the labor force and provides about half of export revenues. The principal commercial crop is sugarcane, followed by coffee, cocoa, and tobacco. Industry is based on the processing of agricultural products, durable consumer goods, minerals, and chemicals. Rapid growth of free trade zones has established a significant expansion of manufacturing for export, especially wearing apparel. Over the past decade tourism has also increased in importance and is a significant earner of foreign exchange and a source of new jobs. Unemployment is officially reported at about 25%, but underemployment may be much higher.
Unemployment rate
25% (1988)
Communications
Airports
44 total, 30 usable; 14 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 9 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
14 major transport aircraft
Highways
12,000 km total; 5,800 km paved, 5,600 km gravel and improved earth, 600 km unimproved
Merchant marine
4 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 23,335 GRT/40,297 DWT
Pipelines
crude oil, 96 km; refined products, 8 km
Ports
Santo Domingo, Haina, San Pedro de Macoris, Puerto Plata
Railroads
1,655 km total in numerous segments; 4 different gauges from 0.558 m to 1.435 m
Telecommunications
relatively efficient domestic system based on islandwide radio relay network; 190,000 telephones; stations--120 AM, no FM, 18 TV, 6 shortwave; 1 coaxial submarine cable; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Navy, Air Force
Defense expenditures
1.2% of GDP, or $61 million (1989 est.)
Military manpower
males 15-49, 1,912,101; 1,210,172 fit for military service; 80,290 reach military age (18) annually