DOMINICAN REPUBLIC                                                              
GEOGRAPHY                                                                       
Total area: 48,730 km2; land area: 48,380 km2                                   
                                                                                
Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of New                      
Hampshire                                                                       
                                                                                
Land boundary 275 km with Haiti                                                 
                                                                                
Coastline: 1,288 km                                                             
                                                                                
Maritime claims:                                                                
                                                                                
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;                                                         
                                                                                
Continental shelf: outer edge of continental margin or 200 nm;                  
                                                                                
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;                                                
                                                                                
Territorial sea: 6 nm                                                           
                                                                                
Climate: tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation               
                                                                                
Terrain: rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys                    
interspersed                                                                    
                                                                                
Natural resources: nickel, bauxite, gold, silver                                
                                                                                
Land use: arable land 23%; permanent crops 7%; meadows and pastures             
43%; forest and woodland 13%; other 14%; includes irrigated 4%                  
                                                                                
Environment: subject to occasional hurricanes (July to October);                
deforestation                                                                   
                                                                                
Note: shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti (western one-third is              
Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic)                            
                                                                                
PEOPLE                                                                          
Population: 7,384,837 (July 1991), growth rate 2.0% (1991)                      
                                                                                
Birth rate: 27 births/1,000 population (1991)                                   
                                                                                
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)                                    
                                                                                
Net migration rate: - 1 migrant/1,000 population (1991)                         
                                                                                
Infant mortality rate: 60 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)                       
                                                                                
Life expectancy at birth: 65 years male, 69 years female (1991)                 
                                                                                
Total fertility rate: 3.1 children born/woman (1991)                            
                                                                                
Nationality: noun--Dominican(s); adjective--Dominican                           
                                                                                
Ethnic divisions: mixed 73%, white 16%, black 11%                               
                                                                                
Religion: Roman Catholic 95%                                                    
                                                                                
Language: Spanish                                                               
                                                                                
Literacy: 83% (male 85%, female 82%) age 15 and over can                        
read and write (1990 est.)                                                      
                                                                                
Labor force: 2,300,000-2,600,000; agriculture 49%, services 33%,                
industry 18% (1986)                                                             
                                                                                
Organized labor: 12% of labor force (1989 est.)                                 
                                                                                
GOVERNMENT                                                                      
Long-form name: Dominican Republic (no short-form name)                         
                                                                                
Type: republic                                                                  
                                                                                
Capital: Santo Domingo                                                          
                                                                                
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                                                    
                                                                                
Independence: 27 February 1844 (from Haiti)                                     
                                                                                
Constitution: 28 November 1966                                                  
                                                                                
Legal system: based on French civil codes                                       
                                                                                
National holiday: Independence Day, 27 February (1844)                          
                                                                                
Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet                            
                                                                                
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)                                       
                                                                                
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)                                  
                                                                                
Leaders:                                                                        
                                                                                
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Joaquin BALAGUER               
Ricardo (since 16 August 1986, fifth elected term began 16 August 1990);        
Vice President Carlos A. MORALES Troncoso (since 16 August 1986)                
                                                                                
Political parties and leaders:                                                  
                                                                                
Major parties--                                                                 
Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC), Joaquin BALAGUER Ricardo;              
Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD), Jose Francisco PENA Gomez;                 
Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), Juan BOSCH Gavino;                            
Independent Revolutionary Party (PRI), Jacobo MAJLUTA;                          
                                                                                
Minor parties--                                                                 
National Veterans and Civilian Party (PNVC), Juan Rene BEAUCHAMPS Javier;       
Liberal Party of the Dominican Republic (PLRD), 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;                         
                                                                                
note--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                                      
                                                                                
Elections:                                                                      
                                                                                
President--last held 16 May 1990 (next to be held May 1994);                    
results--Joaquin BALAGUER (PRSC) 35.7%, Juan BOSCH Gavino (PLD)                 
34.4%;                                                                          
                                                                                
Senate--last held 16 May 1990 (next to be held May 1994);                       
results--percent of vote by party NA;                                           
seats--(30 total) PRSC 16, PLD 12, PRD 2;                                       
                                                                                
