conquered and ruled by the Haitians for 22 years; it finallyattained 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 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.
Geography Dominican Republic
Location:
Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between
the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti
Geographic coordinates:
19 00 N, 70 40 W
Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total: 48,730 sq km
land: 48,380 sq km
water: 350 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire
Land boundaries: total: 360 km border countries: Haiti 360 km
Coastline: 1,288 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 6 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Climate:
tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal
variation in rainfall
Terrain:
rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Lago Enriquillo −46 m
highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m
Natural resources:
nickel, bauxite, gold, silver
Land use:
arable land: 22.65%
permanent crops: 10.33%
other: 67.02% (2001)
Irrigated land:
2,590 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe
storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts
Environment - current issues:
water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs;
deforestation
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes,
Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geography - note:
shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti
People Dominican Republic
Population:
8,950,034 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 32.9% (male 1,505,964/female 1,438,809)
15–64 years: 61.7% (male 2,815,544/female 2,703,012)
65 years and over: 5.4% (male 226,372/female 260,333) (2005 est.)
Median age:
total: 23.88 years
male: 23.68 years
female: 24.09 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.29% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:
23.28 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate:
7.35 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate:
−3.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 32.38 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 34.81 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 29.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.44 years
male: 69.94 years
female: 73.03 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.86 children born/woman (2005
