An Introduction to Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic occupies the eastern two thirds of the island of Hispaniola, the remainder being Haiti. Discovered by Columbus in 1492, its capital Santo Domingo became the first permanent European settlement in the Americas, with the first castle and the first cathedral. A large and prosperous native Taino population was wiped out by Spanish conquest and disease within a few decades of colonisation. See full country profile.Latest Research News from Latin America
GOVERNMENT: Democratic republic
AREA: 48,670 sq km
POPULATION: 9,378,818 (2010 census)
MAJOR LANGUAGE: Official Language: Spanish
Some business and general info
The Market Research Industry
Trade and Industry in Dominican Republic
In the twenty-first century, the boot is on the other foot, although it's still Haitians coming to the Republic and not vice versa. In 2003, 54% of Haiti's nine million people lived in 'abject poverty', 47.1% were illiterate and over two-thirds of the labor force lacked formal jobs - GDP is less than one sixth of the Dominican figure. No wonder they come - some estimate there are 800,000 Haitians in the country. A large number of Haitian women cross the border in their last weeks of pregnancy - Dominican public hospitals do not refuse medical services based on nationality or legal status, and statistics from one hospital in Santo Domingo report that over 22% of childbirths are by Haitian mothers.
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The Dominican Republic occupies the eastern two thirds of the island of Hispaniola, the remainder being Haiti. Discovered by Columbus in 1492, its capital Santo Domingo became the first permanent European settlement in the Americas, with the first castle and the first cathedral. A large and prosperous native Taino population was wiped out by Spanish conquest and disease within a few decades of colonisation.
After three centuries of mostly Spanish rule, independence in 1821 was followed by a century of turmoil including further Spanish rule, rule by Haiti, and US occupation from 1916-24. A civil war in 1965 led to US intervention, twelve years of authoritarian rule and then a move towards democracy.The nation has the second largest economy in the Caribbean and Central American region, with services taking over recently from sugar as the key driver. It also boasts the Caribbean's highest mountain, largest lake and largest number of tourists.
GDP: $93.4bn (2011 est.); $9,784 per capita
Religions 68.9% Roman Catholic, 18.2% Evan'elical, 10.6% with no religion, and 2.3% other
Currency: Dominican peso. 39.8 DOP = $US 1
Telephone Code: + 809 / 829 / 849
Historically a producer of agricultural goods, in the last few years the service sector has overtaken farming as the economy's largest employer, due to growth in telecommunications, tourism and free trade zones.
The economy is still very dependent on that of the US which is the destination for more than half of all exports. Remittances from the US are approx 10% of GDP and about 75% of tourism originates there. Overall, however, the country has weathered the global downturn and remains one of the fastest growing in the region.
Exports ($6.16bn in 2010) include: ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meat and consumer goods which mainly go to the US (over 50%) and Haiti (13.6%). The country imports far more ($14.5bn in 2010) including foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals from the US (44%), Venezuela (7%), China (6%), Mexico (5%) and Colombia (5%).
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