Chamber of Deputies--last held 16 May 1990 (next to be                          
held May 1994);                                                                 
results--percent of vote by party NA;                                           
seats--(120 total) PLD 44, PRSC 41, PRD 33, PRI 2                               
                                                                                
Communists: an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 members in several legal               
and illegal factions; effectiveness limited by ideological differences,         
organizational inadequacies, and severe funding shortages                       
                                                                                
Member of: CARICOM (observer), ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, GATT, IADB,              
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,               
INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), LORCS, NAM (guest),             
OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WMO,          
WTO                                                                             
                                                                                
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             
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                                                         
                                                                                
ECONOMY                                                                         
Overview: The economy is largely dependent on trade; imported                   
components average 60% of the value of goods consumed in the domestic           
market. 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          
major earner of foreign exchange and a source of new jobs. Agriculture          
remains a key sector of the economy. The principal commercial crop is           
sugarcane, followed by coffee, cotton, cocoa, and tobacco. Domestic             
industry is based on the processing of agricultural products, durable           
consumer goods, minerals, and chemicals. Unemployment is officially             
reported at about 30%, but there is considerable underemployment. An            
increasing foreign debt burden and galloping inflation are the economy's        
greatest weaknesses.                                                            
                                                                                
GDP: $6.68 billion, per capita $940; real growth rate 4.2% (1989)               
                                                                                
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 70% (1990 est.)                               
                                                                                
Unemployment rate: 29% (1990 est.)                                              
                                                                                
Budget: revenues $413 million; expenditures $522 million,                       
including capital expenditures of $218 million (1988)                           
                                                                                
Exports: $922 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);                                      
                                                                                
commodities--sugar, coffee, cocoa, gold, ferronickel;                           
                                                                                
partners--US 60%, EC 19%, Puerto Rico 8% (1990)                                 
                                                                                
Imports: $1.9 billion (c.i.f., 1990 est.);                                      
                                                                                
commodities--foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals               
and pharmaceuticals;                                                            
                                                                                
partners--US 50%                                                                
                                                                                
External debt: $4.2 billion (1990 est.)                                         
                                                                                
Industrial production: growth rate 2.3% (1989 est.); accounts                   
for 18% of GDP                                                                  
                                                                                
Electricity: 1,445,000 kW capacity; 4,200 million kWh produced,                 
580 kWh per capita (1990)                                                       
                                                                                
Industries: tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining,             
textiles, cement, tobacco                                                       
                                                                                
Agriculture: accounts for 15% of GDP and employs 49% of labor                   
force; sugarcane most important commercial crop, followed by coffee,            
cotton, cocoa, and tobacco; food crops--rice, beans, potatoes, corn,            
bananas; animal output--cattle, hogs, dairy products, meat, eggs; not           
self-sufficient in food                                                         
                                                                                
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY85-89), $576.5                 
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments          
(1970-88), $569 million                                                         
                                                                                
Currency: Dominican peso (plural--pesos); 1 Dominican peso                      
(RD$) = 100 centavos                                                            
                                                                                
Exchange rates: Dominican pesos per US$1--11.850 (January 1991),                
8.290 (1990), 6.3400 (1989), 6.1125 (1988), 3.8448 (1987), 2.9043 (1986),       
3.1126 (1985)                                                                   
                                                                                
Fiscal year: calendar year                                                      
                                                                                
COMMUNICATIONS                                                                  
Railroads: 1,655 km total in numerous segments; 4 different gauges              
from 0.558 m to 1.435 m                                                         
                                                                                
Highways: 12,000 km total; 5,800 km paved, 5,600 km gravel and                  
improved earth, 600 km unimproved                                               
                                                                                
Pipelines: crude oil, 96 km; refined products, 8 km                             
                                                                                
Ports: Santo Domingo, Haina, San Pedro de Macoris, Puerto Plata                 
                                                                                
Merchant marine: 4 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 23,326              
GRT/38,661 DWT                                                                  
                                                                                
Civil air: 14 major transport aircraft                                          
                                                                                
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                                                           
                                                                                
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                                                          
                                                                                
DEFENSE FORCES                                                                  
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police                                
                                                                                
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,963,260; 1,241,370 fit for                
military service; 81,083 reach military age (18) annually                       
                                                                                
Defense expenditures: $70 million, 1% of GDP (1990)                             
                                                                                
